Acid Row

About

" Righteous riffs and deep, dark blasts of pure rock "

You’ve got to hand it to hard rock bands – they know how to do great song titles. ‘Devil’s Dance Floor’. ‘Heritage Of Broken God’. ‘Grandchildren Of The Doom’. OF THE DOOM! Hit play on any of those, and you just know your brain’s about to be melted by a full-on aural assault. The work of Czech rockers Acid Row, those three songs don’t disappoint, particularly the latter; it also happens to open their latest album, ‘Poisoned Mind’, a rip-snorting listen that obviously features an evil rabbit and a hand holding a skull on the cover.

Yet despite riffs as thick as sludge, booming drums, and throaty growls flowing into your ears, what’s most impressive about the three-piece is that they don’t simply layer on the doom metal elements with a trowel – there’s subtlety here. There are nods to grunge, psychedelia, and punk; at times, it’s almost a bit prog rock. ‘Grandchildren Of The Doom’ has an interlude that’s reminiscent of Led Zeppelin’s folksy mysticism; the title track is a poised, gently spooky number that features intricate guitar arpeggios and no drums.

Of course, if you love big dumb riffs, you can fill your boots with ‘Do You Love Enough?’ and ‘On The Edge Of The Night’. ‘The Gift’ sounds like prime-era Metallica. There’s an infectious energy here, and the sense of a band really cutting loose – it’s just so thrilling. Turn this all the way up to 11, and bask in their power: horns up!