What rock was I living under that kept me from discovering this album before now? There’s much to like, not the least of which is that there’s a healthy strain of blues laced throughout. That said, it’s not the kind of blues influence that has me thinking, “Okay, that riff was cool the first twelve times but enough’s enough.” Rather it’s the kind of blues influence that injects a bit of lightness to balance out the “rockier” cuts.
The band’s Wikipedia page describes them thusly:
Masters of Reality is a hard rock group formed in 1981 by guitarist and singer Chris Goss and Tim Harrington in Syracuse, New York.[1] The band is sometimes associated with the “Palm Desert Scene“, which includes bands like Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age and many other stoner rock or (as they prefer to call it) “desert rock” bands. The band is named after the album Master of Reality by Black Sabbath.
I was nodding my head when I read this because one of my first thoughts, when I started listening, was, “These guys remind me a lot of Queens of the Stone Age” and that’s a good thing because Queens is one of my favorite bands from that era.
Honestly, I loved this album. The variety from track to track, Chris Goss’s vocals, the backing vocals, Tim Harrington’s lead guitar…I just loved all of it. Now, if you’re one of those folks who just can’t stand the blues in any way, you’ll probably disagree with me wholeheartedly.
I’m REAL interested in Tim’s take on this one because I just don’t know how he’s gonna react. He’s not a fan of southern rock, and any blues-influenced rock will have a taste of that, but this is truly bluesy so I suspect it grew on him as he listened. As always I’m interested in Eugene’s backstory for this one and I’m pretty sure this one is a true favorite of his.
Links & Notes
The Masters of Reality (Album) Wikipedia Page
The Masters of Reality Wikipedia page
Befuddled 