Riotgod, ‘Crusader’ — Song Premiere

Monster Magnet's rhythm section Bob Pantella (drums) and Jim Baglino (bass) have created their own alternate musical universe with Riotgod. The band will release their self-titled debut on Aug. 17 via Metalville Records, and Noisecreep is giving fans a taste of Riotgod with the brand new song, 'Crusader.' It's a sleepy, stonery, riffy, slow and low track that will elevate you to another planet!

"It's tongue-in-cheek, really," enigmatic vocalist Mark Sunshine cryptically told Noisecreep. "'Portrait of a super protestor, demonstrations and pamphlets galore. Been to every G8 demonstration. Will corner you at a party ... changing the world with rock 'n' roll one victim at a time, a la Hanoi Jane." Whatever that means.

Listen to 'Crusader'

Pantella said that the band formed due to he and Baglino spending a lot of time together on the road with their main gig, which is truly the vehicle of frontman Dave Wyndorf. "We really just wanted to get together and do something a bit more on our own. There's a lot of time off and personally we like to work a lot so, the desire to do more began building up over the last couple of years. We wanted to try our own thing and call our own shots with musical direction and stuff.

"We talked about it for years, and it took a long time to really find the right people and get going. I've always had my recording studio, so it was easy in that aspect. But it was hard to find the right ingredients; you know, sounds, personalities and such. We know nothing's perfect, but you want to get people into the same head space. My singer Sunshine, who I love, the guy is a crazy son of a b----, but musically we're in the same place. His lyrics are amazing, and he's got a great voice. He can pretty much sing anything that you can think of. I give him the music, and by the next day, it's ready to be recorded. It gels with what I'm writing perfectly."

After pondering Sunshine's headscratcher of a quote about the song, we're apt to agree with Pantella's assessment of him as a nutty son of a bitch!

Pantella is a bit crazy himself, since he plays in not one, not two, but four bands! "Let me start by telling you that playing in four bands is no easy task," Pantella told Noisecreep. "Believe it or not, I really enjoy it. It definitely keeps me on my toes. Between recording a new Monster Magnet record, starting a new Atomic B----wax record, a new Cycle of Pain record and releasing the Riotgod record, I have my work cut out for me."

Even though the skinsman has been able to achieve balance with four bands on his plate, it is not without its challenges. "Tour scheduling is usually the toughest part of all," he said. "So far things have worked out okay and there hasn't been too much conflict. This coming year is gonna be a busy one. Tours with each different band are pretty much back to back, and I'm really looking forward to the first European run with Riotgod. Me and Jim have been working on this for a while now and finally things are coming together. We talked about putting a band together for years, and when we finally had some time and found the right people it came together fairly quick."