As a general rule, we tend to avoid bands that include “max,” “boogie” or “overdrive” in their names. It somehow evokes ’70s disco which doesn’t really fit with the whole extreme metal vibe we’re going for. That said, there are no shortage of great bands with truly bad monikers (hello, Weekend Nachos, Job For a Cowboy and Dew Scented), so who are we to judge without actually listening to Max Boogie Overdrive’s new single, “Stoned Again.” As you might imagine from the title, these L.A. heshers—Max Boogie (lead/rhythm guitar), Daren “Drop Dee” Ford (vocals/bass), Tom “Knuckles” Hernandez (drums), Richard Clark (rhythm/lead guitar)—have their clocks permanently set at 4:20, and their new single fervently extols the virtues of such pursuits. Again, no surprise! The tune is right in line with fellow SoCal tokemeisters Fu Manchu and Nebula, with plenty of hazy Sabbath rifferama and a generally sludgy, laconic approach.
“Stoned Again” is the first single from MBO’s upcoming full-length debut of the same name. It’s set for release on CD and digitally via Future Primitive Recordings on March 29. Place your preorder here.
Here’s what the band had to say about the new track:
“‘Stoned Again’ is inspired by the 1970’s Robert Crumb blacklight poster (technically entitled “Stoned Agin”), and the album art follows that inspiration as well. It really is about being young, smoking pot and getting high with your friends, and that magic feeling you have when you’re young and have very few cares in the world. We put lots of ‘reefer madness’ soundbites at the end, when the music goes into a psychedelic freak out, just to poke fun at how cannabis was viewed in the past as a ‘harmful drug’ that kids should stay away from, meanwhile the ‘adults’ all had alcohol problems.”
