Cactus

Cactus sounds like a blues band that was fed a steady diet of jet fuel and heavy machinery. It is the sound of the 1970s transition from psychedelic blues into the raw power of heavy metal. The music is dominated by a rhythm section that refuses to stay in the background, featuring thunderous, distorted bass lines and aggressive, complex drumming that feels like it's constantly threatening to derail the song in the best way possible.

What truly distinguishes Cactus is their sheer velocity and muscularity. While their peers in the British blues boom often leaned into soul or psychedelia, Cactus doubled down on the 'hard' in hard rock. The interplay between Jim McCarty’s lightning-fast guitar work and Carmine Appice’s pioneering double-bass drumming created a template for what would eventually become speed metal and stoner rock, all while keeping one foot firmly in a greasy, boogie-woogie groove.

Start with their self-titled 1970 debut. It captures the original 'supergroup' lineup at their most feral, particularly on tracks like 'Parchman Farm' where the tempo is pushed to a breaking point. It is the essential document of a band that was too heavy for the hippies and too bluesy for the punks, occupying a singular space in rock history.