"Acid Bath - When the Kite String Pops" Unexpected, Yet Still the Same

 

    The only descriptor I have coming in for this album is that it is described as "Sludge Metal" and that it is highly reviewed. In spite of that, even if it was recommended to me by my friend CJ I do not have the highest hopes for this album. Is it partially the album cover that looks like fanart someone would have made during the height of that weird 2010's killer clown phase? Probably. Is it because it looks very long and is a genre that does not sound very appealing to me? Also probably. Even still, it's been so long since I sat down and did a proper album writeup, and hey at least this album cover kind of gives off Halloween vibes, so at least it's in season. So without further ado, my track-by-track review.

When the Kite String Pops - Acid Bath

The Blue - 65/100 This album is certainly not what I expected it to sound like. Honestly, I thought it would be a lot less melodic, sort of like when I first listened to Bleach by Nirvana as a child, which was not exactly what I would describe as a positive experience on my end. Honestly, my only real gripe with the track is that it's a bit lengthy and winding but it's a nice change of pace considering I usually listen to 3 minute punk or pop songs.

Tranquilized - 80/100 I think I definitely enjoy this song a lot more than the last one. My only question this time is I'm not quite sure I enjoy the vocal effect that is being used. It almost reminds me of those dumb videos where people to pretend to be underwater and you can hear the pitch of their voice shifting up and down in a really stupid but funny manner. It's not bad enough where I dislike the song it's just an odd quirk that I'm not sure why it exists.

Cheap Vodka - 75/100  While generally I do like fast paced short songs, I don't think this song does anything particularly new or novel to make it really stand out to me. I mean would I jam out to it in a mosh pit? Yeah but also my bar for moshing isn't exactly that high either, if this song came up on shuffle on a playlist I don't think it'd make me turn on my phone to look at what was playing.

Finger Pointing Of The Insane - 50/100 Remember when I said I feel like some songs drag on too long, that was most definitely this song for me, so much so that I don't really have much to say about it.

Jezebel - 40/100 If you look at the lyrics to this track you will see the line "black goat semen". I think that generally sums up why I have very little to say about this track because if it doesn't interest me musically, I refuse to be very interested lyrically. 

Scream of the Butterfly - 85/100 Oddly out of left field for this band considering what they've shown me so far during this album, but honestly appreciated. I quite like the way the high pitched guitar plucking sort of compliments the lead singers voice in this song to give it a sort of somber and mysterious atmosphere. Despite being six minutes long it honestly didn't feel that long and was a pretty pleasing experience, which was not something I expected to say about any track on this album.

Dr. Seuss is Dead - 60/100 I feel like any time this song gains any sort of momentum by having a song that really captures my interest it really kills it immediately after. Which is how I basically feel about this song as it forces me to trudge through another fine but not spectacular six minutes.

Dope Fiend - 40/100 Maybe I just hate most long songs. 

Toubabo Koomi - 60/100 You ever just look at the genius page for some of the songs off this album and ask yourself what the hell it's talking about? 

God Machine - 55/100 I wasn't a big fan of this song at first but I do think it turns itself around in the 2nd half especially starting from the line "waking in the sleep of reason". Truthfully, it's not like this album is that grating to me it's just that sonically it does not interest me that much, I don't find it particularly catchy nor riveting enough to maintain much of my attention for large swaths of it.

The Morticians Flame - 65/100 I actually quite enjoyed the beginning of this track, but oddly enough the longer it goes the more disjointed it feels.

What Color Is Death - 50/100 I'd normally do that spiel where I explain that my score would be better if I was in a different mood but in this case I really don't believe that at all.

The Bones Of Baby Dolls - 80/100 You know oddly enough usually I'm pretty pick when it comes to slow songs on albums but the two slow more stripped-back tracks were the ones I gravitated to more from this album. I just think I appreciate the guitar work more.

Cassie Eats Cockroaches - 50/100 I'm just not that impressed nor interested in many of the songs off of this album. Which isn't surprising, this isn't a genre I would go looking for, but I am a little disappointed considering how highly rated it is on other sites.

Final Score: 61/100

    I think I'm ending this review as I started, with not much to say. As you can see, the most interesting tracks to me were the slow acoustic ones where you didn't have to hear guitars constantly drudging in the background. Nonetheless, that doesn't mean I hated every other track, rather that I just failed to gather anything interesting from them. You'll notice that my largest complain with most of these songs was that they were really long, yet still failed to come up with anything that could have interested me. I suppose at the very least this album has broken down any preconceived notions surrounding sludge metal I may have held. It may still not be a genre that interests me much, but at the very least I know that I won't hate it.