Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats - Blood Lust (2011)

Oh my lord, I do believe I have found the bastard offspring of Black Sabbath and The Beatles. This is huuuugggggee! The extraordinarily named Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats bring to me what so many other 'doom' bands can't - freshness. So many bands over the years have attempted to either sound as miserable as possible or completely steal Sabbath's mighty riffs, and so many doom bands have trudged on by, existing to be so heavy or so creaky, but Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats may have found a niche - a cosmic realm thatb doesn't bore me with its constant nods to the '70s, and whilst it's fair to say that these guys are very much swingin '60s bitches, their brand of what has become known as 'sexy doom' is something to be marvelled at. This is one of my favourite records of the last decade or so, a record so high and mighty that it writhes like some magic roundabout of sound, something I've not experienced since The Beatles' 'Sgt Pepper' opus. Numerous reviews I've read of 'Blood Lust' have described it as 'Beatles doom' which may sound silly, but if you can imagine a 'Revolver' style Lennon-esque drawl daubed over a monolithic acid-infused Sabbath riff then you are half the way there, but it's so damn catchy too, not just a revival of the good ol' days. The cosmic riffs of '13 candles,' the psych slugdge of 'Ritual Knife' complete with it's "Come closer, come closer, Oh I'll fuck you again" words of weirdo wisdom. This record spirals and spirals on such a blessed groove that it can only bring to mind Gothic graveyards consumed by fog, littered with blood-soaked vampire women and some background feeling of dread. 'Blood List' is hammer Horror on record, fused with Lovecraftian obscurity, especially in the slow chime of 'Curse In The Trees' and sexy cool curio 'Over And over Again.' Cathedral's 'Ride' may have been the first hand clapping slab to sincerely bring Sabbath's legacy into the modern, but hats off to Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats for creating the soundtrack to Charles Manson's reign of terror! 8/10