Godzilla's / Eatin' Dust + 4 (LP)

After releasing Fu Manchu's remake of Blue Oyster Cult's "Godzilla" as a 10-inch vinyl single in 1998 (yes, some labels were still providing vinyl in the late 1990s), Man's Ruin released the headbangers' Eatin' Dust CD in February 1999. Greatly influenced by the heavy metal of the early '70s, this CD offers a stripped down, garage-like approach to classic metal and steers clear of pop gloss. Some of the production techniques give away the fact that Eatin' Dust is a late-'90s recording, and it would be inaccurate to think of the band as impervious to the influence of '90s alternative rock. But the roots of Fu Manchu's slow, distorted riffs and grooves are early-'70s headbangers like Budgie, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and MC5. From "Godzilla" to forceful originals like "Eatin' Dust," "Mongoose" and "Module Overload," Eatin' Dust recalls '70s metal with pleasing, if less than essential, results.