(((O))) Live: Acid Bath – Manchester Academy

When it was announced that fabled New Orleans’ sludge legends Acid Bath were returning for live dates, (and it would be live dates only, the band stated that there would be no new music incoming as a mark of respect for their much missed bassist Audie Pitre), fans from all over the globe were both stunned and overjoyed, and it didn’t take long for people to start asking when they would make it across the pond and come to the UK.

That question was answered with the news that Acid Bath were headlining the Ritz In Manchester for their first-ever show in Britain; fans both long-time and newer were ecstatic, and the frenzied demand led to the show getting upgraded to the much larger and sold-out Manchester Academy while the wait began for one of the most anticipated metal live-shows that the UK has ever known.

It just so happens that this gig was on the hottest day of the year, and travelling by train was deemed ok if only absolutely necessary; well if there was a gig that was absolutely necessary this year, then it was the triumphant first appearance in Britain by Acid Bath, and the heat both outside and especially humid the venue, made it seem that Acid Bath had brought the oppressive swampy New Orleans climate with them to Manchester.

If seeing Acid Bath wasn’t enough for the crowd, the stellar supporting bill of Green Lung and Conan elevated the anticipation even higher, and the scene was well set for a night of sludge, doom and all-round heavy-metal mania.

Opening tonight’s proceedings were Conan, and the supreme Liverpool doom merchants certainly got the night off to a flying start as they levelled the academy with their titanium-heavy grooves, and hit a more than healthy reaction from the already packed audience. With a set that took in a cut, ‘Hawk As Weapon’ from their first album Monnos all the way through to last year’s Violence Dimension, this was a devastating show of force from Conan and set the bar high for the night leaving on a high with ‘Anger Mask’ to rapturous applause and a whole host of new converts.

Up next were Green Lung, and they kept the energy levels at the max as they stormed the stage with brand new song ‘Evil On This House’ from their not-yet-released new album Necropolitan; the crowd went berserk. This high octane start didn’t let up until Green Lung had left the stage and the last notes had rung out from the PA, and they proved themselves without a doubt to be the next UK metal band to take it to the next level, such was the execution of their set. With the first-ever live performance of the song ‘Necroplitan Line’ from the new album wowing the audience alongside other anthems like ‘Woodland Rites’ and ‘Let The Devil In’, this was a lesson in the power of the music of Green Lung, and set the scene in perfect fashion for the evenings headliners.

With the immortal strains of Black Sabbath’s eponymous track blaring out from the speakers, the levels of anticipation and scorching heat in the heaving crowd, which by now had eclipsed even the still scorching heat outside, were reaching fever pitch, and you could feel that something very special was going to happen.

And happen it did. In front of a trippy projection on the backdrop screens, original Acid Bath members – vocalist Dax Riggs, guitarists Sammy Pierre Duet and Mike Sanchez alongside bassist Shane Wesley and drummer Zack Simmons – appeared onstage, and as the band burst into ‘Tranquillized’ from When The Kite String Pops, the place went absolutely berserk, and that frenzied reaction didn’t stop until the gig was over.

With only two albums to their name, Acid Bath drew on both to create a sludge-metal manna from heaven. Majestic Paegan Terrorism Tactics’ cuts ‘Bleed Me An Ocean’ and ‘Venue Blue’ (dedicated to Audie Pitre) both of which, in a just world would be ‘Enter Sandman’ big, followed and the reaction was biblical with Dax Riggs’ deathly croon sounding as powerful as it does on record, with the bands sludgy New Orleans grooves floating below; witnessing these tracks in a live situation was a truly immense experience.

As the set rode on, tracks like ‘The Bones of Baby Dolls’, ‘Dead Girl’ and ‘The Mortician’s Flame’ had the crowd in raptures; and as ‘New Death Sensation’ and ‘Graveflower’ were unleashed, the energy both onstage and in the audience was still palpable. These renditions were so powerful, it was like something akin to a religious experience.

Drawing to a close with the sublime  ‘Paegan Love Song’ and a stunning rendition of ‘The Blue’, Acid Bath bowed out to heroic applause, the crowd still stunned at having witnessed Acid Bath live, something most in attendance thought would never happen, which made it even more special.

This was truly a night to remember that saw not only a phenomenal, legendary and historic performance from Acid Bath, but also because Green Lung and Conan were in such good form, proving that British metal is in such a healthy place too.