For their follow up to 2016's Sittin' Heavy, Monster Truck have opted for an album where they let rip. The blues overtones from their previous record have largely made way for full-scale hard rock. True Rocker begins with a blazing ode to the church of rock; complete with Twisted Sister's Dee Snider on top Evangelical form.
Thunderstruck may start like a Deep Purple outtake, but soon finds it's way into Metallica territory with crashing drums and fiery vocals. It's certainly a different beast than the one we've seen before: this truck has been to the garage and not only had a respray and a new set of wheels, it's been entirely pimped out. Evolution reflects this by morphing the band's sound again. This musical fluidity is something that the album follows from start to finish. On the first few listens it may come across as disjointed, but the more you work the record in, you realise that its greatness lies in its randomness. Devil May Care ties the band to their bluesy roots, but the cord is soon thrown to the wind once more with the ridiculously poppy, Being Cool Is Over.
The last third of the album has an equally versatile mix of tracks that are loaded with premium fuel and supercharged with ballsy musicianship. The Howlin' ties all the threads together with a thoughtful anthemic track that makes an impactful closer. Monster Truck set about making an album that was fun and having a bit of a laugh while they were recording it, unknowingly they have blended sounds to produce a behemoth of a record.
Groupie Rating 4/5
