Fu Manchu's first album, No One Rides for Free (1994), was released by Bong Load Custom Records, an independent label. No One Rides for Free marked the beginning of the band's heavy focus on muscle cars and drag racing, common themes in the stoner rock genre.
Abshire left Fu Manchu before they recorded their second album, Daredevil, in 1995. He was replaced by Brad Davis. The band promoted Daredevil with extensive touring throughout the US and Canada, and reached a wider audience thanks to an opening slot with Monster Magnet, who at the time were the commercial darlings of the stoner rock genre.
Romano and Glass left shortly after the release of Fu Manchu's third album, In Search Of... (1996), citing personal and musical differences with Hill. They were replaced by Brant Bjork and Bob Balch, respectively. Glass, Romano and Abshire soon regrouped to form Nebula, a power trio that took the jam-influenced side of Fu Manchu and expanded on it. Members of Nebula have commented that "we're all family" to fans wearing Fu Manchu shirts at their concerts.
Fu Manchu went on to release several successful albums and reinforce their reputation as a powerful live act. The band had gained this reputation over the years due to their performance when touring with notable bands such as Kyuss, Monster Magnet, Marilyn Manson, Clutch, Corrosion of Conformity, White Zombie, Sevendust, and P.O.D., among others.
In 2001, the band released an album, California Crossing. Brant Bjork left the band soon after to pursue a solo career and was replaced by former Sunshine and Smile drummer Scott Reeder (often confused with bassist Scott Reeder, of Kyuss, Unida, and Goatsnake fame). In 2004, Fu Manchu released their eighth album, Start the Machine.
Fu Manchu's ninth album is called We Must Obey which was released on February 19, 2007. The band spent most of 2007 and 2008 on tour, playing several shows in North America and Europe.
In February 2008, the track "Mongoose" (from the California Crossing album) was featured in a Super Bowl ad for the Toyota Sequoia.
Their tenth album Signs of Infinite Power was released on October 19, 2009, in Europe and October 20 in North America.
On March 10, 2010, it was announced that Scott Reeder would play drums for Social Distortion for the South American tour dates in April. In June 2012, the band stated they had begun writing for a new record. In 2014, the band released its eleventh album, Gigantoid.
In December 2017, they announced their twelfth album, Clone of the Universe, which released on February 9, 2018.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fu_Manchu_(band)
Studio albums
No One Rides for Free (1994)
Daredevil (1995)
In Search Of... (1996)
The Action Is Go (1997)
Godzilla's/Eatin' Dust (1999)
King of the Road (2000)
California Crossing (2001)
Start the Machine (2004)
We Must Obey (2007)
Signs of Infinite Power (2009)
Gigantoid (2014)
Clone of the Universe (2018)
Evil Eye
Fu Manchu Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With an evil grin
Better brace yourself
Straightaway or win
Call power slide
Separates them all
Never touchin the brake
...unapproachable...
Evil eye has set his plan
...erasin' all...
Evil eye has set his plan
...erasin' all...
Pushed through the floor
Halfway through the turn
As we ride up high
The dirt starts to burn
Wheels of his heap
Hits the backstreet wall
Evil eye has signaled
..unapproachable...
Evil eye has set his plan
...erasin' all...
Evil eye has set his plan
...erasin' all...
Evil...eye...will fall
In Fu Manchu's song "Evil Eye", the lyrics describe a car race where one participant, Evil Eye, is determined to win at any cost. The opening lines indicate that Evil Eye is a fierce competitor, with an "evil grin" and the need to "brace" oneself before the race begins. The lyrics go on to describe Evil Eye's driving techniques, which involve a "power slide" and never using the brake, making him "unapproachable". Despite these extreme tactics, Evil Eye is determined to win and has "set his plan" to "erase" his competition.
As the race continues, Evil Eye gains momentum and "pushes through the floor" of his car. The lyrics suggest that Evil Eye is so focused on winning that he approaches a turn at an incredibly high speed, causing the "dirt [to] start to burn". The final lines indicate that even though Evil Eye may be a fierce competitor, his reign of dominance will not last forever and he will eventually "fall".
Line by Line Meaning
6 hours before
Six hours prior to the events about to be described
With an evil grin
He smiled malevolently
Better brace yourself
Prepare yourself for what's about to happen
Straightaway or win
Either go straight ahead or emerge victorious
Call power slide
Execute a maneuver called the power slide
Separates them all
Puts distance between the vehicles around them
Never touchin the brake
Without applying the brakes
...unapproachable...
In a position where they can't be reached
Evil eye has set his plan
The villainous figure known as the Evil Eye has made his scheme known
...erasin' all...
He plans to wipe out everything in his path
Pushed through the floor
Accelerating forcefully
Halfway through the turn
Before they've completed the turn
As we ride up high
As they ascend to a higher altitude
The dirt starts to burn
The ground beneath them is heating up
Wheels of his heap
The wheels of his vehicle
Hits the backstreet wall
Collides with the wall at the end of the backstreet
Evil eye has signaled
The Evil Eye has given a signal
...unapproachable...
In a position where they can't be reached
Evil eye has set his plan
The villainous figure known as the Evil Eye has made his scheme known
...erasin' all...
He plans to wipe out everything in his path
Evil...eye...will fall
The Evil Eye will eventually fail
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BOB BALCH, BRAD DAVIS, BRANT BJORK, SCOTT HILL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind