In the early part of this decade, two faceless occult-rock bands caused a big stir in the underground both for their anonymity and their undeniably catchy songs: Ghost and Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats. Ghost has gone on to big things, and one could make the case that they've become one of rock's most notable successes since 2010. They're on the radio, they're touring with Iron Maiden and Metallica in stadiums. Uncle Acid has done well for themselves, too - they had the honor of touring with Black Sabbath for a short while on their last go-round before their retirement. Not too shabby.
It's been interesting to see both Ghost and Uncle Acid largely stripped of their mystery, too. Only in the last year or so was Tobias Forge unceremoniously outed as Ghost's singer and songwriter (his current cast of masked backing musicians is still unknown, however). Uncle Acid lost their whole ruse pretty quickly, though, and it's been nothing but posed promo pics of four generic long-haired rocker dudes for them ever since. It was a bit of a bummer seeing the veil come off, even though that sort of thing shouldn't matter. But it complimented the music - this seedy, grimy, giallo-film, haunted-house vibe that both groups had. In the era of social-media desperation, where musicians practically beg for attention and reveal every tedious aspect of their lives in the course of doing so, it was nice to wonder again about simple things like who the person is who was singing a song, and to not have the answers so readily available. Ghost and Uncle Acid proved mystery in rock was still possible, at least for a time.
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Now that "Uncle Acid" the person has been revealed to be a guy named Kevin (seriously), are the albums still as good? Does taking the mask off of Gene Simmons mean Kiss is no longer fun to listen to? The answer is: maybe. While the Uncle Acid albums that followed the band's breakthrough (2011's "Blood Lust") have been enjoyable enough, there's definitely something that is lacking. We could get into some deep analysis here of whether or not a musician's identity (or lack of one) contributes to the perception of that person's music, but we frankly don't have the space for that. So let's just try to judge the new Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats album fairly and take it at maskless-face value.
"Wasteland" is a bit less doom-laden than some of the other UA LP's, but it's still dark and gloomy. It's a tolling bell on a foggy, cold night. It's a cloaked figure holding a candelabra. The guitars aren't quite as growly - their tones are cleaner, more "rock" than "metal" - but the feeling is similar. The key sonic signature of the band, though, is Kevin Starrs' harmonized, distorted vocal tracks, and those are plentiful, here. (Almost too plentiful at times, actually, and sometimes, the distortion seems too harsh and tinny.) His "John Lennon singing harmony with another John Lennon through a cheap, overdriven mic" aesthetic is still present, and that's probably the main draw.
Tune-wise, nothing here can match "I'll Cut You Down" or "13 Candles" off of "Blood Lust," but everything's enjoyable enough. Opener "I See Through You" is suitably ominous yet sprightly; "Shockwave City" is thrashy and garagey, like an early Ozzy track; the title track is a lengthy, creepy ballad that employs acoustic guitars and pianos to set the mood.
Bottom line: If you like Uncle Acid, welp, this is their latest album. There might be some horns or some funky sounds that pop up, but it's obviously the same band at work that put out "Vol. 1" and "Blood Lust," for better or worse - only without all that pesky mystery or tunes as good as the ones they were writing back when no one knew who they were.
Artist: Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats
Album: "Wasteland"
Produced by: Kevin Starrs
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Website: www.uncleacidband.com
Personnel: Kevin Starrs (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Vaughn Stokes (bass), Jon Rice (drums)
