On a typical mid-December Friday night in Chicago, many folks are out gallivanting around town, merrily partaking in all the holiday festivities the city has to offer. Yes, whether it’s attending holiday parties, hitting up Christkindlmarket, ice skating, indulging in rampant, shameless consumerism, or maybe just some festive (albeit cringe) caroling, there’s no shortage of options to help you get into the holiday spirit.
But if, however, you were looking for a reprieve from all the festive hype that characterizes the season, the lineup on tap at the Salt Shed Friday night was essentially the perfect antidote. Indeed, while other folks throughout the city were cheerfully enjoying songs about decking the halls, the thousands on hand at the Salt Shed came to hear songs about “The Bones of Baby Dolls. Talking about the recently reunited Louisiana psych-sludge legends Acid Bath, of course, who, with the help of East Bay metal titans High on Fire and North Carolina doom-metal vets Weedeater, were in town to send everyone’s collective holiday cheer straight to hell effectively.
And that they did (in delightfully visceral fashion, of course).
Kicking things off around 8:00 were the Weedeater above, as bassist/lead vocalist Dave “Dixie” Collins set the tone for the evening by proclaiming “let’s party” before launching into the band’s patented brand of southern-fried doom-laden sludge. If you happen to be a fan of Sabbath (which, chances of that were extremely high for those in attendance Friday night), then you would likely enjoy Weedeater, considering all the wickedly crunchy and abrasively groovy jams the band churned out during their 40-minute opening set. But of course, they make sure to filter their lumbering riffs through oceans of feedback-drenched distortion that make it sound like some corroded/infected primordial ooze (which is also kind of a good description of Dave Collins’s vocals) spewing out of the stacks of amps behind them. While that might not sound like everyone’s cup of tea, it was pretty fucking perfect for those of us who like their Sabbath-worshiping sludge-metal as raw as possible, so suffice to say, Weedeater did an excellent job delivering the headbanging goods on that front and getting the party started on a rightfully gnarly note.
Up next were probably the best metal band to emerge from the Bay Area this side of the millennium, the mighty High on Fire, who took to the stage shortly after 9:00 and delivered their trademark brand of uncompromising brutality as only they could. A shirtless Matt Pike was in particularly fine form as he dished out an unrelenting barrage of pummeling, massive riffs (not to mention plenty of rad solos to boot) that rarely let up in intensity throughout the band’s impressive 40-minute set. While High on Fire naturally managed to stir up a punishing mosh-pit or two (including a particularly rowdy one during the always fun “Rumors of War”), their performance often inspired more of a sense of awe than anything else, almost like a wall-of-sound experience, which of course only added to the overpowering nature of their set. It was effectively like watching a well-oiled, all-powerful metal music machine. And for a band that’s been at or near the forefront of the metal world for roughly a quarter-century now, they’ve clearly lost none of their impact in a live setting, as evidenced by their crushing performance Friday night. Respect.
Closing out the night were Acid Bath, a truly legendary band that shocked the metal world last year by announcing their reunification 28 years after they broke up. Due to overwhelming demand/enthusiasm, what was originally only supposed to be a one-off festival appearance soon blossomed into several more festival stints, along with a dozen or so headlining shows sprinkled in for good measure (the majority of which sold out the same day tickets went on sale).
Chicago happened to be the last stop on their highly celebrated reunion tour, so suffice to say, the anticipation in the air was palpable as “Black Sabbath” (the song) blasted over the speakers in advance of Acid Bath officially taking the stage. After receiving a hero’s welcome 28 years in the making, the band launched headfirst into the dynamically jammy and swirling “Tranquilized, which promptly compelled the pit to open up in earnest. From there, things got considerably darker as the band served up a rightfully wicked rendition of “Bleed Me an Ocean”. One of the most well-rounded and quintessential tracks in their catalog, “Bleed Me an Ocean” kind of sounds like the aural equivalent of slowly descending into the (blood-soaked) catacombs before things accelerate into a hellish thrill-ride chock-full of sadistic twists-and-turns fueled by razor-sharp riffs and broodingly sinister grooves, which of course was a hell of a lot of fun in a live setting, as evidenced by the menacing pit that was vibing incredibly hard on the intoxicating aural stew of darkness and mayhem raining down from the stage.
From there, Acid Bath settled into relatively more subdued territory for the next half hour or so, as the eternally enigmatic vocalist Dax Riggs set the tone on that front by dedicating “Venus Blue” to their original bassist Audie Pitre (who was tragically killed in a car accident in 1997). The somber vibes continued with an uncanny performance of the eerie “The Bones of Baby Dolls,” which led to a full-on electric rendition of “Dead Girl,” which, while quite good, probably would have been more compelling if Dax performed the chilling acoustic version solo, minus the band, but nonetheless.
Speaking of chilling, Acid Bath effectively used the surreal, twisted spoken-word piece “Old Skin” as their intermission, which transitioned, in the most spine-tingling, wicked way possible, to the truly haunting “New Death Sensation” (just like on the album Pagan Terrorism Tactics). The creepy effect was only amplified in a live setting, which fittingly paved the way for more atmospheric numbers like “Graveflower” and a particularly spellbinding performance of sinisterly psychedelic acoustics of “Scream of the Butterfly”.
After what felt like an extended period of hypnotically mellow gothic material, Acid Bath revved things back up again with their final two numbers, starting with “Pagan Love Song, which finally got the pit rightfully swirling once again. But that was nothing compared to the band’s closer, “Dr. Suess is Dead, in which it felt like Acid Bath finally unleashed the full ferocity of their sound onto the pent-up crowd. Indeed, although it often felt like Acid Bath was avoiding their heavier songs throughout the night, fans of their more vicious and unhinged material finally got what they came for as the band tore through the malevolent jam with full gusto, resulting in what might have been the most raucous pit of the entire evening. It was a fitting way to end the night on a rightfully heavy note, putting the proverbial exclamation mark on what was a certifiably killer performance and triumphant return overall.
As the scores of black-clad masses headed for the exits, lead guitarist Sammy Duet proclaimed that Acid Bath would return to Chicago yet again. It offered these parting heartwarming words to help carry everyone through the dregs of the holiday season and the cold , harsh winter beyond:
“Always remember to keep Satan in your heart.”
Heartwarming indeed. Let the blackness roll on…
