Acid King – Middle of Nowhere, Centre of Everywhere

Acid King – Middle of Nowhere, Centre of Everywhere

Svart Records – 2015

Stoner, Psych, Acid, Doom

Rated: ****

After a 10 year absence, Acid King return with probably their most expansive offering yet. Like riding a motorbike on Quaaludes, it has an acid-drenched feeling that things are slowly slipping out of control while the heaviness just helps to propel the trip along nicely.  Lori’s vocals, as always, resemble a drug-fueled succubus luring you to your doom – but what a way to go! This is not meant to be a “heavier than thou” listening experience nor is it a descent into total misery. This is Stoner, Fuzz-laden Doom Blues with a palpable feeling of tripped out vibes that is rarely heard these days. The distorted bass matches the guitar riffs and welds together into a sonic wall of oppressive grooves that help pin down the individual instruments as they wander through the low end of crushing frequencies that are turning your brains into mush. Once again Billy Anderson has handled production duties bringing his masterful trademark of rumbling evil while keeping the organic feel of each player to the front. And on the plus side, Acid King have remembered the rare things called “tunes” that stick in your mind but have not been pulled straight from the 70’s heavy songbook. Think of this album as a shamanistic journey that deserves to be heard in one sitting rather than dipping in and out. This should be the slab of excellence that brings Acid King back into their well-deserved place at the top of the underground swamp.

Many thanks to Svart Records for sending me the promo.

(Written by Tony)

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