Formed by members Kevin (K.R.) Starrs, Itamar Rubinger and his brother Yotam Rubinger in 2009, Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats are named after Cactus’ singer Rusty Day's subsequent band, Uncle Acid and the Permanent Damage Band. Following their formation, the group issued an early collection of tracks, “Volume 1” in 2010, representing an early showcase of songs replicating the doom-ridden sounds of the ‘70s. Two years later the group released their breakthrough album “Blood Lust”, which almost immediately generated the group a devoted, cult following. The record quickly earned critical acclaim for its walking the line of psychedelic rock, punk rock, and heavy metal; the first-pressed vinyls of which can now fetch for in excess of $1000 dollars online.
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats subsequently issued their sophomore full-length “Mind Control” in 2013, which is noted for its ’70’s pop and new wave influences. The concept record, which documents the life of a fictitious cult leader, once gain earned widespread acclaim, after which the band embarked on their most extensive tour to date including shows at Download, Roadburn, Open Air Festival, Montreaux Jazz Festival, and Reeding and Leeds. Towards the tail end of 2013, Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats toured in support of Black Sabbath, before heading to New Zealand and Australia in early 2014. The group went on to release the single “Runaway Girls” in August 2014, raising the anticipation for their third full-length “The Night Creeper”, which arrived in September 2015.
Blood Lust is one of my favourite albums of all time, so I was incredibly excited to watch Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats play live. Their chilled out psychedelic metal music is blended wonderfully with their rock and heavy metal techniques. The lights were out, and they started playing the introduction to Death’s Door, and everyone went crazy, screaming for them to come on stage. The lighting was incredibly clever and made them look black and white when they did come on stage, and it was as though we were watching them on a huge TV screen.
Kevin, aka. Uncle Acid, played some incredible guitar solos, with Yotam, the lead guitarist playing rhythmic harmonies over the top, making us scream and jump around in the audience – their talent was unreal. They played a great selection of their tracks, and luckily for me played a good few songs off of Blood Lust, as well as Down to the Fire and some of their singles. As an encore, they played their most recent single, Runaway Girls, which was awesome and they got everyone to sing along, and it was really cool to feel so involved with a live show.