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UNCLE ACID AND THE DEADBEATS
Mind Control

Rise Above (2013)
Rating: 7/10

And so the Cambridgeshire folk return with their third opus, still high on blood after the master stroke that was Bloodlust (2011). With Cathedral hanging up their velvet gloves, it may be down to Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats to take over the reins, as their oozing brand of occult rock just fits the bill when it comes to psych-tinged gloom and horror-obsessed dynamics.

I was fortunate enough to obtain Mind Control on vinyl, but have to say that despite many spins it has yet to make the impact that Bloodlust made.

Uncle Acid, alongside the likes of Ghost and Purson, are certainly the in thing, and although it could be argued that what these bands are doing is nothing new, they’ve effectively taken over from the thrash revival and brought back vintage rock, spiced it up with some occult fragrances and found a niche that those of us old enough to remember first hit our ears some 40 or so years ago.

Admittedly, whilst Uncle Acid aren’t exactly a doom band, they still belong to that fuzzy void occupied by bands like Electric Wizard, but thankfully these guys are a tad more sprightly, often happy to inject a bit of Beatles-esque psychedelic and bubble-gum rock into proceedings and naturally there’s that strong Black Sabbath element too.

Album opener ‘Mt. Abraxas’ begins life as a slug, but more than halfway through is happy to explore upbeat avenues that made Sabbath’s 1975 classic album Sabotage so dizzying. And then we have those nasally vocals; very much John Lennon at his most tuned out. Although the band resort back to the murky days of their 2010 debut Vol. 1 for the leviathan that is ‘Mind Crawler’.

There is a strong underlying groove throughout Mind Control, the guitars are heavy and doom-laden, but a track like ‘Poison Apple’ is more than just monotonous sludge. Boosted by a howling organ it once again combines the sheer weight and foreboding of Black Sabbath with the weightier, psych elements of The Beatles.

Sadly, the lumbering ‘Desert Ceremony’ crawls almost to a standstill and drags the album down a bit, but ‘Evil Love’ quickens the pace and makes for a pleasant surprise amidst the choking mists. Even so, despite some decent, devilish retro rockers, Mind Control is bereft of variety and comes across as one big stoned entity that can’t be bothered to get out of its smouldering grave.

‘Death Valley Blues’ is almost summery, beginning life like a track from American experimental weirdo’s Ween, but again the lazy guitar drone seems to swallow everything.

The doomy swirls of ‘Follow The Leader’ reminds me of The Beatles classic ‘Within You Without You’ (from 1967’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band) bogged down by half a ton of glue. The acoustic injection provides slight relief from the droning chug in the distance, but for six-and-a-half minutes ‘Follow The Leader’ doesn’t go anywhere.

The same could also be said for the squirming monstrosity that is ‘Valley Of the Dolls’, that quite literally joins the queue of countless others bands keen for another toke on their drug of choice.

Mind Control is far from being the album I expected – I’m disappointed to say the least – and by the time we’ve reached album closer ‘Devil’s Work’ I’m eager to clean the silt and sludge from my garments.

Uncle Acid has not achieved their aim of mind control, but it’s fair to say that after this intake of mud the mind is fully numbed.

Neil Arnold

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