Middle of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere

Oakland, California’s Acid King latest album “Middle of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere” marks the band’s fourth full-length release. “Middle of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere” is also the band’s only release in the past decade. Their last album, “III,” came out in 2005. And that means that the band’s seminal release “Busse Woods” was released sixteen years before this brand new, all-original material came into light.

Are Acid King a good “stoner metal” band? No, they are a great one. Acid King is definitely among the giants of the genre like Pentagram, Boris, Conan, and so on. What makes Acid King so good is the beautiful numbness to the sound of every one of their songs. And Lori S. has a soaring voice is that makes itself impossible to ignore. Acid King, as the name could imply, blasts you off into an odyssey of thick and fuzzy doom riffs and down-tempo groove that echoes bands like The Melvins, Electric Wizard and Sleep.

I personally believe its childish to label this music “stoner metal” when all it is are simplified pentatonic scale-driven hard rock songs with a herculean amounts of overdrive and bass fuzz layered over them. If a song like “Laser Headlights” is performed on acoustic instruments, is the song still a stoner metal song? When you strip away the electricity and the fabricated tone of every instrument (except or the drums), is what you have left a bunch of stoner songs?

This album didn’t venture out much further than the band has done on their previous records. The songs are pretty solid, catchy and memorable. My favorite tracks off of this are “Silent Pictures”, “Red River” & “Center of Everywhere” but I would still play every track off of “Middle of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere” without skipping anything. I guess if nothing is broken about the music, what’s the use of fixing anything?

Originally published on Metal-Temple.com, 3-13-2015.

It’s been ten years since doom veterans Acid King released new material, and although the genre has been undergoing a reinvention in the interim, the wake of III left a void not so easily filled. For their return with Middle Of Nowhere, founding duo Joey Osbourne and Lori are joined by bassist Mark Lamb, marking his first recording with the band despite having entered the fold seven years ago. In short, it’s fair to say that things take their sweet time in the Acid King-camp, both on and off the stage. Luckily some things are worth waiting for.

The laid back grooves that have become synonymous with Acid King are back with a vengeance, with Lamb’s mega-fuzzy bass sounding like it was born for this band. Lori, the acid queen herself, belts out easygoing psychedelic solos like nobody’s business, while drawing out every syllable of the lyrics as long as possible. Meanwhile, Osbourne keeps busy with relentless fills and other subtle touches, showing why he’s been with the band since they began in 1993. Averaging at around eight minutes, every song on Middle Of Nowhere builds upon a memorable bassline, crawling deliberately along with a carefree attitude that somehow still feels like being crushed under an avalanche of sound. It’s intensely mesmerizing, sucking you into a vortex of smoke, dim strobes, and a general purplish haze. The slow and steady repetition on cuts such as “Coming Down From Outer Space” only reinforces the hypnotic qualities of the band, while outclassing any younger challengers to the coveted stoner throne.

It’s frankly amazing how easy Acid King makes everything sound, and despite the mammoth size of these tracks, they all float along like a warm desert breeze. An hour flies by in what feels like minutes, yet the riffs and solos stick around, reverberating for days. Heavy, massive, gargantuan, no matter what you want to call it, Middle Of Nowhere is an incredibly solid piece of work. Even the instrumental intro and outro-tracks feel like they serve a purpose here, leaving no room for filler whatsoever. With producer Billy Anderson returning to the chair, there was little doubt about how the album would sound, but it feels as though the unique Acid King-touch has taken another step in the right direction. Dense to a point where breathing is obstructed, the sheer substance of this record would have been physically imposing if it wasn’t so damn relaxing.

From the cover painting of a wizard riding a tiger in space, to the stellar songwriting and earthshaking sound, Middle Of Nowhere, Center Of Everywhere is a triumph on every level. Turn up the volume and brace yourself for some ridiculously crushing tunes. Newcomers take note; this is how stoner doom should sound.


Written for The Metal Observer