Bad Acid Trip
Lynch The Weirdo
Serjical Strike Records
One speed metal song is fun. Two speed metal songs are a concert. And three speed metal songs make you wish for a power ballad, just to catch your breath. That’s why listening to Bad Acid Trip has a strange effect – every time I put this disc on, I love the first song, but by the 4th I’m ready to chuck it out my car window. It doesn’t matter where I start, I experience the same sequence of feelings: love, tolerance, annoyance and finally utter hatred. It’s weird.
This LA-based quartet does have the middle-aged punk look down. I’d guess they were born about the time Sid died, and they have mohawks and mild self-mutilation marks – they have studied the genre carefully. Some video is included on the disc, and it gives you a decent snapshot of their show: loud, fast and the lead singer has sex with a corpse on stage. It’s an artistic statement about something or other, but to me it looks like a cheap publicity stunt, without the cleverness of Alice Cooper. Because of the video and other “extras,” this disc won’t play on computers without loading a bunch of software, or having you get out the black magic marker. Yes, friends, you’ll need to make a commitment to this band to enjoy them. That’s 21st century punk.
I’ll give them this: they have really complex lyrics, and they print them in the little booklet that comes with the album. The lyrics show they deeply care about censorship and society and freedom, plus they really enjoy fakey necrophilia. That’s sort of de rigueur for this type of band, but they tackle the job with as much energy as I’ve ever seen, and they can match any headbanger stage jump for stage jump.
Bad Acid Trip: http://badacidtrip.com/ • Serjical Strike Records: http://serjicalstrike.com/
