Review Summary: Please pass the Doritos, Sour Patch Kids, Oreos, and Twinkies, for this album and band is a "trip".
In the year of 1988, a few Quebecois stoners decided to form a psychedelic punk band with lyrics based on their love of marijuana. In 1991, Grimskunk (led by frontmen Franz Schuller and "Joe Evil") released their debut album titled "Autumn Flowers" after kind sacks of bud. If one could describe the sound of Grimskunk, they would say that they sound like The Offspring and The Doors collided in a dank marijuana smoking session. Joe's psychedelic keyboards added to this band's groovy sound. This isn't to say that Grimskunk aren't varied in their diverse musical influences and languages in which they speak. The band's sound runs the gamut from punk to hardcore, to reggae, progressive and psychedelic rock, to ska, rap, and world music. The album's opening track "Mahmoud's Dream", is an exercise in Persian techno punk. After albums such as 1994's self-titled album and 1996's "Meltdown", the album "Fieldtrip" elevated them to Quebecois 90's alternative legends within their city of Montreal.
In their signature song "Gros Tas D'Marde" (which translates to English as "Big Piece of ***") Franz composes lyrics in a half spoken word, half-sung melody that would resonate with their target French audience against the government. This song quickly went to heavy rotation on the TV station "MusiquePlus" which was the French-language version of Canada's "MuchMusic". Grimskunk could have joined the ranks of 1998's biggest alternative stars, alongside the likes of The Smashing Pumpkins, Barenaked Ladies, Fastball, and Semisonic. Alas, they were not on any Big Shiny Tunes compilation albums produced by MuchMusic.
In 2002, they released the album "Seventh Wave" which was negatively received by the press for its change in musical direction to pop-punk and nu-metal. They recruited fellow Quebec alternative metal luminary Vince Peake of "Groovy Aardvark", and came back victorious in 2006 with their comeback album "Fires Under The Road" which returned Grimskunk to their signature heavy sound that fans knew and loved.
Franz Schuller is also a savvy businessman, creating his own independent record label titled "Indica Records" (get it? Because weed.) He has signed many talented artists, in my opinion, and Indica is one of Montreal's most famous record labels.
In short, you will have to inhale some incredibly dank marijuana to completely get the full Grimskunk experience, as they wouldn't want it any other way.
