Always asking why, Making up my own answers… — When we look to the discography of a band like San Francisco, California-based psychedelic stoner/doom metal band Acid King, they who are not here to reminisce so much as hang out, the whole of what they’ve long brought is key stoner-musical personality and aura which carries much of its elephantine weight within a very simple craft. A group in this rare position of notoriety within a particularly influential era typically facets themselves as a brand, a product mill to hug-up on nostalgia and capitalize upon their well-earned “classic” qualifier in hindsight. Yet as we step into their much anticipated fifth portal these folks are here-and-back again to catch up and have a good time in exploration of what should rightfully read as where they’re at today. We feel what has worn on them since the last meeting while witnessing something new and additive in the midst as the ‘Beyond Vision‘ experience rises uncomplicated yet deeply resonant in its communication as the band focuses on this journey rather than that past.

Of course the past is still relevant as Acid King are yet one of the better remembered names associated with the mid-to-late 90’s rising popularity of stoner doom metal in the United States and U.K. wherein guitarist/vocalist Lori S. put down the late 80’s Illinois hardcore punk torch and brought doom to the Bay Area with a trio that’d focused on a certain eerie vocal cadence, fuzzed-out doom metal riffs and an urgently delivered yet patiently motioned style which’d proven influential beyond that first self-titled 10″ EP (‘Acid King‘, 1994) and the better known debut ‘Zoroaster‘ (1995). This’d be one of the earlier go-to names in the heavy psych-tinged and stoner rock conscious doom acts that’d earned their point of nostalgia for many fans at the time yet many will argue their fan favorite, and certainly most personal record ‘Busse Woods‘ (1999) best stands the test of time. Which’d been emphasized well enough when that second LP had been reissued and remastered for vinyl in 2019 for a 20th anniversary deal alongside a tour specifically centered around the re-release. Fans still lump them in with this most classic zeitgeist but we don’t get to ‘Beyond Vision‘ skipping out on the last two decades.

The best context I’d mustered for Acid King‘s third album (‘lll‘, 2005) was that it was their big jammed-at record, a focused primal yell that’d droned on, kept its head down and often at the expensive of anything tuneful. The throes of the overwhelming textural quality of that record almost distracted from what it’d ultimately added to the previously established rhythm guitar language in glorious extension, a thought which was generally lost to the restructured id of the band circa 2015 with ‘Middle of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere‘. Much of what we hear developing on ‘Beyond Vision‘, its entirely in the moment feel and its spaced use of atmospheric effects and a few different vocal touches find their precedence in the last two decades but the statements themselves are distanced enough to avoid any clear redundancies. Co-founding drummer Joey Osbourne and longtime bassist Mark Lamb were off the gig by 2017, the angle back for a new line-up in came with the opportunity to tour for the anniversary/reissue of ‘Busse Woods‘ circa 2019 and that tour would act as the impetus for this new material happening. Anyhow, the main takeaway when approaching album number five is that it retains Lori S.‘ signature on all counts but in no direct way does it act as follow-up to any of the band’s past releases, instead we find experience past-and-present shaping a very naturally achieved and almost surprisingly adventurous record which stands out in their discography in the best way.

‘Beyond Vision‘ was co-written and co-produced by Black Cobra frontman Jason Landrian who provides guitars and keyboards on this record. In parsing their pair of not-so unrelated vernaculars together the point of smoothing for the process seems to have been a focus on steady flow through a likely jammed process in creation of the general sequence with plenty of atmospheric indulgence involved as keyboards, Moog synthesizers (by way of bassist Bryce Shelton of Hawkwind) and heavier guitar ‘drone’ add loft and directional gust to these slower, steadier pieces. From the outset this continuous thread pushes the listener forward with only a bit of trepidation for the unknown path, a surreal yet riff-guided sense of movement which will most likely appeal to fans of more recent Earth records up front despite the utter chill of this whole thing. As I listened to this record over the course of a few months I’d found myself losing time, lost in thoughts and occasionally unable to recall how I’d gotten… wherever it was Acid King had taken me.

Dragged by the hook of the psychopomp… — All new textures, all new colors, and a big loose-shouldered jam highlights the opening hum-to-a-roar that “One Light Second Away” presents as the album opener, a sauntering-in six minute instrumental which highlights the ominous synthesizer pulse and general atmospheric layers which make ‘Beyond Vision‘ such a unique tonal shift for Acid King. The guitar work still very much speaks to the Lori S. style but this record already feels like a full collaboration rather than a ghost-written deal as it wanders into view. This’d end up being the perfect song to wheel back to when the album repeated because it feels punctuative on the larger ~43 minute non-statement of the record as it completes a riff-centered introduction to the album’s sound and atmosphere in a contained complete thought, allowing standout piece “Mind’s Eye” to follow up with a bang, or, at least a song which provides the most signature feeling ride on the album up front.

What happens in the shadow of this mountain is almost equally profound as the deeper set nigh industrially clanking sounds which hum beneath the beat of “90 Seconds” create a hypnotic, motorik feeling that is unlike anything else in this general realm of stoner/doom but not that distant from sludge metal’s more grotesque and serious ambient mannerisms. This continues on “Electro Magnetic” a shuddering pulse which seems to echo the respiration of a spacesuit adrift as this 8+ minute piece drones on through its very subtle build-and-burn process. At that point in the full listen I’d had to adjust my approach, rethink how I’d seen this record as less of a long-awaited follow-up and instead a fresh step into the void for Acid King which is even more focused on where the music takes the listener, an astral journey rather than a biker-kicked ride without a destination. The balance of instrumental pieces versus the arguably vocally guided songs still leans in favor of the stoner/doom metal experience but much of this record is spent stopping to smell the ozone, marveling at the thought (whatever it may be). The peak of the experience arrives between the meandering reprisal of the title track (“Beyond Vision“) and the instrumental which plays out the record of the album, “Color Trails” with its void-whirring guitar effects.

The full listen did not initially feel all that substantial to start on my end, having found the record’s sleepy instrumental lilt floating past with some light guitar interest but as I began to immerse, settle into the groove of ‘Beyond Vision‘ the finesse of the greater orchestration of it all became more evident and despite the considerable amount of restraint it must’ve taken to not just jam on the usual riffs a hundred times over. The question I’d faced when taking stock beyond the tenth or so listen was basically “Is it good because it is different, or is it just good?” and my answer has waffled a bit since. By emphasizing experience above lyricism and vocal expression I am torn as a fan, since I’m there for the riff and the dread of the individual most often yet the introspective psychedelic drool of this record is so elevated by those deeper layers which persist within the nuance heavy sound design of it all that it lands profound and easily repeatable. This sort of thing usually ends up being a pig with extra thick lipstick, dressed up simplicity for the stoned mind in most cases, but in this case a unique atmospheric proposition is made and delivered upon in a notable way alongside a few stellarly crafted psychedelic doom metal songs. I’d wanted a bit more bustle n’ groove but I get why staying this focused yielded the best result. It was a cool ride, would go there again. A moderately high recommendation.

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