Tuesday, November 21, 2023

November is Doom- Acid King : "Beyond Vision"








 This San Francisco band jams out on a similar fuzzed-out doom boogie we have heard before. The female vocals that finally chime in on "Mind's Eye" take things in a more Windhand direction. Though their layered overdriven riffs come across as heavier, though less organic. The vocals are already going to be key in answering the question ...what is this band bringing that I have not already heard Sleep or Electric Wizard do. At this point, it is taken beyond Sabbath worship into harvesting inspiration from the second string. Not to say they do not lock into powerful chugs and punches that provide moments of awe at loud volumes, but it is less than original. 

Geezer Butler might play more of a role here than Iommi. The bass lines sometimes take the most interesting fills. "90 Seconds" finds the vocals playing more of a role, but the overall sound of the songs becomes uniform in a matter that they begin to run together, In fact, I had to listen to the song again to remember how it differed from the rest. For this reason, the ambiance leading into "Electro Magnetic" is welcome. It touches on darker tones that help give this album more of its own personality. Midway the metal gains more momentum. 

The title track might be the album's best song as it blends atmosphere with familiar rumble while giving the vocals room to weave an alluring melody. It reminds me a little of later Kylesa in this regard. It takes the last song about four minutes to really gather the force to rumble to life, however, it has the gloom of an overcast sky to the riffs. I love the reverb on the guitars on this song, too bad it drones more often than not. I will give this album an 8.5, it's pretty solid and creates a great mood though is less than original. 



No comments:

Post a Comment