“These were not the popular hits of the time. This was like a playlist from the 4th dimension… strange bits of musical obscurity, mostly dredged up from that inglorious and freaky “twilight zone” time that preceded Arena Rock, Heavy Metal, Reggae and Disco. A no-man’s land of hard rock that still had remnants of psychedelia and garage punk but had abandoned any notion of “flower power” or frat house fun. And of course, they rocked. Yeah, these songs were it.
The great bands whose music we lovingly interpret here were (and some still are) on the fringe, underrated, and in our opinion, really, really cool. I think that’s reason enough for us to do this album. Furthermore, A Better Dystopia is a collection of songs that I think reflect (knowingly or unknowingly) a paranoid time in history, but also deflect that same paranoia by owning it, fully. And of course, it ROCKS.”
— Dave Wyndorf, Official Statement via The Obelisk
Track “Mr. Destroyer” (Poo-Bah) has big riffs and swirling vocal stylings that fuse a blend of hard rock and psychedelia. “Motorcycle (Straight To Hell)” (Table Scraps) is straight old school punk, sounding like a cross between Iggy Pop and Motörhead. The Magnet takes off on the hard rock classic “”Learning To Die”” (Dust) and a rocking version of a Stooges style Goth jam, “”Solid Gold Hell”” (The Scientists).
Lineup
Dave Wyndorf – Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Producer
Phil Caivano – Guitar, Bass, Backing Vocals, Engineer, Producer
Bob Pantella – Drums, Percussion, Engineer, Producer
Garrett Sweeny – Guitar
Alec Morton – Bass
Carrie Wyndorf – Additional Vocals (3)
Betty Wyndorf – Additional Vocals (13)
Track List
- The Diamond Mine (1:58) (Dave Diamond)
- Born to Go (5:47) (Hawkwind)
- Epitaph for a Head (2:08) (JD Blackfoot)
- Solid Gold Hell (3:27) (The Scientists)
- Be Forewarned (3:26) (Macabre)
- Mr. Destroyer (5:41) (Poobah)
- When The Wolf Sits (4:58) (Jerusalem)
- Death (2:58) (The Pretty Things)
- Situation (2:16) (Josefus)
- It’s Trash (2:10) (The Cave Men)
- Motorcycle (Straight to Hell) (3:24) (Table Scraps)
- Learning to Die (6:28) (Dust)
- Welcome to The Void (3:21) (Morgen)