Posted in Whathaveyou on January 19th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
A fine trilogy of Desertfest appearances anchors the upcoming Acid King return to Europe this Spring, as the San Francisco mellow-heavy progenitors continue their existential victory lap following the release of the Beyond Vision LP (review here) that ended up being both my album of the year for 2023 as well as the winner of the year-end poll, garnering praise far and wide for the boldness of its synth-inclusive approach to heavy psychedelic rock, the e’er fluid riffing of Lori S., and an atmosphere that was both signature Acid King and like nothing they’d ever done before. As it been eight years since their last album, anything they did wields would’ve gotten noticed. A couple years from now, when there are not only even more bands under their influence, but specifically under the semi-electronic soundscaping warm fuzz psych drift blend of Beyond Vision, we’ll start to see the real impact of that record.
So much the radder that Acid King will be back out to hand-deliver vinyl at the merch table and give their latest outing its due from the stage. The lineup is the same as when the trio played SonicBlast (review here) last summer, so I’ll just tell you outright that whether you’ve ever seen Acid King before or not, this is an incarnation you don’t want to miss. It’s not my job to sell tickets, I don’t work for the band, or Sound of Liberation, or any of the fests or venues. I’m just some dude on the internet who thinks this might make your day better. That’s all I’ve got going on here.
Dates come from socials and were posted by the aforementioned Sound of Liberation, audio comes from the ether:
ACID KING EUROPE TOUR 2024
Get ready for a sonic escapade like no other as we proudly bring you Acid King with special guest Earth Tongue!đ„
Mark your calendars and prepare to be immersed in the thunderous waves of doom and stoner rock across Europe.đȘđș
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 26th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Beginning this weekend at Heavy Chicago in, yup, Chicago, heavy psych heroes Acid King will begin to wind down a busy 2023 executed successfully after several years of restructuring. Founding guitarist/vocalist Lori S. remade and arguably reimagined the band at least partially ahead of this Spring’s Beyond Vision (review here) LP, which if it isn’t a contender for album of the year is only proof of the dumbassery behind those lists in the first place. Forever in short supply are acts who’ve been together in one form or another for 30 years and are still exploring new ideas. Acid King not only did that in 2023, but righteously expanded their base aesthetic as part of the process.
I just had a whole rant here going on about how crucial Beyond Vision is for how it grows Acid King‘s sound, opening stylistic doors to synth, meditative psych, etc., but let me say this instead. These are some badass shows, and if you’ve ever seen Acid King before or you haven’t, the imperative of the moment is here. As someone who was lucky enough to do so this August, I urge you to see Acid King for this album, playing these songs (plus classics, of course). Yeah, it’s select-shows rather than 28-gigs-in-30-days or whatever, but if you’re on the West Coast of the US or can put yourself there without much difficulty, I promise you have valid reason to do so.
That’s all for now. From the PR wire:
ACID KING on tour this fall!
Following their recent European and South American live takeovers, US psychedelic doom trailblazers ACID KING have just announced their final string of shows for 2023, as they keep supporting the release of their widely acclaimed comeback album “Beyond Vision” on Blues Funeral Recordings.
Released in the spring of 2023 as part of Blues Funeral Recordings’ PostWax series, ACID KING’s new album “Beyond Vision” sees the band venturing into epic sci-fi-inspired territory, the result of a collaboration between Acid King founder, guitarist and vocalist Lori S., guitarist Jason Landrian (Black Cobra), bassist and keyboardist Bryce Shelton (Hawkwind) and drummer Jason Willer (Charger, Jello Biafra). Breaking a new record in the international heavy scene by reaching #96 on the Billboard Top Albums chart, the anticipated followup to 2015’s “Middle of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere” has garnered unanimous press from critics and fans alike, bringing ACID KING to the doom and heavy metal scene’s forefront with their thundering, swinging and trip-inducing heavy psychedelia.
Following their extensive summer European tour and shows in South America, the mighty trio is now set to come full circle with a string of West Coast shows as well as an appearance at Chicago’s Heavy Chicago Festival this fall.
ACID KING ON TOUR â Tickets on sale at this location Oct 28 – Chicago, IL – Heavy Chicago Festival (w/ Trouble, Bongzilla, November’s Doom) Nov 3 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios (w/ Abronia, Simple Forms) Nov 4 – Seattle, WA – Substation (w/ Simple Forms, Sorcia) Nov 17 – Los Angeles, CA – The Belasco (w/ John Garcia Band, Mondo Drag, HTSOB) Nov 18 – San Diego, CA – Brick by Brick (w/ Mondo Drag, Nebula Drag) Dec 9 – Bellingham, WA – Structures Brewery 8th Anniversary (w/ Kadabra, Dark Meditation)
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 27th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
This past Friday was the release date for Acid King‘s stunner of a new record, Beyond Vision (review here), and to mark that happy-for-the-universe occasion, they and their Euro booking agency Sound of Liberation — US is Nanotear — announced that in accordance with a couple already-unveiled fest appearances at SonicBlast, HoflĂ€rm, and so on, they’ll be connecting those map dots with a string of headlining tour dates.
Two reasons why this matters. Okay, three. First is the album they’re touring for, which is a career accomplishment with a more expansive and psychedelic sound than they’ve fostered in their 30 years. Second, that 30-year anniversary, which is this year, should be more than enough to motivate asses from couches, especially in light of the fact that (third), unless Beyond Vision — and yes I’m going to plug the review again, because I worked really hard on it — suddenly sells through 100,000 copies (not to say it shouldn’t or couldn’t), or outdoes Stoned Jesus in YouTube plays, or meets whatever measure of “is a massive popular success” defines that right now, they’re probably not going to be on the road for months at a stretch. See them while you can, is what I’m saying to you.
And considering they’re fucking Acid King, that’s probably all I need to say about that, as much as I needed to say anything The album was made as a four-piece but Acid King will travel as a trio, and word of the tour follows as per the PR wire:
ACID KING “BEYOND VISION’ TOUR + NEW ALBUM
USAâs iconic doom institution ACID KING celebrate the release of their new album. âBeyond Visionâ is out now!
And whatâs the best way to celebrate a new album?
Exactly. By going on TOUR!
Sound of Liberation proudly presents: ACID KING – BEYOND VISION TOUR 2023
You know what to do. Grab your copy of âBeyond Visionâ, grab your ticket for the concert near you. And with the ticket in your hand you can headbang in front of your record player until you can finally headbang in the front row.
Posted in Reviews on March 23rd, 2023 by JJ Koczan
It is both a seeing-beyond and a beyond-seeing, this Beyond Vision. It at very least is a vision beyond anything Acid King have ever done on their four prior albums, as founding guitarist/vocalist Lori S. revamped the group in collaboration with Jason Landrian (also Black Cobra) on guitar and songwriting, bringing on the rhythm section of bassist/synthesist Bryce Shelton (also Nik Turner’s Hawkwind) and drummer Jason Willer (Jello Biafra’s Guantanamo School of Medicine). In the now-30-year history of the band, nothing under their name has attempted this magnitude of sound. They’ve never been so psychedelic or atmospheric, and they’ve been both for a long time, most recently on 2015’s under-lauded Middle of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere (discussed here, review here), but Beyond Vision takes the terrestrial grooves of their past output and launches them into the ethereal. And from the moment they set forth through space into the roll of “One Light Second Away” and on through the first guitar solo, there is a fluidity to Beyond Vision that’s refreshed while still definitively Acid King. It’s like they got a reboot and that means something more than just it’s too dark to see what’s happening in the episodes.
That’s before you step into the “Mind’s Eye” and get to the fact that “90 Seconds” is just under five minutes long while the later interlude “Destination Psych” is just over 90 seconds and the bending of time required there or the Author & Punisher-plus-organic-drums thud and earth-shake at the launch of “Electro Magnetic”; the stunning realization there, before it goes so deep and far into standalone guitar that even the arrival of the also-standalone-guitar at the beginning of the title-track seems like a respite, never mind the nod or airy float of the vocals or the utter gorgeousness of the bassline. On and on they ooze through ground familiar and new, through not ground at all, the latter emphasized on the kraut-via-Clockwork–Orange intro to closer “Color Trails,” which is followed by plodding toms and a riff presented in tone worthy of Tony Iommi himself (I mean that), a full instrumental breadth and a dramatic finish around that same thud, the long-established partnership with producer/engineer Billy Anderson once again resulting in a malleable and thoughtful mix, spacious enough to be the band’s own world while still able to account for the largesse of riff that remains a core aspect of their style, even as the context surrounding has evolved toward atmospheric intangibility.
Collecting seven tracks with a runtime of just over 42 minutes, Beyond Vision builds on the less-terrestrial aspects of Middle of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere, but its reach and the purposeful use of synth give it a character that still feels like a departure. Crucial to the telling is “One Light Second Away,” which even as the bass rumbles early in the fading-up ambience does a lot of the work in placing the listener where the band wants them. Some lightly foreboding swells of melodic keys coincide with organic bass and undulating waveforms of amplifier hum, and when the first strum hits at two minutes in, it’s a moment of clarity clearing away the surrounding murk. But while the entire six-minute stretch is important in terms of how it introduces the mood and dimensionality of the material that follows while also conveying the instrumentalist focus, those barely-there-at-first beginning two minutes are even more essential to Beyond Vision; a call to abandon consciousness and be absorbed. To get lost and trust the radiating currents of matter, energy, fractured molecular detritus, etc., to carry you from the start to see what resides at the end.
By 2:30, guitar, bass, drums and synth are all nodding, but Acid King claim their place in a mellow-psych movement they helped create even as they seem exploratory in their build, an echoing lead emerging over a welcoming sans-vocal chorus before the march resolidifies, reminding of Om‘s meditations but setting up a more straight-ahead guitar solo that carries them into the song’s final minute and a repeat of that rise-and-fall guitar hook. Synth is given room in the mix (there’s plenty) to become no less of a contributing factor than any other instrument in moving toward the last residual noise that transitions from “One Light Second Away” into “Mind’s Eye,” a strum and lead-note answer from the guitars willfully slow in the first minute as Acid King for the first time prioritize resonance over impact while offering both. Amid full fuzz buzz and a progression that feels constructed in part to answer that last stretch of “One Light Second Away,” “Mind’s Eye” assures there’s a guiding hand here, and still benefits from the soothing motif of what’s come before as it touches ground and rolls decisively forward. The first words on the album, delivered of course by Lori, are the invitation to “Step into the mind’s eye,” and though nearly a quarter of the runtime has passed before that verse starts — almost 10 minutes of a 42-minute LP, so not quite 25 percent but pardon the fuzz-tone math and take it as a signal of Beyond Vision‘s instrumental emphasis — that it exists at all is something of a snap to reality, even as the verse-ending line “You are on your way…” has rarely seemed so true.
Atop consistent ping-ride and crash and kick from Willer, the riff changes to more of a twisting bridge before smoothing out again on the interplay of big-hug-chug and fuzzy pepper-notes, shifting easily into and through a solo before going back to the verse, layered in the word “eye,” only one line changing from the first time through. The lyrics are hardly an afterthought — they’re the guide — but are intended to be taken as a piece of the entirety rather than a separate element, and as much as they provide a (literal and figurative) human communication from within so much nebular f0g, they serve the double-function of setting and enhancing the otherworldly motif of Beyond Vision as a full LP and become part of the flow that leads from one movement to another, less predictable as the record plays out because they might not always be there. “Mind’s Eye” rings out on a held guitar note that shifts into subtly churning synth and melodic hum in the intro to “90 Seconds,” the shape of which is revealed gradually with a verse over the low-end rumble, a kind of Lori-as-chant effect taking hold whether through layering or effects before the drums crash in just past the two-minute mark, a cavernous psychedelic doom soon resolved in lush melody ahead of a section of final crashes and a sweep into the noted synthesizer-plus-drums thud “Electro Magnetic.”
At 8:17, “Electro Magnetic” is the longest single inclusion on Beyond Vision and a key manifestation of Acid King‘s goals in moodcraft and instrumentalist contemplation. At the same time, the procession across the first half of the song in sparse guitar, timekeeping tom work, and synth-led nod reminds of “Carve the Five” from the band’s 1999 landmark second album, Busse Woods (featured here, discussed here, etc.), and so both reaffirms that Lori has dwelled in these kinds of spaces before even as the manner in which she and the rest of the band do so has changed (let alone the personnel), and grown more patient. The triumph of “Electro Magnetic” is declared at 4:02 as the drums mark the turn into the central riff of the song — which would remind tonally of Shrinebuilder if Shrinebuilder hadn’t been reminding of Acid King — and the march through a crescendo wash of fuzz and airy soloing, more severe than most of what’s landed thus far but not at all out of place for its obscured familiarity. After six minutes in, they shift back to the synth and drum repetitions, guitar complementing more than leading, and slowly begin to deconstruct, leaving the guitar as the last thread to depart, having said not an actual word but conveyed much, both answering and expanding on “One Light Second Away” as they course into side B’s subsequent molten ceremony.
Likewise instrumental, but more guitar-based at its core, the title of the 1:36 safe-to-call-it-an-interlude “Destination Psych” is referenced repeatedly in the lyrics of the penultimate “Beyond Vision,” though whether psychedelia is the destination of your journey or it’s “Destination Psych” like a destination-wedding, where the psych is happening in this place and you need to get there, I’m not certain. One way or the other, “Destination Psych” is the lead-in for the final movement of Beyond Vision, which encompasses it, the title-track that follows, and “Color Trails” at the end. It is the last track with vocals — three of seven, the final tally — and no less dug-in than anything prior, with a standout bassline from Shelton that feels like a call to prayer for those who’d worship Black Sabbath, starting after the languid solo turns into the final verse and makes its presence felt as “Beyond Vision” moves into its final minute, more active but not overblown in its payoff, the crash and rumble held for a long fade into the transitional buzz before the stark guitar and bass notes start “Color Trails” with a sense of comedown that’s undercut righteously by the mounting intensity of the piece as it moves into the section of riffing mentioned above, Lori answering the bass with her own Sabbath moment soon met by Willer‘s drums, which start on cymbals and kick but shift into increasingly furious tom fills, circular in their pattern as they’d almost inevitably be, but stretched for one last forward push.
Some of “Color Trails” bring to mind a song like “Laser Headlights” from Middle of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere, or the buzzing leads of “Silent Pictures,” but the proportion has changed, and as Acid King return to that headspinner of a drum stretch, this time punctuated with cymbals and double-kick and, eventually, snare, the sense is that they’ve pushed as far as they can push and the only thing to do is end it, which they do as the guitars cut out and threaten a return, sweeping back in not to begin anew but to pull the drums down with them this time, leaving heavy silence and an echo in the mind of the listener of the scope of their accomplishment. Though it might sound like it on first blush because it’s so utterly entrancing, Beyond Vision does not meander. It is not sloppy, or haphazard, or unaware of itself. Instead, it is exactly what the band, particularly Lori and Landrian as songwriters — though it seems fair to imagine Lori has final say on everything they do — want it to be, and it manifests a new degree of immersion matched in wholeness of craft and boldness of sound that makes it a career album perhaps even more special because it’s not Acid King‘s first. They may not release records every year or two or five — though to be fair, they did offer Live at Roadburn 2011 (review here) in 2022 — but they’ve yet to put one out and have it not feel like a landmark.
What happens after Beyond Vision is anyone’s best guess. I won’t speculate, and neither will I feign impartiality about the band’s efforts here or in general. I’m a fan. There. And in the interest of full disclosure, I’ll mention the liner notes I wrote for the PostWax release of the album, for which I was compensated, but if you think I was working the long con covering the band for the last 14 years to start raking in cash one time or that I’m somehow hyping up their work for my own financial interest, well, I’m not, and I’m pretty sure that money doesn’t exist even if I wanted it. The horrifying truth is that Acid King have thrown open creative doors with Beyond Vision and stepped into a new era for them as a band. Not just because there’s some synth or industrial beats, but because they’ve dug deep enough into their sound that they’ve uncovered new facets of it, dreamlike and sublime, memorable and sprawling. It was already long past time to start thinking of Acid King among the greatest acts heavy rock and roll has ever produced. Beyond Vision brooks no argument in sealing their place among these giants. Recommended.
Acid King, Beyond Vision (2023)
Acid King, “Destination Psych/Beyond Vision” official video
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 17th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
This shit’s so good. So good. As a result of doing the liner notes for the PostWax release of Acid King‘s Beyond Vision, I’ve been fortunate enough to live with the record for a while, and it remains a pleasure. A completely revamped lineup — a four-piece that has founding guitarist/vocalist Lori S. joined by Black Cobra‘s Jason Landrian on guitar/synth, as well as Bryce Shelton on bass and Jason Willer on drums. They’ve got a video up, and it’s just a beautiful thing to behold, the way so much of Acid King‘s sound is still there, but it’s been expanded on in this batch of songs, the contributions Landrian brings in, the unflinching groove on which it’s all based. It’s a gorgeous record.
I think Postwaxers got their download codes already, if not their vinyl — and I’m not gonna tell you to subscribe to a thing or not; especially not something that’s paid me to write (the liner notes, that is; I’d be writing this shit anyway) — and to the general public, Beyond Vision will see the light of day on March 24. It’s one of 2023’s best, just so you know in advance. Also, I’m gonna get me one of those t-shirts come payday.
From the PR wire:
Stoner metal icons ACID KING announce new album “Beyond Vision” on Blues Funeral Recordings; first video and preorder available now!
ACID KING, the pioneering heavy rock band fronted by the inimitable Lori S., return with “Beyond Vision” this March 24th on Blues Funeral Recordings, an album that sees the iconic San Francisco-based band lean into psychedelia and the avant-garde. Watch the video for “Destination Psych/Beyond Vision!”
The 7-song, 43-plus-minute collection was recorded to two-inch tape courtesy of Dead & Company at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California. Acid King founder and guitarist/vocalist Lori S. worked hand in hand with Black Cobra guitarist/vocalist Jason Landrian, with the pair sharing writing and production credits. The band is rounded out by Bryce Shelton (Nik Turner’s Hawkwind) on bass and synthesizer, and Jason Willer (Charger, Jello Biafra) on drums.
On the new direction, Lori explains: “The band was never really that psychedelic, but this is definitely more trippy because we’ve got keyboards and synthesizers. That’s something we’ve never had before on Acid King records. The songs really have no beginning or end â they all just flow into each other. It’s meant to be listened to as one piece. The whole point was to have the listener feel like they’re on a journey. If you put headphones on, it’ll take you to whatever places you’d like to go to.”
About the concept of “Beyond Vision”, she adds: “The record is based on the journey of life. Jason [Landrian] and I were having these heavy pandemic conversations at the practice space for two years, talking about all the stuff you go through being in bands, touring, your relationships in life, all that stuff. You think this trip is supposed to go one way, but it goes in very different ways that you can never imagine.”
It’s not just life on Earth she’s talking about. “Beyond Vision” contemplates life on Mars, life on the moon, and death in the furthest reaches of space. Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey was a key influence. Then there was the mesmerizing 2019 documentary Apollo 11: “I was hugely inspired by that documentary. I absolutely love the soundtrack Matt Morton did for that. I’ve probably listened to it a million times. I really loved the journey it took me on, even without the movie. It just made me ponder life.”
Pre-orders for ACID KING’s new album “Beyond Vision” are available now from Blues Funeral Recordings on a variety of limited edition vinyl and cassette formats, as well as CD and digital.
