Black Sunday: Acid Witch - Stoned (2010)

There's fun and then there's serious fun. Acid Witch fall squarely into the former and, hell, there's nothing wrong with that. Scouring the photo inside the gatefold of 2010's Stoned, one can easily discern if this disc is for them. The Gate? Check. Hellhammer? Check. The Necronomicon? Check. A VHS of Sleepaway Camp II? Check and sold. It was an easy purchase, then, when Hell's Headbangers offered the third pressing of the band's second full-length record, this time available in what was described as "Halloween Orange and Deep Purple." The end result looks a lot more red than purple to me but, frankly, who the hell cares?

Acid Witch offer an almost satirical, very stereotypical stoner experience and one that, taken on the music alone, does not offer as much staying power as one would hope given their over-the-top, easy to love image. As a physical package, however, Stoned delivers in spades with a beautiful gatefold package, massive artwork from the band's own Shagrat duplicated on an 18x24" poster, die-cut Halloween window decor and the aforementioned two-toned wax.

Stoned is fun to look at and even better to pore over as the record plays. It's a great soundtrack for all your B-grade horror hankerings and can land in your hands for fifteen bucks. Hell's Headbangers offer a huge selection, superb prices, fast delivery and very interesting material on their own label. With over 8,000 titles in stock and only three so far on my shelf, I've got some ordering to do.