Big, hooky, songs will win over a lot of doubters right out of the gate. Stoner Kings belts out what should be radio-friendly hunks of solidly written metal and make no bones about it, except for the neat skull on the front of the album cover. Reminiscent of contemporaries like Fireball Ministry and neighbors Spiritual Beggars, Stoner Kings brings a more working-class feel to that blatantly smooth sound. The guitars aren't played by virtuosos and singer, Starbuck, can't hit all of Halford's notes but headbanging and horn-throwing will ensue. Songs like "Doomsday Sunrise" and "Black Lotus" have the potential to be hits, or at least to garner the kind of MTV2 airplay Fireball Ministry is getting. "Black Lotus" even features some killer female backing vocals by Tanja Kemppainen of Soulgrind. It's Lita Ford and Ozzy all over again! Well, not quite, but it's not where near as schmaltzy. Honestly the sound treads as close to the Eighties Metal hits of bands like Judas Priest as it does to the Sabbath-worshipping retro Seventies sound most Stoner Rock bands prefer. The riffs bring it home, though, those and the countless references to Satan and smoking pot.

While the lyrical content ultimately proves the weak point of the record, few that will buy this record will have a serious beef with it. In general, Stoner Rock has moved away from the hokey pot-fueled imagery and laziness of its early days. Stoner Kings stays closer to those roots, but advances the music in other ways, blending it with New Wave of British Heavy Metal on tracks like "Angel Weed". With song titles like that and "Heavy Mushroom Daydream", though, you're only going to get so far. The bluesy harmonica on the opening of "Sweet Misery" is one foot on the train, though.