Mondo's metal rocks

On the evening of Sept. 29 in a building on the corner of 17th and West Peachtree, with lights dimmed and a reverbing bass line permeating the audience, four men walked onto the CW's Center Stage. After a simple "we are Mondo Generator," the quartet of rockers blared the hit track "Lie Detector" off their newest album Dead Planet.

Despite starting over half an hour late and having their opening band apparently flake out, Mondo Generator managed to liven up the crowd rather quickly with hits like "So Low" and "Life of Sin."

A rock band with heavy metal and punk influences, Mondo Generator started in 1997 as a side-project by former Queens of the Stone Age co-founder and bassist Nick Oliveri. But after leaving Queens, Mondo G has become Oliveri's main focus.

The members of Mondo have rotated throughout the last decade and currently include singer and bassist Oliveri, guitarists Ian Taylor and Ernie Longoria, as well as drummer Simon "Spud" Beggs.

Last month's show at Center Stage was Mondo Generator's first in Atlanta as a group. The show, co-headlined with the Scandinavian glam-metal band Turbonegro, drew an extremely diverse crowd. The Mondo fans that were prepared to mosh were readily distinguishable from the Turbo fans sporting Sailor-esque and Police-cap style headgear.

Neither group of fans seemed to object, however, to Mondo's rather gritty live performance. Oliveri's earthy bass-lines and Longoria's wicked guitar moves brought a sound to the show that was much heavier than the rather melodious punk rock riffs on Dead Planet.

According to front man Oliveri during an interview with the 'Nique, "Black Flag and Black Sabbath are probably the two main bands" that have contributed to Mondo's sound.

Along with other influences like Cheap Trick, the band's third and latest album, Dead Planet sounds much more at home next to a NOFX CD than one from Queens of Stone Age.

Even though Oliveri describes Mondo Generator as "a rock and roll band," he concedes "it's definitely not as main stream [as Queens]... it's definitely more underground... definitely more low-key."

Despite Oliveri's claims at being a "low-key" band, their performance was anything but. Mondo played with a great set, and despite not having the largest crowd ever, worked with them to make it a fun and enjoyable show.

"I always feel like we're 50% music and the crowd is 50%. It turns up a good show, we always have a better show when people are throwin' energy around and gettin' into it. Sometimes the crowd is better than we are," Oliveri said.

While I personally am not the biggest fan of punk-rock, even though I've been known to go to a Pennywise show or two, I thoroughly enjoyed Mondo Generator's performance at the Center Stage. I would love to see the heavier side of Mondo that came out at Center Stage on their next album.

And the name? "It was the name of my amplifier," Oliveri said.