Spit Blood

Three years after the release of their stoner rock debut masterpiece, the Atomic Bitchwax still hadn't assembled a credible follow-up. While the sophomore effort, Atomic Bitchwax II, had a few good moments, it couldn't hold up next to the group's first offering. And this third effort shrinks away from the challenge as well. A collection of oddities and outtakes, Spit Blood is a dichotomy. It will thrill obsessive fans with its seven sprawling tracks and vast array of multimedia files for computer users — including a mammoth volume of MP3 rarities. But listeners will be disappointed by the lack of any new material that matches the intensity of The Atomic Bitchwax. Spit Blood manages to offer so much and so little simultaneously. Stoner completists will devour the "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" cover that opens this 2002 Meteor City release and the massive instrumental "U Want I Should" that closes the disc, but there isn't much in between that rivals the best of the Atomic Bitchwax. This "B" material still trumps that of most stoner bands, and although Spit Blood isn't everything fans want, it should assuage most of them with its brief eruptions of brilliance and bonus content.