2013 saw the release of Monster Magnet's latest album, Last Patrol. Now comes Milking The Stars, a reimagining of Last Patrol. Met with critical acclaim and supported by a world tour, Last Patrol has become a staple in the Monster Magnet discography.

Check out the new video for "The Duke", from director Phil Mucci (Pig Destroyer, Opeth, Stone Sour), streaming below.

Says leader Dave Wyndorf: "When I was a kid I'd sit in my room with my eyes closed, listening to albums and dreaming up spectacular images and stories to go along with the music. Ah, nothing beats youthful imagination.

Fast forward to today and Monster Magnet has done plenty of music videos and try as I have, none of them ever replicated that particular hallucinatory fever that gripped me when I was young. That is until now. Phil Mucci has captured the 'science fiction noir' elements of Last Patrol and Milking The Stars and mainlined them into "The Duke". And I didn't have to do anything but provide the music and make a few notes. Oh, and have a few (extremely enjoyable) conversations with him on the phone.

Mr. Mucci gets it. And the fact he's so talented means we all get to enjoy this bad-ass piece of 'fever dream pulp cinema'. Something tells me Phil used to listen to albums with his eyes closed when he was a kid too!"

The artwork, tracklisting and first song from Milking The Stars were recently released. Wyndorf's pick for the first song he wanted fans to be exposed to is "No Paradise For Me". The song according to Wyndorf is "interesting, fucked up and old school sounding". Listen to "No Paradise For Me" here.

Wyndorf on Milking The Stars: "Milking The Stars is a "re-imagined" version of Last Patrol featuring four new songs and live tracks. This was a happy experiment for me. It's not a re-mix record by the current definition. It's more like Last Patrol in a "what if?" style alternate reality.

What if these songs were recorded in 1968? What would happen if I turned a pretty song into an angry one? How would adding creepy organs and Mellotrons affect the emotional vibe of a song? These are just a few of the questions that roll around in my head when I write and record any album but this time I decided to actually answer them with fully fleshed out, recorded and mixed examples.

The process actually created new songs. That's the icing on the cake for me. New sounds, new vocals, different instruments and arrangements make for a weird 1960's vibe totally apart from Last Patrol which was fun for Phil, Bob, Garrett, mixer Joe Barresi and myself to explore.

Finally there's expanded versions of the songs "Last Patrol" and "Three Kingfishers" as recorded live at the AB club in Belgium, 2014. Both those songs were re-arranged for "maximum rock and psych" before we hit the road last year and feature the debut performance of new Magnet bassist, Chris Kosnik. Personally, I think they beat the original versions. Rock on!"

 

 

Milking The Stars tracklisting:

"Let the Circus Burn"
"Mindless Ones '68"
"No Paradise For Me"
"End of Time (B-3)"
"Milking The Stars"
"Hellelujah (Fuzz And Swamp)"
"I Live Behind The Clouds (Roughed Up And Slightly Spaced)

"Goliath Returns"
"Stay Tuned (Even Sadder)"
"The Duke (Full On Drums 'N Wah)"

"Last Patrol" (Live)

"Three Kingfishers" (Live)