Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats – Mind Control

Mt. Abraxis, the cinematic opener from Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats' second full-length, starts out with sorrowful guitar licks and steadily paced cymbal crashes before turning into an upbeat jam session at its mid-point. Strangely, it works, even when the tempo slows to a trudge in its closing minutes. There's a constant desire on the band's part to keep moving on to different ideas whilst maintaining their aesthetics, and it hardly ever fails them.

Though his lyrical subject matter is often grizzly and nightmarish, vocalist K.R. Starrs (the eponymous Unc Acid) delivers his words in a melodic fashion instead of taking the obvious howlin' and growlin' approach. It's rejuvenating. What's more, the inclusion of straight-up stompers Mind Crawler and Evil Love complement those slower, sludgier moments. More polished and dynamic than its predecessor, Mind Control murderously bashes together the finer aspects of classic rock and stoner metal. [Ross Watson]