My first reaction to the new Acid King record was quite positive. This is because I have one album called Zoroaster and I have seen them perform in the 013. When I received the record, called The Early Years, I learned that this was a re-release of their first 2 recordings. These contain a 7-inch self-titled demo and the record Zoroaster, which I already knew. No problem! I’ll be honoured to review one of my favourite desert rock albums I possess.

 

The record starts out with their demo album, which sounded a little more rugged than Zoroaster. I can say that this music isn’t for anybody. I recall a friend saying that this was music for incredibly wasted people. Far out man! Well, I must admit that I am one of those people, so I was totally fine by the music. The vocals are done by a woman, who sounds like a Courtney Love on rancid bile with a flanger effect. The music is tone low, which means heavy distorted psychedelic sounds which catch you instantly or shoo you away. For you still wondering, just listen for yourself.

 

Right, enough about the demo. Zoroaster is their full length, which was released in 1995 I believe, correct me if I’m wrong, but at the time I was writing this my internet connection was messed up. The album starts with ‘Evil Satan’, which is also my favourite track. Somewhat less distorted and messed up than the demo, this is still the music that I crave. The heavy desert rock riffs are slow enough to catch you in a trance, but not that slow it makes you go asleep. Another great track is ‘Tank’ and the title is an exact description about the music. Starting with a heavy distorted bass riff, the song continues rolling like a tank.

 

I can write for ages about this album, but I’m going to conclude this by saying that this was a correct move. Normally, I am not a big fan of re-releases, but this is covering every precious material they ever wrote, including that extremely “hard to get” demo. The Early Years is a good way to learn everything this band is about. A good album for people like me, who learned of this band just recently.