The Return Of Fu Manchu

I keep having the best of intentions of getting back to posting regularly here on the blog, but time moves so fast these days that I blink and a week has gone by... being away for four days last weekend to see Metallica play a couple of shows did not help with my posting here either. Speaking of shows, I'll be seeing Fu Manchu play with Clutch next month, so let's get to their new record.

There is no bad time to listen to Fu Manchu, but summertime sets the perfect vibe. As soon as I gave their new record, The Return of Tomorrow, a listen, I was hooked on that fuzz. You know exactly what you are going to get with Fu Manchu. There are still a few Fu Manchu records that I haven't heard, but each one that I spin is just a blast... and this new one is no different. Perfect summer soundtrack.

It has been over 10 years since I last saw Fu Manchu play live. It was shortly after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the city went into total lockdown for a manhunt shortly after the show... so let's hope things are less dramatic when I see them next month.

Vinyl tends to look cheap these days with gross patterns, so it is always an unexpected surprise when it looks this good AND matches the cover art. More of this please. "Sky and Space" colored vinyl limited to 4,000.

FU30

I've had my head so stuck in newer hardcore bands over the past few years that I completely missed that Fu Manchu were celebrating their 30th anniversary in 2020. To observe this milestone, the band released a series of 10 inch records. I missed out completely on the first one that the band did... hell, I missed out on the second one when it was released too... but when Fu Manchu announced at the end of 2022 that they were selling a bundle that included the second record from the series, plus their newest FU30 record, I jumped on it.

Each 10 inch record includes three songs... two originals and a cover song... with the cover design based off the original record for the cover song. So for this one, the cover is My Wave by Surf Punk and the cover is a nice rip off of that My Beach album. Very well done.

The photo doesn't really capture it too well, but this vinyl is the brightest neon pink that I've seen. It is a perfect match to the cover art.

The third FU30 record contains a cover of The Pimsouls A Million Miles Away... another obscure single that I'd never heard before, and again, the cover art is influenced by the original Pimsouls single. As a bonus (for me anyway, since I'm a big Clutch fan) Neil Fallon does vocals on the cover song here.

While I initially wasn't too excited about the last Fu Manchu record, Clone Of The Universe, back in 2018, it definitely grew on me over time. With the six new original songs on the three FU30 records, I'm loving it right from the start. Now I've just got to pick up the first one in the series at some point, and maybe when people calm the fuck down on Discogs, I can make that happen.

Clone Of The Universe

Earlier this year, I was pretty focused on Hardcore, and didn't really focus on much else. I was pretty excited with Fu Manchu a few years ago, but being stuck in a recent Hardcore obsession, I found it difficult to show much interest when it was announced that the band would have a new album out this year. I took a half-assed listen to the new song they posted from Clone Of The Universe, and I quickly moved on. Meh. It wasn't doing much for me.

Fast forward a few months, and grabbed a download of the album...just because I'd hoped things would click when I was finally in that mood. Sure enough, as I was catching up on the new shit from 2018, Fu Manchu hit the spot with those fuzzed out summertime vibes.

The first side on this record is amazing. Great songs, and exactly what I'm looking for from Fu Manchu...the second side though has me struggling a bit. The 18 minute song isn't bad, it just seems like a bit of a jam, and that's not really my thing and I lose some interest. Worth it for those six songs on the A side though.

RSD 2018 - Part 3: Missing Link [The 90's]

The final piece of vinyl from my Record Store Day shopping spree. I certainly didn't expect to find some Fu Manchu vinyl in the used record bins, but as soon as I saw it, I grabbed it without even bothering to check the price tag. It was going to be mine.

[1996] I first heard Fu Manchu about five years ago on Doug's recommendation. I loved what I heard and went on a frenzy, downloading around six of their albums. It was a bit too much, too fast, and I really only stuck with their amazing run of three albums, The Action Is Go, King Of The Road, and California Crossing...everything else was background noise. Seeing In Search Of... in the used bins made me think that it was time to really dig into this one. It was released just before The Action Is Go, so I figured that there had to be some solid stoner grooves hidden in here, and I grabbed the vinyl.

Oh hell yes. This record is full of those fuzzed out riffs! In Search Of... easily stands side by side with what I consider to be Fu Manchu's big three. Awesome album.

I love the iron-on transfer that came with this UK pressing. You don't know how badly I want to use this on a t-shirt...but I can't do it...it came with the record, so it stays with the record.

When I cashed out at the counter, I was a bit stung when I saw the $30 price tag on this record. I checked discogs when I got home, and see that it usually goes for around $70, so I'll count it as a win.

Gigantic Fu Manchu

I hadn't even heard Fu Manchu until last year. Doug made the proper introductions, and after catching them live in Boston it elevated them to a whole other level.

I pretty much limited my exposure to what I consider "the big three"...The Action Is Go, King Of The Road, and California Crossing. These three made the biggest impact on me, and were in constant rotation all last summer. When it was announced that Fu Manchu were releasing a new album this year, I was looking forward to checking out what they had to offer.

Once I saw the cover art, my expectations were increased. How could this 70's-era Land of the Lost/California stoner hybrid looking cover art fail to deliver the goods?

For a band that seemed to be at their peak 15 years ago, and haven't released an album in 5, Gigantoid is surprisingly solid. More of that fuzzed out guitar stoner sound that Fu Manchu excel at. This album really hits the spot for some Summertime listening. Hop in the car, roll the windows down, turn up the volume, and let's head to the beach.

The Action Is Boston

Back in January, Doug and I were exchanging emails on how we classify and define Metal genres like Doom and Stoner. During the email conversation, Doug mentioned the band Fu Manchu, and I said that I'd never heard them before. Honestly, I had no desire to check them out, and I was hoping that Doug would just drop it, but he wouldn't shut up about how great they were, and even sent me a youtube link for the song Hell On Wheels. It would have been rude to ignore, so I halfheartedly clicked the link. I planned on just humoring him by watching a minute of the video, and just replying that it wasn't my thing. Well, I was wrong. I watched the whole video, then watched it again...and even though she couldn't have cared less, I then played it for my wife. Yeah, I was impressed. Soon after, I had a heads up that Fu Manchu was going to be playing Boston, and they were going to be doing the entire The Action Is Go album, start to finish. I downloaded the album and set to work, hoping to convince Rob to join me for the trip to go see them live.

Monday, April 15th, a bomb went off at the Boston Marathon. A horrific event, and as the week went on, the bomber was still on the loose. When Thursday rolled around for the show, my wife was a bit nervous that I'd be headed into the city. "Calm down", I told her, "It's not like the city is under siege". I assured her that Rob and I would be fine, and we hit the road.

We got to Boston, grabbed some dinner, and headed to the club. I was looking forward to the Fu Manchu set, but I was not prepared for how great it was going to be. Some bands improve your view of them after you see them live, they are able to convey a level of intensity that you just can't get from listening to an album. While I was really digging what Fu Manchu had to offer on the albums that I'd heard, seeing them live put them on a whole other level.

The show was over about 11:45 that night, and I was home by 2:30 in the morning. Only four hours until it was time to get up for work. As I was heading to bed, I checked Facebook on my phone and discovered that there had been a shoot out between the police and the two suspects from the Boston Marathon bombing. It had started a couple of miles from where we had been, and the city was shutting down all transportation as the manhunt progressed. We'd gotten out of there just in time, and the next morning, I was greeted by my wife with "I told you so". That's okay. It was worth the trip.

The sixth and final pressing of The Action Is Go. Limited to 400 on a very nice looking splatter vinyl.