(CD + DVD set) The Atomic Bitchwax, long relegated to and written off as stoner rock, have come into their own. In 2005, fresh off the heels of their appropriately titled third full-length, 3, the band hit the road hard. The drama surrounding the departure of guitarist Ed Mundell (also of Monster Magnet) was long behind them, and for the lineup of Keith Ackerman (drums), Chris Kosnik (bass, vocals), and former Core frontman Finn Ryan (guitar, vocals) the future looked great. So this is where the bus flips, right? Wrong. The chronicle of The Bitchwax goes up, down, up and further up. The future actually was great. MTV was demanding dozens of songs to score two new speed chaos-based shows, Homewrecker and Fast Inc., Ween's side-band The Moistboyz was calling with tour offers, and rock guru extraordinaire Jack Endino (Nirvana, Nebula, Soundgarden, Mudhoney) stepped forward and said, 'Hey, you guys rock, let's put it to tape.' So in the middle of touring behind 3, the trio hit the brakes in Seattle to record four brand new, Endino-fied studio tracks plus a raucous live set at Seattle's Sunset Tavern. Boxriff captures everything that makes The Atomic Bitchwax one of the planet's most criminally underrated rock bands. Catchy hooks, classic riffs, the airtight interplay of Kosnik and Ackerman's rhythms, Ryan's jazz-inspired interludes and solos, it's all right there. And in transcending stoner rock's simplistic limits, they've taken the initiative to prove to their audience that over the years and even with the 1/3 lineup change, The Bitchwax have lost none of their edge, live or in the studio. From the ripping lead that opens , to the epic fuzz dirge that closes , straight through to the live sing-along reinterpretation of fan favorite and the video document to prove it all, this is a band letting the world know that they're more than on top of their game...not that they needed to say it.
