Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats-Bloodlust

Metal Blade/ Rise Above
2012

The second album from Cambridge based Uncle Acid and the deadbeats plays out like a most appropriate soundtrack for this time of year. Their fuzz soaked, down trodden style would fit perfectly as one walked under barren trees and a grey sky while treading on a blanket of dried leaves during an afternoon in November. That's probably fitting as they have a love for horror films are darker topics. This trio isn't as much into more modern doom influences as they are in pumped up by proto-metal like Sabbath, Pentagram and Bang. Although there are some definite progressive elements woven in with their fuzz soaked rhythms as well. The vocals and sloth like beginnings of many of their songs reach back to 40 or so years ago, but the variations that pop up as the songs move forward show both a greater skill and a wider range of ideas. Their love for sludge is apparent, but they only use that a foundation because they move forward frequently expanding into different and sometimes surprising directions. I've heard plenty of retro-acts pulling from this time period particularly in the last few years, but this act certainly does it better than most. They stay and true enough to their influences yet they transfer emotion so instantly in their songs while opening up their horizons be bringing more sounds and tones than I could have anticipated. This is a re-issue of a 2011 album and the band hopes to have another release out early in 2013. This version contains the bonus track "Down to the fire" which is far more mellow than the other tracks on the album. It treads closer to Zeppelin territory than it does to the other bands that inspired their other songs, but it's just as spectacular and captivating as the other songs. This album will get you excited for the next album so hopefully the follow-up will be out in just a few months.