Bionic - 'Black Blood'

While it’s true of the mainstream to say rock ‘n roll is dead, to lump that connotation into the underground is simple laziness, particularly when there’s a drop-kicked sludge rock revival in full swing. Give Josh Homme, Clutch and Fu Manchu their due in whisking the sound into hipster couture, particularly when an explosive band like Bionic runs like hell with the style to pleasurable discordance.

Black Blood is Bionic’s third studio album and the Montreal fuzz blasters tool around with Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters and by their own gauge Devo to cough up a wild ‘n woolly rock fest filled with low-end distortion, psychedelic tweaks and Nick Oliveri-esque six string tugs, chokes and huffs (the title track hails shades of Queens of the Stone Age’s “Monster in a Parasol,” particularly from Jonathan Cummins’ high note throb sequences).

The biggest asset to Black Blood, aside from the sublet melodies accenting Bionic’s sonic vigor, is an unyielding rockout pace keeping the album at a pulse on the headfirst wings of “Silver Jet Plane,” “Temple of Love,” “Soft as Margarine” and “I Got Skin.”

Black Blood is sheer attitude from start-to-finish, along the way fusing melody beneath the angst-laden gripes of “Learn to Love the Government” and “Freedom Now, Baby!” (the latter of which incorporates snazzy use of a marching band and cheerleading squad in duet on the 32-second intro “Econo Tusk”).

This album seldom lets up even though you’ll undoubtedly check the album’s credits to make sure you’re not listening to Rated R or Songs For The Deaf. Hell, if those are standards to live up to, then Bionic is doing a slamdango job and that means rock ‘n roll is hardly dead these days.

(released November 11, 2008 on Signed By Force Records)