3 out of 5

Label: Joyful Noise

Produced by: Dave Curran

Big Business are one of those groups I should love – amped up stoner rock, a sludgey, low-end fuzz – but that never seem to do any one thing in such a notable way as to beckon my ears to relisten.

Command Your Weather is an undeniable solid slab of capital R Rawk, volleying between acid-washed multi-minute epics and blitzes of speedy drumming and riff pummeling; Lightning Bolt levels of noise; Hella-style skins spamming; a Five-esque rumble of pared down instrumental hammering.  …But it’s also of a rather consistent pitch, vocals and guitar maintaining a pretty minimal tonal range, and the production softening the edges of the musical attack such that it never quite gets to headbangery levels.

The plus side of this is that it equals Volume and Passion that doesn’t harsh the ol’ earholes; it’s easy to put the disc on repeat and just kinda bob your head along as it plays.  The minus is that the thought to put the thing on in the first place is likely trumped by thoughts of other bands – maybe some of those afore-named names – who do their own takes on this type of stoner metal with a bit more staying power.