Unearthed

 

Romanticize. Webster’s tells us its to treat concepts as idealized or heroic. Some people apply this to their youth or former parts of their lives. It’s an artistic conceit as old as the Romans for whom it’s named. I happen to apply it to Heavy Metal, and some of the culture surrounding it.

 

A few years back I wrote a piece on Earthride’s masterful record Vampire Circus. It became a manifesto of sorts, laying out what ‘Heavy Metal means to me in my life’ almost Christian (?!).

 

To put it in a nutshell, Heavy Metal has to be dirty and hopeless for me to love it. The people making the music have to be in theory exactly like it’s listeners. Denim, flannel and black t-shirt clad with just as much money as the guys making the music. It has to be an angry, passionate plea and cry for the base joys of life: Sex, intoxication and freedom. It has to be the only alternative to pumping gas for a living. Even if it’s a fella like Lemmy, who has more money, women and freedom than anyone I will ever know, at least walk it like you talk it. That’s metal to me. If you are reading this you may recognize what I mean.

 

So to bring the definition full circle I romanticize Heavy Metal. Every time I hear a loud scary guitar riff I hope there are long hairs in denim wearing black t-shirts gathered around a boom box in the woods grooving, sort of cold, miserable and with an eye out for the cops.

 

If ever there was a woman in rock and roll who understands this it’s Lori Joseph, possessor of some of the finest metal guitar chops and haunting voices in all of music history. Truly.

 

Acid King began life in the mid-90’s and unfortunately was burdened with the ‘Stoner-rock’ tag. One of the sad things about Metal is the second a band starts playing, they are defined, pigeon-holed and put into a category. Phooey. Acid King is so much more, transcending their title they created a dark, encompassing, swirling din that is almost a symphony of despair.

 

Built loosely around a concept of celebrating the infamous “Acid King” of Long Island, Ricky Kasso, a suburban metalhead teen who sadly succumbed to drugs early in life and was spurned to murder a friend in the woods while partying and listening to metal. After a few records and eps they found their way and unleashed their undisputed masterpiece Busse Woods, probably the finest metal record of that decade.

 

Over the course of it’s forty-five minutes and fifty-one seconds Lori romanticizes and nearly fetishisizes the idea of dangerous teen metal partying in the woods, away from authoritarian eyes. During the course of it’s perfect-for-dubbing-on-one-side of a blank tape running time Lori goes over all the hopes, dreams, and notions of a person sitting in the woods on a Friday night. It’s the voice of someone tired of a shitty job, parents and a pesky guidance counselor. It’s the sonic release and resignation of someone just happy to let loose, at least for a couple of hours. The resignation of the need to bang your head and rock.

 

The absolute centerpiece and ultimate profession of everything I just mentioned is track 2: “Silent Circle”. The abstract lyrics perhaps convey the talk of Kasso before committing his crime. Maybe they just convey the silent circle of metal potheads in the woods hiding from all that might hurt them. But either way, in it’s duration Lori and drummer Joey Osbourne (and no one else and this is a lot of noise for two people) bury you in a funeral shroud of heavier-than-heavy riffs and pummeling drums. It culminates in a burning sensation of what metal means to me, and what metal should mean to you. When it is over you are worn out. When it is over you want to go through it again. It hurts and it is cleans you out.

 

The rest of the record keeps the momentum of it’s subject matter up, as given with songs with titles like “Drive Fast, Take Chances” and offers the single most evil interpretation of a song from Jesus Christ Superstar:’39 Lashes, which has to be heard to be believed.

 

Acid King went on to do a split with The Mystic Crewe of Clearlight, another great metal band who in this case used the great Wino of Saint Vitus on vocals. Their contribution was an amazing metal suite called “Free” which in it’s four parts is mind-blowingly heavy. We last heard from her on a record called ‘Acid King:III’ which was beautiful in it’s own biker metal way. “Heavy Load” and “Two Wheel Nation” should be standard for metal mixtapers everywhere.

 

So when you read this, go to Amazon, buy ‘Busse Woods’, and hope with me that Lori returns to music sometime soon. Meet me in the woods, we’ll drink meister brau and complain about how fucked everyone is, and when the police come we’ll run to the 7-11 and get some hot dogs and jolt.

There is very little video out there of Lori doing what she does best, but here she is performing ‘Heavy Load’ from her other masterpiece ‘Acid King III’. She is ultimate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ztzMW5VDl4&feature=related

 

 

This record is at the monolith to be sure.

 

-Greg Trout