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 BIO | ALBUM REVIEWS | LIVE REVIEWS | INTERVIEWS |
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| Album Reviews |
 NEBULA - TO THE CENTER Stoner Rock Mailing List by Jonah Jenkins There's some debate as to the release date of this album on SUBPOP... as in... 'if ever'. If the powers who are debating the issue could just sssssiitt baaack and zzzzonnnne ouuut with this album, some cushy headphones and one's refreshment of choice-choice-choice-choice-hoice-oice-ce... there would be no questions. Let everything melt away into the tracers and trails of this, one of the best rock albums since "Spine of God". It took me a short while to understand what they were shooting for, as with the aforementioned masterpiece. Once I GOT it, I was drawn into it. The first four songs blend into a moment of brilliance... I was destroyed before I knew it. Gravity kicked in at an increased level. "Freedom" opens it all back up with a 60's jam (replete with their infamous percussion via Ruben) a la demon-Blues. "Antigone" continues with a large and filthy groove... to the STOOGES cover "I Need Somebody" which (from what I hear) has the illustrious Mark Arm of Mudhoney on vocals. Actually, the feel of the best Stooges and MC5 (and Mudhoney, for that matter) albums permeates every song on this recording. "So Low" brings me to a place somewhere between EASY RIDER and SKYNYRD. "Fields of Psilocybin" has enough tension and melody still to make or break your trip. "Between Time" and "You Mean Nothing" bring it all together with The Riffs of The Album, fuckin' brilliant solos included. The only time that production "tricks" come into play is when they space you right the fuck out. This is raw, even with the acoustic guitar overdubs. The layering serves only to create atmosphere, NOT to polish. In fact, on my first few listens, I was taken aback at what I perceived as a rather rough portrayal of a band I loved. I was worried that they hadn't taken enough time with the whole record. I now hear what made me love Nebula in the first place... emotional jams with strong riffing and NO money-driven bullshit. In my opinion, this is the epitome of what this fuzzed out genre has become, and should be. While their contemporaries often border safely on mersh metal, this band chooses the dirt-rock approach every time. Stoned and droning, this record is a fucked up freak out, just like I like it. back to album reviews |
NEBULA - TO THE CENTER Alternative Press Magazine, Volume 14, No. 138, January 2000 by Matt Ryan Fu Manchu refugees lace their heavy rock with liberal doses of psychedelia. That the bassist and drummer of Nebula can trade their beginnings to Fu Manchu is no surprise. Both bands display an obvious reverence for Blue Cheer and Black Sabbath, cranking out '70s-style retro rock at full volume. Singer Eddie Glass even exhibits the same "whatever, dude" vocal style as Fu's Scott Hill. Where Fu Manchu are content to just be heavy, however, Nebula channel their aggression through a psychedelic prism. The result is a trippy spectrum of guitar sounds, from fuzzy, chugging riffs to squealing solo runs. Yes, To The Center is as weighty as a 10-gallon water bong, but it's decidedly multitextured. Witness the acoustic guitar undercurrent and handclaps in "Clear Light" or the sitar-laced mindfuck of the aptly named "Fields of Psilocybin." A nasty workout of the Stooges' "I Need Somebody" alone is worth the price of admission, featuring guest vocals by Mudhoney's Mark Arm. Near the end of To The Center, Glass declares "I'm in love with this guitar" in "Between Time." Let's hope it's a long and prolific relationship. (Sup Pop) back to album reviews |
NEBULA - TO THE CENTER Mean Street - Hype by David Ostiguy "Nebula's music can best be described as rock to the fifth power," singer/guitarist Eddie Glass says. That's no joke. Nebula is truly one of those bands that will definitely get you rocking, as in driving your Camaro too fast kind of rocking. With To The Center, the band's first full length album and debut for Sup Pop, these guys can back any amount of smack talking with a heavy dose of some sick, straightforward '70's rock. With high school buddies, bassist Mark Abshire and drummer Rubin Romano, learning the musical ropes as part of stoner rock legend, Fu Manchu, Glass came aboard in 1997 to complete the Nebula lineup. With the history behind the band, the fans were already there and willing to follow Nebula. And they should hang on tight. To The Center shows that Nebula isn't afraid to dabble into unexplored realms. By adding acoustic guitars, sitars and synthesizers. Nebula dabbles in unique sounds that break them out of the same old stoner rock clichˇs. Being anything but radio friendly, Nebula is the kind of band that builds their fan base on the road, one person at a time. And they've been doing just that over the last few months. "There's been a lot of rock going on. Chicago was a great show for us", Glass states. "We started off in Europe and were there for three weeks. Then we started touring in the States from Cleveland and will do another four weeks of touring." Although Nebula cannot really see themselves having a hit song on the radio or a video on MTV, they have been getting some good exposure in the college radio market around the globe. "I don't even like MTV anymore," Glass says. "All they seem to play anymore is rap music." And a response to the music? Get in any fights about it lately? "Everybody seems to like our CD so far and if they don't like it, I guess they probably wouldn't tell me anyway," Glass chuckles. "And as for Sub Poop, they've been treating us really well, too." Immediate plans call for a tour of Canada, then some time off to get their heads straight in order to work on new material. As far as their musical future is concerned, Glass says, "We're not really trying to hit any huge stardom," says Glass, "but we'd like to see ourselves packing nice size clubs and have comfortable transportation, money and all the good things that come out of it." back to album reviews |
NEBULA - TO THE CENTER Sweet Nothing (UK), November 16, 1999 by Ralph Parfect Load up the trunk with beer, motherf--ers - we're hitting the desert. Forget techno-metal. We take doom-laden riffs. We take whatever hallucinogens we can find. Hell, we even take the gong. But most of all, we take Nebula. And by the time we're finished, the desert will look like "the center of the universe". For crawling somewhere on the underbelly of southern California, three gaunt men have brought the collision of heavy metal, punk and psychedelia to a shattering conclusion. Their names are Eddie, Mark and Ruben. Their riffs, let us assure you, kick ass. From the Sabbath-defying let's-get-wasted grind of 'To The Center' to the obligatory fuck-you finale 'You Mean Nothing', Nebula have mastered rock's lexicon and spat it back out with taco sauce. And, like all the best metal, Nebula are beyond parody, as the out-of-tune sitars on 'Fields Of Psilocybin' loudly proclaim. The catch? Ah, that would be where trash turns to tribute. Stooges cover 'I Need Somebody', sung by Mudhoney's Mark Arm, helps itself to generous portions of Detroit balls and attitude, but is ultimately radio fodder. And though they record in neo-radical Seattle, the closest Nebula get to the front line is their Legalize Cannabis stand. Yet for a no-bullshit antidote to US agony-rock, for razor-sharp, front-of-car moshing with unashamed hippy antics also on board, you won't find a handier sub-galaxy than Nebula. Marilyn Manson, you have been warned. back to album reviews |
