More of the same then? Well yes, but that's far from a bad thing. Few bands are able to demonstrate such a knack for the riff and groove that the Fu seem blessed with and King of the Road contains some of their finest moments of tripped out rock to date. Picking up where Eatin' Dust left off and displaying far more variety of pace and guitar sound than was present on 98's somewhat disappointing The Action Is Go. The most notable progression is in Scott Hill's vocals. Slated in the past for his sometimes bland vocal stylings; there is much more passion and even aggression from Hill this time around, particularly in the album's title track with it's driving, "King of the road says you move to slow refrain" (Christ, he actually sounds pissed off). God only knows what he's actually singing about, beyond the usual cars, vans, bikes, girls etc, but as Hill himself has said in the past that the song's aren't really about anything in particular, it is clear that the vibe is all important here, and King of the Road oozes the zoned out cool that Fu Manchu are famous for.

So monster grooves are the order of the day here and there are plenty for the stoner rock afficionado to munch on with highlights coming in the headlong "Breathing Fire" and the suitably strange "Weird Beard". Throw in some slide guitar and bluesy solos, a Devo cover (Freedom of Choice) and you've got the new Fu Manchu album.

Hotdoggin'. (8)

Groove on over to the Fu Manchu website.

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