Review by Lisa Burke
October 17th 2015, Complex, Glendale CA: One of the earliest bands to form the American doom metal forefront, San Francisco-based Acid King have been in existence since 1993 and have influenced many that came after them. In April 2015, they released their fourth studio album ‘Middle Of Nowhere, Center Of Everywhere’, their first full-length release since 2005. After a successful Europe tour, embarked on their first US tour in nine years, including an appearance on the final night of the massive stoner/doom pilgrimage that was the Southwest Terror Fest in Tucson, Arizona on Sunday October 18 2015, and a Los Angeles area headline gig at Complex in Glendale the night before, presented by Church Of The 8th Day and Omniscient, as the perfect leadup to it. Our writer Lisa Burke was in attendance at Complex to review the show for us.
Saturday night at Complex in Glendale is a great alternative to the crazy Hollywood/West Hollywood night life. Normally you will find a good metal band or two at least, and a classic chill atmosphere away from the madness with nothing but your average dedicated metal fans uniting together for a noble cause. Last Saturday, the noble cause was Acid King with two support acts Giant Squid and Mala Suerte.
Mala Suerte is a doom metal quintet that brings some thrash elements into the mix as well. They had good energy and stage presence despite being called ‘Bad Luck’. This was my first viewing of this band, and it definitely impressed me as I quickly became a new fan. The dynamics bring interesting and unique elements to this group which carries the whole set out of the sea of boredom realm. Sometimes doom can stay at one stagnant drone, pace, and tone for too long which can get you lost in a deep dark trance that might separate you from the music itself. Mala Suerte was quite the opposite of this and the high energy mixed with varied pace brought them complete success.
Not too terribly long after, post/progressive metal band Giant Squid took the stage. Included in this line up was a female vocalist who also played a hollowed-out electric chello, and a stacked keyboard player wearing headphones and a bolo tie. Now, of course with a name like Giant Squid they must have an underwater theme happening right? Absolutely, there were moments where I felt I was at an aquarium, however mostly it was as if I was on another underwater planet with strange sea creatures. The breaks in between songs with silence and shuffling along with the dreamscape atmosphere and soothing cello made for a very doomy orchestral sea trance sound that some people could not stomach for more than 10 minutes at a time without nodding off. There was a pre-announcement of a song about sharks, and another one about a song from 15 years ago which the true fans went wild for. Basically it’s a wild and unique concept with interesting elements combined in such a way that they flow in unison to catch the same current, much like a school of fish. It’s definitely not easy to perform at a show like this on a small stage with an impatient audience, and metal with orchestra is a far stretch yet certainly not a bad combination as groups such as Therion have done just that. I personally respected it, yet had to take breaks from it to not fall into a coma. Even die-hard Opeth fans might have nodded off at this one.
Finally, and certainly well worth the wait, doom/psychedelic rock band Acid King blazed their true colors onto the stage. This trio formed in 1993 features the creator Lori S. as the vocalist and guitarist. Acid King was based on her early lifestyle and a book called ‘Say You Love Satan’ which involves kids and drugs for the win. The use of the backdrop screen with various images such as giant eyeballs appropriately enhanced the mood and further soaked your mind with their vision. The vocals were fluidly dispersed with sparseness as they should be in this style of music. There is also a certain simplicity and repetition that could exude monotony yet the sheer style and energy is just so empowering, it’s as if your soul is being sucked into their instruments and you have no choice but to obey. Long story short, this band is a trip-and-a-half, and a must see for anyone into the doom, stoner, and psychedelic varieties of heavy music, as many more recently formed bands of this genre may have found some of their finest roots in Acid King.
Acid King remaining US tour dates:
10/21 – Austin, TX @ Red 7
10/22 – New Orleans, LA @ Siberia
10/23 – Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn
10/24 – Raleigh, NC @ Kings
10/25 – New York, NY @ Saint Vitus
10/26 – Boston, MA @ Middle East
10/27 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
10/28 – Cleveland, OH @ Now That’s Class
10/29 – Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s
10/30 – St. Louis, MO @ Firebird
10/31 – Kansas City, MO @ Riot Room
11/01 – Denver, CO @ Hi Dive
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