Unleashed From The Vaults – Acrimony – Tumuli Shroomaroom

Released in 1997 via Peaceville, Acrimony‘s sophomore album, Tumuli Shroomaroom, garnered rave reviews from the metal press at the time but appears to now be pretty much forgotten when it comes to great British stoner/doom albums….. shame on all of us!

Coming three years after debut release Hymns To The Stone, it’s fair to say that nobody was really expecting Acrimony to release a bona fide classic but that’s exactly what these Welsh dopelords went and dropped on us.

Guitarists Lee Davies and Stuart O’Hara were a formidable duo, who’s playing encompassed a variety of styles, from woozy and psychedelic to huge lumbering groovy juggernauts that remain mesmeric in their grandeur. Songs such as “Hymns To The Stone”, “The Bud Song” and “Motherslug (The Mother Of All Slugs)” showcased a band at the top of their game, with the musicians involved locked into a series of titanic, earth shaking grooves whilst vocalist Dorian Walters hollered about ancient Celts, space travel and, of course, getting high. Andy Sneap also deserves some credit for his crisp production which makes you feel like you’re in the studio with the band, enveloped in stale bong smoke and awash with the sounds of prime stoner/doom.

The British doom scene was in a very healthy place in the mid 90’s yet somehow Acrimony find themselves often overlooked and we would suggest that now is the perfect time to discover this absolute peach of an album! Fans of Cathedral, Orange Goblin, Sleep and Electric Wizard will not be disappointed.

Other albums in Worship Metal’s Unleashed From The Vaults Series:

Minotaur – Power Of Darkness / Steve Von Till – As the Crow Flies /Hittman – Hittman / God Forbid – IV: The Constitution / Pulkas – Greed / Handsome – Handsome / Hellbastard – Natural Order / Slander – Careless Talk Costs Lives / Iceland – Iceland / TON – Plague / Angel Of Mercy – The Avatar / Dark Heresy – Abstract Principles Taken To Their Logical Extremes