siLLy puPPy
Detroit, MI based ACID WITCH has been around now for over a decade after having formed in 2007 and have released three full albums to date: “Witchtanic Hallucinations (2008),” “Stoned (2011)” and “Evil Sound Screamers (2017).” While the band has found itself on the radar of the underground metal scene they haven’t exactly become a household name…. yet. In addition to the three full-length releasees ACID WITCH has been a tad more prolific in releasing shorter length EPs mostly during the Halloween season but the year 2018 finds a new strategy, that is Halloween at Christmas time!
Yes, indeed. ACID WITCH don’t crank out a bunch of wimpy Christmas tracks that totally go against their dark imagery and occult leanings, not one bit. With this two track release titled BLACK CHRISTMAS EVIL EP, the band sticks to their standard death doom metal mix of grunted shrieky vocals, slow plodding riffs with heavily distorted guitar heft. This is definitely the type of music that will get you on Santa’s naughty list and lumps of coal in your stocking but really, who cares when there’s Christmas music like this tailor made for true metalheads!
“Black Christmas” begins with vocal samplings, much like a White Zombie album of the 90s with creepy sound effects and some spoken dialogue that discusses Christmas traditions before the thundering waves of death doom strike with a vengeance. No Christmas niceties allowed as Shagrat regurgitates some of the most deliciously sinister vocal performances of his entire career as he gleefully narrates a tale of the holiday season gone evil. Nice touches of keyboards augment the evil that has taken over like Voldemort at Hogwarts.
Starting with some jingling bells and a somewhat jazzy schizoid bass line, a few archival vocal samplings gleefully narrate the possibilities of Christmas evil as the second track “Christmas Eve (You Better Watch Out!) begins. “You better believe in Santa or he will slay you” is brilliantly uttered from the narrator before the chugging death doom assault begins. This is great! I can’t help think that Spinal Tap with their 1992 lauded “Christmas With The Devil” has passed the baton to a new generation of Christmas blasphemy!
Tired of faux Christmas tributes where bands that profess to be badass suddenly make music that your grandma would go gaga over? Well, here’s some Christmas music to slay all that phony baloney cheerful holiday spirit. This is the type of stuff i want to hear during the holiday season and if the Grinch had this when he was still in scrooge mode surely he would’ve listened to this in his cave on the top of the mountain turned up to 11! The Whos down in Who-ville would not like it a lot. Santa with a switchblade! Oh yeah!!!!