ACID REFLUX, LEGENDS, EDINBURGH, OCTOBER 24 2025

Sludge-metal, sludge-crust, sludge-doom and sludge-jazz. Sludge. Apparently 'The Kurgan' is the bad guy from the 'Highlander' movie. I know that because I looked it up.

Shamefully under-attended gig, despite heavy promotion from Ali at The Kurgan. Those of us who DO show up are treated to some good stuff.

LINE-UP:

AAC TRIO: Their first ever Edinburgh gig. Experimental doomjazz trio featuring Andrew Cairns of Acidsaurus Bong on baritone guitar, a drummer and someone playing an enormous saxophone. I expect some combination of bonk, thud and parp. I might even find out their names.

They are excellent, despite my initial reservations. After all, I like neither jazz nor saxophones. But they're less jazz and more kraut/psych, and that giant sax is more like a weapon of war than a musical instrument.

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/DEpDVY9NZO4    https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579736272396

FOREVER MACHINE: Glaswegian 'funeral thrash' combo. Seen them before, but not for a wee while. I remember liking them. I still do, although their sound seems to have edged somewhat towards the 'post-metal'. Perhaps they have been listening to a lot of NEUROSIS in the intervening years.

VIDEO:  https://youtu.be/CeregGyejXU   https://www.facebook.com/forevermachine

A.V.L: Anybody's guess whether we'll get A.V.L sludge or A.V.L drone/noise, because they can do either. Or perhaps both. 

What we get is more like a set of turbo charged sludgegrind, and it's very very good. Not overly fond of our current government..

VIDEO:     https://youtu.be/F0681vZOU3s   https://www.facebook.com/avlband

ACID REFLUX: Somewhat enigmatic Glaswegians. Possibly sludge, possibly doom, possibly stoner. Definitely from Glasgow. Turns out to be tar-thick absolutely filthy sludge. Played by very young people.

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/NKAAkb7jB6o   https://www.instagram.com/acid.reflux.band.official/

Well, there you go. Friday night in Edinburgh, a line-up of interesting new(ish) bands, and only a handful of punters show up. Ali is feeling a bit disheartened, as well he might, but the band folks I speak with are philosophical about it. '2 or 200, doesn't matter, ' says the lad from A.V.L, 'If one person leaves having enjoyed the gig, then I'm happy.' Or words to that effect. Fair enough.

ACCEPTANCE, BANSHEE LABYRINTH, EDINBURGH, JUNE 20 2025

What better way to get back to gigging than an evening of pure filth and beautiful noise in a tiny room? On possibly the hottest night of the year so far.

Line-up:

A.V.L: Pulling a double shift tonight, with a sludge set and a noise set. Seen them very briefly once before, and very happy to get the chance to see them again. They start with a lengthy noise/drone piece and segue into a bruising drums/bass/vocals sludge/grind set, many songs and lots of sweat. 

VIDEO 1, Sludge set:  https://youtu.be/jzXn_uQyaQo    

VIDEO 2, Noise/drone set:  https://youtu.be/F89WPZA-MO0

CANAAN BALSAM: Ambient/electronica knob twiddling. Spoken word vocals with added violin and hand-saw. Eerie and unsettling, and quite beautiful. Not that it's particularly relevant, but the man himself looks like a blend of Limmy and Thom Yorke.

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/TVKPEM_SIxg    https://www.facebook.com/canaanbalsam

ACCEPTANCE: Black metal from Leeds, fka FATALIST, not to be confused with the other Fatalist or, indeed, FATALISTS. Appearing tonight as a trio, their bass player being ill. Doesn't seem to phase them though, and they are spectacular. Not sure if that drill-like guitar sound is deliberate or just a consequence of the lack of a bassist, but it all seems to work.

VIDEO:   https://youtu.be/xoPDp4qDBK8    https://www.facebook.com/Acceptance.Leeds

A belter of a gig, quality from start to finish. Cheers to The Kurgan for bringing Acceptance to Scotland for the very first time, and special thanks to the sound man for doing a cracking job and making everything crystal clear.