Medicine Man
"self titled"
Independent Release

by: Jonathan Mariante

Time to take your medicine, boys and girls! This Medicine Mann serves up some potent stuff! These guys are a hard rocking band with an attitude! Their music is raw, aggressive, and groove-oriented with crunchy, Pantera style guitar riffs. This stuff packs quite a punch. There is a lot of Pantera and Black Sabbath influence, but these guys aren't total copycats, they have a sound that is their own. Singer Jason Roberts has a strong and clear voice, not at all like screamer and howler Phil Anslemo, or any other singer, really. He even does some rapping on a couple of songs ("Damaged" and "Colors") but don't be frightened by that. He does it in a way that's cool (and better than most actual rappers!). If this band becomes famous, he could put Kid Rock out of business! Who says white men can't rap? Anyway, the album kicks off with "FTW". No prizes for guessing what that stands for! I told you these guys had attitude! The next tune is "Supastar", about how many famous people think they're gods, and then wonder why nobody likes them anymore when their fifteen minutes is up. Love the lyric, "Saw you on a rerun of Where Are They Now"! Other songs that stood out were the ballad "Somber", which is fairly self-explanatory; a song about the painfulness of being alone and feeling neglected; "Blood Of The Fathers", about the genocide of the Native Americans; the aforementioned "Colors", which deals with the stupidity of gang wars; and "Shoulder", the aggressive closing track. All the songs here pack a whallop, both musically and lyrically. Most of the songs deal with angry subjects, and this is reflected in the aggressiveness of the music. The band plays well, though, showing that they have talent as well as fire. If these guys get the right breaks, no doubt everyone will want a taste of this Medicine Mann's potion!

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