Camarosmith's self-titled debut on Jack Endino's Dead Teenager Records is an aggressive slab of swamp rock that takes the heavy grooves of vintage
Soundgarden and reworks them with a dirty, shaking,
Queens of the Stone Age-style stoner vibe. Bring on the mullets, the denim, those big basketball sneakers, and the beat-up Camaros and IROCs, because from the devilish "S.O.S." ("Son of Sam") to the wailing "Motorgun," these guys are ready to rock the metal with
Black Sabbath riffs, solos, and
Ozzy Osbourne vocals. They even slow it down on "714" for a tweaked piece of psychedelic desert rock that recalls both SST-era
Screaming Trees and good ol'-70s rock.
Camarosmith's members may have come from the punk outfit
Zeke, but this is hard rock, not punk, played with all of the tripped-out power and devil-may-care attitude of
Led Zeppelin,
Blue Cheer, and
Aerosmith. ~ Charles Spano