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Written by Corey Woodruff Friday, 30 April 2010 12:46

Droids Attack is not a band. It is an Act of God.

Cicero’s, St. Louis MO

Droids Attack is not a band.  It is an Act of God. It is a F5 tornado of riff-laden “stoner” metal winding its way across the Midwest with the sole intention of picking you up, kicking your ass for 45 minutes and dropping you on your head, leaving you in awe of its mighty metallic force. Before the Wisconsin trio descended from the sky to perform at Cicero's, I had the pleasure of checking out their excellent new record Must Destroy. At first it sends you into familiar territory with the requisite sonic tributes to early Black Sabbath, but once the ten-ton riffs start hammering away and the band starts navigating the odd meters and whiplash time changes you get the sense that something new is afoot. 

As great as the album is, seeing them live is a revelation. Guitarist/vocalist Brad Van kicked off the show in a hail of feedback before drummer Tony Brungraber and former Bongzilla bassist Nate Bush unleashed their war ensemble upon the mostly unsuspecting crowd. The mayhem continued almost non-stop until technical gremlins stalled the show briefly, but after exorcising them the trio launched back into orbit with nary a missed beat.

While not quite as rhythmically adventurous as Mastodon or as brooding as High On Fire, the band distills their sound with elements of both as well as a small dose of the mighty Corrosion Of Conformity. That’s one heavy pedigree, but it’s well-deserved for this monstrously great band. I anticipate big things from them in the future. | Corey Woodruff