Acid King - III (Small Stone Records)
By Chris Barnes
April 22, 2005

Acid King typify what the “Stoner/Doom” (sometimes called “Stoom – easier to say when you’re baked) sound is all about. Slow, massive mountains of low-end driven by a slow, massive rhythms; hypnotically heavy. The attention is on creating an atmosphere so primordial as to eschew the relevance of any type of finesse or sheen. In other words, there are no guitar solos and keyboards are heresy. And it sounds especially good when you’re stoned.

I popped in III and can see both the pro & cons of the sound even though I’m a fan of this stuff and I don’t even partake of the Devil’s weed. On one hand, it’s iron heavy from start to finish. III is drenched in that patented Billy Anderson mud-pit mambo sound that polarizes audiences everywhere. Here it seems to work – the overall weight of the sound paired Lori S’s slightly nasal, haunted delivery makes III on par with other equally weighty releases from bands of the same ilk such as Ufomammut, Yob or early Electric Wizard. Drop the CD on the floor and you can hear it in Beijing.

On the other hand, III is an album best listened to in it’s entirety, there are no single standout songs here. So if you’re a Type A personality and /or unfamiliar with Acid King, you could justly criticize that the songs are monotonous and wish the drummer would wake up. Acid King are all about the creation of the Heavy with the rock n’ roll basics – guitar, drums, bass, vocals. If Blind Guardian gives you your jollys, I’m thinking you won’t find much solace in Acid King. If you’re a fan of Stoom, then you will more than likely revel in this.


Purchase III at the Hellride Music Superstore

Download a MP3 of Into The Ground

Visit the Acid King website at www.acidking.com

Doomcifer

Another excellent release from Acid King.

Westham United

So is this the record Bad News wanted to make , you know -"So heavy ,you won't be able to lift it off the turntable"

P.S. I like (old) Blind Guardian ,yet I would usually like this stuff as well ,go figure!

Kevin

Band: Acid King
Album: III
Format: CD
Label: Smallstone
Time: 47 Minutes
Year: 2005

Track List:
Wheel Nation
Heavy Load
Bad Vision
War of the Mind
Into the Ground
On to Everafter
Sunshine and Sorrow

Label Site: www.smallstone.com

Six years is a long time by any group's standards, but at last Acid King is back. It's been that long since their last full-length, 'Busse Woods,' and although the changes in their approach may be too subtle to take in at first listen, they've definitely grown since Frank K. put out that stoner/doom classic on his now-defunct Man's Ruin label. For one thing, Lori S.' vocals (never the group's strong point) have improved markedly in power and melody, a change you'll really notice if you go back a bit further to their first full-length, 'Zoroaster.' The cat scratch vocals of the 90s have been polished up a bit, and its all good. And although the trademark fat wall o' fuzz is still much in evidence, the tuneage is somehow more concise. Smallstone has that effect on it's bands, ya know. They never sell the bands out with ridiculous commercial demands, yet somehow their releases sound more focussed than the same band does on other labels, dig?

Despite these changes, the soul of Acid King is intact, and more wasted than ever. Their trademark Billy "Knower of Riffs" Anderson fuzz sound is still there, aided by ex-Gammera and Secret Order of Tusk madman Vadim Canby. The heavy-as-an-anvil piledriving bronto riffs abound, with the occasional up-tempo song for variety. Its a hypnotic riffin' fuzz trip, influenced by Sabbath, Blue Cheer, and the Melvins, chopped and blended and force-fed through Acid King's personal stylistic pantheon of trash Satanism and biker babes. You can call it doom, stoner, or Quaalude rock, but music addicts know exactly who that lead-heavy riffage sounds like: Acid King, firing (slowly) on all cylinders. It's been worth the wait.

Kevin McHugh

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Now wait a minute, I can't change attitudes!