UMUR
"Mind Control" is the 3rd full-length studio album by UK doom metal act Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats. The album was released through Rise Above Records in April 2013. Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats was formed in 2009 in Cambridge, with the intention to play doom metal with 60s horror movie themes.
...and they´ve succeeded very well in doing just that on their first two albums and they continue to play that music style on "Mind Control". So the music on this album is basically strongly Black Sabbath influenced doom metal (their early releases) with a psychadelic twist and featuring horror themes. Other influences count artists like Pentragram and Witchfinder General. The compositions are for the most part well written and fairly memorable even though the band sometimes play their riffs too many times during a song. The worst example of that are the closing minutes to album opener "Mt. Abraxas", which seriously overstays it´s welcome. Other than that the band are pretty well versed in writing catchy traditional doom metal tunes.
The musicianship are strong. Everything is delivered with the right organic touch. Lead vocalist/guitarist K.R. Starrs has a pleasant but relatively anonymous voice and it´s especially because of his vocal delivery that the music features a psychadelic and at times almost mellow edge, despite the heavy distorted riffing and the pounding rhythm section. The many well played guitar solos also deserve a mention. The whole thing is packed in a suiting organic sound production, which provides the music with the right authentic and raw edge, so all in all "Mind Control" should be a treat to fans of early 70s doom metal. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is warranted.