UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS
Slaughter On First Avenue (Rise Above)
Live albums can be very take-em-or-leave-em affairs: some can capture the essence of a band’s live act, while others can leave you a bit flat. But if ever there was a band whose live performance deserves to be captured on wax, then it’s Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, a Cambridge-originated band whose psychedelic hard rock has made them a cult act.
Slaughter On First Avenue, recorded in two separate years at the same venue – Minneapolis’ First Avenue in 2019, then again three years later – is a snapshot of the occult doomsters doing what they do best, as the eeriness and downright heaviness of the band on stage, is captured for posterity. Despite a running time of nearly an hour and a half, there’s no banter or between-song speeches – just a band focused on delivering a devastating live show. Slaughter On First Avenue is not merely a live album, it’s an entire experience.
words CHRIS ANDREWS