The Macabre Yet Catchy Tunes of Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats
If you’re anything like me, music is a big part of your daily life. You’ve got it playing while you drive to work, while you sit on the bus, while you cook dinner, while you read stories on the net, etc. It’s an ever-present part of your life, allowing you to spontaneously start banging your head or putting on your best A-ha impression.
Wherever your tastes fall, that’s fine. So long as you enjoy yourself and keep supporting the artists that you listen to, I will champion your love and appreciation of music.
In an effort to help spread the gospel, I’m going to start writing posts about bands that I love in the hopes that you’ll give them a chance. And since Dread Central is all about horror, I figured the best place to start is with a band that wears its love of horror gleefully on its sleeve. Today, let’s dive down the rabbit hole of Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats!
Hailing out of Cambridge, England, Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats have been releasing albums for nearly a decade. Their first full-length effort, Volume 1, came out in 2010; and they’ve consistently released a new studio album every year or two since then with 2015’s The Night Creeper being their latest. Born out of a love for late 60’s heavy metal, the band utilizes vintage instruments and recording gear to get an authentic sound that is full of fuzz, grit, and passion. Influenced by bands like Black Sabbath and The Stooges, Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats are metal for people who don’t want piercing, overly distorted guitars or “Cookie Monster” vocals. Rather, there is often a strange beauty lurking within the songs.
As I mentioned previously, Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats have a deep love and appreciation of the macabre, which becomes immediately apparent once you pay attention to their lyrics. Let’s take a look at some examples, shall we?
“Melody Lane”:
Her face lit up under yellow street light
With eyes of fear as she caught me in sight
I won’t hurt her, but she knows that I might
I want her
She pulled a knife as she lunged in the dark
Cut up my arm like a bloody remark
The curtains twitched and the hound dogs did bark
She left me for deadI staggered on my way home
Past leering eyes and taunting voices
As blood dripped from my flesh wound
I knew my thoughts would scream in terror
Forever and ever…
“Slow Death”:
I wish that I could finish the killer and
wash the blood away from here
A psychopath thats out to get me, under a
city wrapped in fear
“Poison Apple”:
I’m the air you breathe babe, I’m the sun
I’m the earth in your grave, and I’m the worm
Don’t you worry baby, you’re safe with me
I’m the poison apple in your treeI’m the water dripping from your drain
I’m the spider crawling through your brain
Do I scare you baby, when I’m mad
I’m your own reflection, you wish you had
“I’ll Cut You”:
I was born a wicked man, no hopes or dreams
I get my kicks from torturing and screams
I lust for women’s blood, and their evil ways
I twist my words to what the good book says
“Over and Over Again”:
The rat familiar cries out, to the witch in the village
She rises up from her hideout and screams over and over again
They couldn’t kill her with fire, although her body did burn
Left on the funeral pyre she screamed over and over again
And through her eyes, saw blackened skies, I don’t want to know her any more
She cast her spell on the people, could see the pain in their eyes
From the soil to the steeple, they screamed over and over again
The blood rose up from the red lake, crashing down on them all
Destroying all that’s in its wake, they screamed over and over again
I could probably pull examples from nearly every song that Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats have released that is, at the very least, creepy; but I think that would take the fun out of things. Rather, I’ll let you dive into their world, one that reminds me of Italian giallo films, Jack the Ripper, and Charles Manson, to experience it all on your own.
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