Uncle Acid – Mind Control

The 70’s vibe is definitely striking the decade in progress and this vibe is quite clear if we consider the influence psychedelic rock and retro sound has in our modern music. One clear example is Uncle Acid (aka Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats). The band produced two striking full-length albums in the past two years and managed to create a mystical myth about its members. This year, Uncle Acid return with “Mind Control“, their new full-length project and started playing in their first gigs, clearly demonstrating the fact that the band is an active one and will struggle to make a name for itself even if this means to reveal the line-up.

Speaking of “Mind Control”, the album counts nine songs and fifty minutes of pure psychedelic doom. Having clear influences of doom metal and 60’s/70’s rock, the album can’t be something different than a ‘Black Sabbath meets Syd Barrett’ one! The classic sound they have had in their previous releases (the old school 70’s buffed and overdriven sound) is definitely here, standing strong. The production is quite satisfying too but it seems that on this album the band has slowed down their ‘music machines’, producing songs less heavy and fast than in “Blood Lust“, but groovier and closer to stoner/doom metal molds.

Listening to “Mind Control” is like listening to a mixture of influences under the lens of the 70’s. Digging in the music, we could point out some of those influences such as the Maiden-like riff in “Evil Love“, the Sabbath break-downs, the 70’s early heavy metal atmosphere in “Devil’s Work” and the stoner touch in “Valley of the Dolls“. The diversity of the album is remarkable for sure. However, cheesy blues rock melodies are not quite fitting in and this statement is strengthen by the existence of Follow your leader, a southern/blues rock acoustic song, which breaks the homogeneity between the other songs. The minutes of songs like “Mt. Abraxas” could also be lesser, considering the fact that, songs which approach a slower doom style sound a bit snore if they don’t include many riff’s alternations.

In total, “Mind Control” is a great music album, and qualitative one being experimental and slightly different from what we have heard from Uncle Acid but without losing the personality of their sound. However, “Blood Lust” still overshadows “Mind Control”, in which, only songs like “Mind Crawler” and “Poison Apple” approach the aggressiveness of their previous release. This doesn’t change the fact that the procession of Uncle Acid is moving upwards, forcing even the most leery music fan to admit the enjoyment of the songs.

Uncle Acid jump out in the doom underground scenes of Europe, now performing in major music festivals. The band has programmed some tour dates for the summer and I’m telling you, do not miss them playing Mind Control’s songs live (plus some of the other diamonds)! The energy they put through records and in live shows are unimaginable.