Acid King – The Early Years (Small Stone)

One of the stoner metal world’s finest (if least heralded) denizens, Acid King has had a long but unprolific career. Indie label Small Stone has done its best to keep the AK flag in flight, releasing the Bay Area trio’s most recent album III and reissuing its landmark second LP Busse Woods. Now SS does the same for the band’s first recordings, rescuing its self-titled EP and debut full-length Zoroaster from oblivion. Acid King has always been one of the most consistently powerful beasts in the stoner rock biz, and that power was present from the beginning. Leader Lori S trades in riffs that flow like molten steel from an overturned crucible, and her raspy alto bespeaks of late nights, last calls and lost innocence. Drummer Joey Osborne hits with the power and precision of a giant stomping a village, while bassist Peter Lucas (gone after these records) throbs in whatever empty space is left. Lori’s songwriting includes just enough melody to be enticing, but remains heavy as a blue whale in the grand Black Sabbath tradition. Crushers like “If I Burn,” “Lead Paint” and “Queen of Sickness” set standards not only for Acid King’s subsequent work, but also the stoner metal bands that followed, most of whom still labor to catch up.

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