ALBUM REVIEW: Acid Witch – Rot Among Us

Would it be Halloween without a new ACID WITCH record? Probably, but one will make it even cooler! Out on, you guessed it, October 31st via Hells Headbangers Records.

Spooky synths naturally kick off the classic horror vibes with the eerie incantations that add demonic forces to the ambience. The usually grooving riffs and pumping drums are slicing through the mix with evil vocals to create that formidable sound and with some soaring leads, the overall feeling of their return is one of triumph. Acid Witch have always been good at making something catchy, which in Death-Doom can be a bit tricky, but their more nostalgic sides definitely facilitate some memorable tracks. The title track “Rot Among Us” is a perfect example with monstrously heavy hooks and then these creeping verses which work splendidly and summoning the sepulchral soundscapes of Halloween. The acrid stench of rotten pumpkin guts and the static hiss of old horror video tapes is tangibly permeating the music which packs a ferocious and fun punch without feeling too goofy to be cool. This is a balance that Acid Witch have held precariously from day one. But it seems their new opus continues their looming legacy of terror.

The cloak of eerie darkness enshrouding the record sits proudly as each track gives its own valuable addition to the arc of the soundtrack which develops really nicely throughout. It would be easy to look at any material by Acid Witch as potentially repetitive, but they are very skilful in cleverly adding literal progressions and oddities (especially of the psychedelic vein) to give a very unique texture to their music that keeps the dastardly mind hooked. Like a mysterious event during the witching hour, there is something inexplicably enticing about the very classic, yet weird vibes of Acid Witch that has kept bangers coming back for more for well over a decade now. I think the striking and colourful art of their very own Shagrat is definitely a factor in winning over listeners, but the music itself delivers exactly what these contorted and disturbing visions promise, fitting each-other perfectly. This makes sense when you think that a random outsider is not needed to visually represent their sonic torments. They truly deliver “Devil’s Night Doom”.

Glowing neon lights radiate from the brain as more bouts of spectral keyboards entwine with vicious riffing and drums, only for the demonically warped vocals to land the finishing blow. This mix of monstrosities does not fade out but radiates until the last corpses are entirely risen from the graves, all crypts are opened and necrotic chaos roams the streets. Keeping things heavy ’til the very end, it would be really easy for a band of this sound to rely on lame interludes and fillers tracks but there isn’t really any of that happening, instead Acid Witch clearly have a very strong vision of what they want to do and an unwillingness to compromise it which has to be respected. When we do get these more nuanced and subtle breaks, they are actually cool and a pleasure to listen to rather than it feeling they were too lazy to write another riff. There is definitely some tongue-in-cheek comedy, as there always has been, but Acid Witch don’t feel like one of those weak comedy bands as such either. Instead this is actually good Metal music which just happens to have a sense of humour, a vastly different and far superior beast. This may seem redundant to mention to other fans, but I figure it’s worth including for first-time witchers. Stick this in your walkman, head to the cemetery and light a pumpkin and feel the spookiest record of the year take hold of your soul…

Keeping true to their Horror Metal vision, Acid Witch have given us another soundtrack to Halloween (which for many of us lasts all year). If you dig spooky Death / Doom Metal, killer synths and an overall classic horror aesthetic tied into your music and are yet to discover Acid Witch, now is the perfect time. The new album is more of the same, which really is what we wanted with this band. There is a decidedly more fierce production which does give the music a bit more weight, but overall it’s just another ripping slab of slaughtering terror from these Detroit devils.