Acid Throne - Kingdom's Death (Album Review)

Release Date: November 08th 2023. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Kingdom’s Death: Tracklisting

Death Is Not The End

River (Bare My Bones)

King Slayer

War Torn

Hallowed Ground

Last Will & Testament

Review

Kingdom’s Death is the debut album from UK Doom/Sludge Metallers Acid Throne who have gone under an Extreme Metal makeover since their 2022 debut EP. As the vocals have more ferocity and bite with them employing a “Blackened” approach. The music moves into Black Metal territory and the Psych Stoner Metal grooves heard on their debut EP is influenced mostly by the NOLA scene and perhaps to bands such as EYEHATEGOD and Soilent Green. 

The album also has its fair share of Progressive Metal beats with a dark Post-Metal and Sludge Metal perspective which you’ll hear on the haunting and brutal opening track Death Is Not The End. The vocals are harsh with a gloomy atmosphere allowing the music to grow naturally with Acid Throne revelling in their new found nihilistic outlook on life. The music is a mixture of slow pounding grooves and fast paced sounds with even an “LOW & SLOW” attitude appearing on the later stages of the track.

Second track River (Bare My Bones) opts for THOU style bleakness with a punishing Doom Metal sound that’s cautiously slow with elements of dark Psychedelic vibes and the harsh vocals being more clean based in parts. Moving slowly into Post-Metal territory, Acid Throne wisely takes their time with this song. As there’s a lot to take in with the multitude of different styles the band employ on this song. The song can be quite melodic but with a mean vicious streak to keep the Doom/Sludge Metal atmospherics alive.

Third song King Slayer is a more direct Sludge Metal track with elements of WEEDIAN themes appearing for certain parts of the song. The music does have an evil attitude that matches the killer vocals. Acid Throne adds traces of Groove Metal and even Thrash Metal for one of the standout tracks of the album. This is where Acid Throne starts adding HOOKS and MELODY to the album though the album still remains a harsh, gloomy and exhausting experience but all done in the possible way. 

The second half of the album sees Acid Throne venture into heavier realms with destructive lyrics leading the creative charge with perhaps War Torn and Last Will & Testament being the other standout tracks on the album. There’s more Psychedelic grooves on this part of the album and I’m beginning to hear some of the original Acid Throne magic I encountered on their debut EP. 

Last Will & Testament is where Acid Throne impresses the most with their technical and songwriting abilities. This track feels like it has come from a band who’ve released multiple albums over the years. It’s a masterful style of NOLA based grooves with the Doom Metal landscape allowing the band to create some of the heaviest sounds I’ve heard from the UK Doom/Sludge Underground Scene in quite some time.

Backed by stellar production values. Kingdom’s Death is an album that will launch Acid Throne to the forefront of the UK Doom/Sludge Metal scene and perhaps allow the band to play on some of the best festival slots the scene has to offer.

Acid Throne is going places and Kingdom’s Death is only the start of their new journey. Embrace The Darkness when you get the chance. As this album is an absolute MONSTER….

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Acid Throne for the promo.

Kingdom's Death will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl from November 08th 2023.

Links

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram | Twitter

ACID THRONE - The Demo (EP Review)

Date Released: April 16th 2022. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: Cassette/DD

The Demo: Tracklisting

1.Confess Your Sins 06:55

2.Forgotten Realms 06:16

3.Altars 05:32

Review

I missed this EP from UK Doom/Stoner Rockers ACID THRONE when it was released back in April 2022. The band have just taken the Introduce Yourselves feature challenge which you can read here and I was intrigued to check out their recent release and I was pleasantly surprised by what I heard with The Demo.

This is a nineteen minute ride into the darker and fuzzier side of Doom/Stoner Metal. The EP isn’t the best produced but for a debut release it’s quite decent with the band playing a straightforward style of modern day Doom/Stoner Metal with more aggressive vocals. I can hear influences from Black Sabbath, Faith No More and bands from the NOLA scene. There’s some twinges of Groove Metal which you can hear in the superb opening song Confess Your Sins. 

The song merges fast-paced WEEDIAN grooves with a sublime Psychedelic Rock afterthought towards the later stages of the song. An excellent quieter Ambient and Sonic journey that drifts between Post-Doom and Psych Stoner vibes.

ACID THRONE continues this way of creative thinking on the remaining two tracks on the EP with Forgotten Realms being the standout track here. Though, Altars isn’t too far behind either. 

I wish I had checked out this band when it came out originally but better late than never. If you’re looking for a great band from the UK Doom/Stoner Metal underground scene that has a lot of VICIOUS BITE and PSYCHEDELIC ENERGY then ACID THRONE is the band for you. 

The band are currently working on their full length album hopefully to be released next year and I’m for one excited to hear what ACID THRONE has in store for us.

Words by Steve Howe

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp | BigCartel

Introduce Yourselves: ACID THRONE

What is the name of your band?

We are Acid Throne.

What is the genre of music that you play?

A lot of people have difficulty pin-pointing our sound - somewhere between stoner, doom & metal - but I guess the main reason for that is that none of us come from a traditional heavy metal background. All four of us spent many years playing in punk rock & hardcore bands, & those are two genres that have orbited the wider heavy metal scene for decades. We all grew up in small towns with small music scenes, so it was normal to go to shows where you'd see a punk band supporting a black metal band, & the exposure to such a broad range of guitar music at an early age definitely rubbed off on our song-writing influences. It's fair to say that we take inspiration from the whole spectrum of rock & metal.

Can you give a brief history of the band of how it came together and where it is today?

We actually started out as a hardcore punk band in the year or so before the pandemic happened. We struggled for a long time to find a lineup & a sound we liked, & eventually decided to change direction entirely. Our vocalist/guitarist had a few riffs in his back pocket so we hit the rehearsal room with them & never looked back!

What can people expect from your music?

Our music sounds like monster trucks colliding, with Charles Manson & Anton Lavey at the wheel. Expect to have your ear drums pummelled by loud, heavy, occult-themed doom. If you like to bang your head, you’ll dig our shit.

What is the best release that folks should check out from your band?

We have a three-track demo that's available on all good streaming platforms right now, but we're busy writing our first full-length with a view to putting that out in the middle of 2023.

Where can people find you on Social Media?

Instagram: @acidthroneband
Twitter: @acidthroneband
Facebook.com/acidthroneband