Back in the days of hair grease, muscle cars and chewing toothpicks was something called analogue recording --- remembered fondly for cranking sweaty, primitive and raunchy records for horny teenagers. Big John Bates dug it so much that he brought it back on this debut album. The result is: sweaty, primitive, raunchy and horny. And good for that, because this album's as fun as a midnight drag race fueled by a fifth of bourbon. Big John Bates is proudly old school in his approach to making music and the lifestyle around it. The experience can't be complete without a sense of humor, however, and BJB has that in spades.

- Patrick Lejtenyi, Exclaim Magazine - Toronto

"Kitten With a Whip," "Big Boom Bop," "Trailer Hitch" and "Devil Tail Sauce" were my personal favorites off this release. And if that weren't enough, wouldn't you know that Big John ends with a cover of the Dead Kennedys "Too Drunk to F###!". Proof once again of where most of us got our roots. Buy this CD! I swear that you will forget that you have any other CDs in your car. Oh yeah, it's also a great aid to your 5PM road rage! (May 2001)

- Handsome Herbie, SLC Billy Central

Digging deeper into the sound that reawakened his muse on 1999's Super Chrome Deluxe, "Big" John Bates rips through a zesty set of surf-flecked satan-billy. Backed by a bone-snapping rhythm section, Bates riffs and rolls with authority, howling and growling to raise the roof!

- Jim Santo's Demo Universe

Oh shit! Greasy punkabilly for the soul, and it feels so sinful that it kicks-ass. Big John Bates tears down the paved road to hell at 108 mph, clearly scorching the chill of Canada. Fans of the Rev. Horton Heat will want to hunt this one down, it's guaranteed to achieve maximum pleasure. Songs like "Voodoo Bar-B-Q", "Big Boom Bop", Tombstone Twist", Kitten with a Whip", the remake of the Dead Kennedy's "Too Drunk to Fish" and the old Spiderman cartoon theme song, are prime examples of the power and fiendish delights one can expect upon listening to this fiery new disc. Anyone who reads my columns knows that I have a knack and talent for picking out only the best and finest in this "funs as pigs as shit" music genre, and that's why I'm raving about this killer new disc. It should reside next to any of the artists that promote the greaser lifestyle.

- Kevlar7, SLUG Mag, Salt Lake City

This is a fun, upbeat disc that has a primal, Lord of the Flies kind of appeal that makes you wanna grab a sharp stick and plunge the tip into a wild boar's belly. Big John Bates has a razor-edged sound mixed with voodoo undertones and a dash of wipeout surf. This is the kind of thing that the boogieman might put in his Walkman after a long day of terrifying children. There are two instrumentals "Flamethrower" and my personal favorite "Tombstone Twist," a song that'll make you feel like you are blissfully trapped inside a snow globe cemetery with water and glitter swirling all around you. Songs like "Devil Tail Sauce," "Trailer Hitch" and the western-tinged "Almost Like You're Here" are also fine examples of the Big John Bates mule-kickin', foot-stompin', barnyard-rompin', backseat-scroggin' rock-n-roll. Completing the release is a belly crawl through the seedy underside of punk rock with their rendition of the Dead Kennedy's "Too Drunk to Fuck." It is that kind of depraved pleasure that makes Big John Bates a hit with me.

- Ben, Rock'n'Roll Purgatory

In the grease-stained paws of a player like Vancouver's BIG JOHN BATES the old flamejob gets a new coat all over again. Like the rest of the B-movie crew, Big John bookends his surf with psycho tales of drunken debauchery and reverb-drenched six-string virtuosity on FLAMETHROWER, his debut longplayer.

- Bill Frost, The Salt Lake City Weekly

Big John Bates' two-fisted, four-barreled interpretation of rockabilly isn't for sissies, tinnitus sufferers or those with pacemakers. His CD FLAMETHROWER Is loud, lewd and the best regional album of its kind since the Spectres debut . . . spitting staccato, Dick Dale-inspired riffs like a Thompson spewing lead . . . Seattle Police Department responded to the band's sonic disturbances in Ballard last summer. I wholeheartedly recommend catching his live act, but a thorough checkup by the family physician before undertaking such rigorous activity might be advisable.

- Steve Stav, The Rocket, Portland

Go Canada Go!!! Big John Bates and his red hot rockin' band is hailing from Vancouver, Canada. Raw, pure, kick ass rockandrollapunkabilly! Original songs mainly, covers are theme of the Spider man (Surfin' With Spidey here) and Dead Kennedys classic Too Drunk To Fuck! Great covers, but originals are truly outstanding! Big John Bates is punkabilly at it's best! Twisted rock and roll! If that's yer game, get this platter and be ready to ROCK!

- Markku Salo, Custom Built Magazine, Finland