Psychedelic doom band Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats headlines Regency
Over the course of a 16-year career, the group has risen from a fledgling bedroom studio project to become one of the more celebrated modern metal exports from the U.K. playing today. Founded by principle songwriter Kevin "K.R." Starrs, the shadowy group from Cambridge initially garnered notice in 2009 with a few catchy, fuzz-drench songs, posted on the band's MySpace page.
Entreaties from fans for an album led to an an extremely limited-edition CD-R entitled simply Volume 1 that showcased tuneful proto-metal dirges that matched memorable Beatles-esque vocal melodies to pulverizing riffs. A second self-released album – 2011's sonic homage to classic Hammer Films horror Blood Lust – further refined Starrs' songwriting and scored Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats a deal with Rise Above Records.
For its ambitious 2013 follow-up effort Mind Control, Starr drew inspiration from '60s exploitation flicks and the murderous machinations of hippy cult leader Charles Manson to craft a diabolically listenable concept album. The band made its stateside debut when it played the Maryland Death Fest the following year, later returning to the U.S. for a fall tour that marked the first time most metal fans in the U.S. got a chance to see the group.
The band continued with the concept-album route on its next recording, 2015's The Night Creeper, which told the tale of a serial killer styled after Jack the Ripper. Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats hit a new high with their most recent collection, 2018's more sophisticated Wasteland. Tracked at the same Los Angeles studio where the Beach Boys recorded Pet Sounds, the album expanded the band's instrumental palette with extensive use of keyboards and a much more dynamic range of moods.
While it took time for Starr and company to release their latest effort, last year's sprawling Nell' Ora Blu stands as the group's most ambitious yet as well as its greatest departure from the tuneful psychedelic doom template the band created. The double album pays homage to the lurid Italian giallo films of the '60s and '70s that ranged from violent serial killer crime thrillers to occult horror flicks. The recording not only mines a similar vibe as the classic giallo soundtracks of Ennio Morricone and regular Dario Argento collaborators Goblin, but actually incorporates a storyline with voice actors and dialog to create a uniquely cinematic concept-album experience.
With an augmented band line-up including horn players and additional keyboards and a synchronized widescreen projection backdrop matching the music to Starr's imagined film opus, the live full-album performance of Nell' Ora Blu has been receiving rave reviews since the touring production made its debut in Paris last month. The celebrated tour makes its Bay Area stop at the Regency Ballroom Friday night with Jonathan Hultén opening the show. The former lead guitarist of Swedish death-metal mavericks Tribulation has been exploring a more subdued brand of dark atmospheric folk since leaving that band, but his brand new album Eyes of the Living ventures into a far more progressive-rock direction.
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