Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats - a trip back in time

“Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats” is another one of those retro-sounding bands that know how to rock. Drawing influences from bands like Black Sabbath, MC5, and The Stooges (although they sound mostly like Sabbath), this group managed to capture the original sound of the early seventies by using vintage equipment and not trying to reinvent the wheel. Hard-driven riffs, creepy Ozzy-like vocals, and hypnotic beats are what lies at the core of their music. “Uncle Acid” was at first the stage name for their otherwise-anonymous frontman, who subsequently changed his name to K.R. Starr, but the name Uncle Acid stuck as a collective name for all the members. Their music and sound have been described as “the original Alice Cooper band jamming in a cell with early Black Sabbath and the Stooges, while sitting on murder charges, and you may get a glimpse into their fuzzed up world of exploding tube amps and cymbal smashing mayhem.”

“Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats” were formed in 2000 in Cambridge, England by Kevin Starrs. They released their first album “Volume 1” in 2010, and their second album “Blood Lust” in 2011 through Rise Above Records. Both albums evoke the late sixties/early seventies psychedelic proto-metal sound. “Blood Lust” became so popular that the first press vinyl editions fetched up to and over £700 ($1000) on the collector's market, something that is pretty remarkable for a record that is barely five years old.

Their third album “Mind Control” was released in the United Kingdom on 12 April 2013, and later in North America on 14 May 2014. Following the release of the album, the band toured with their idols Black Sabbath in Europe. Unlike their previous releases, “Mind Control” incorporated some pop influences from the seventies, which gave the band a slightly more melodic sound. Kevin Starr, the frontman of the band, described this effort as “fictional story...about a cult leader who comes down from the mountain and brainwashes his desert disciples through drugs, love, violence, and intimidation."

On September 4th, 2015, the band released their fourth studio album, called “The Night Creeper.” All of the songs on the album were written by Kevin Starr, who by then took over all of the creative responsibilities within the group. “The Night Creeper” received positive reviews from critics and was well received by the audiences.