| When The Kite String Pops | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Studio album by Acid Bath | ||
| Released | August 8 1994 | |
| Recorded | at Side One in Metairie, Louisiana | |
| Genre | Sludge Metal | |
| Length | 69:14 | |
| Producer | Spike Cassidy, Greg Troyner | |
| Acid Bath chronology | ||
| Radio Edits 1 (1994) |
When The Kite String Pops (1994) |
Radio Edits 2 (1996) |
When the Kite String Pops is the debut album of American sludge metal band Acid Bath. Released on 8 August 1994 via Rotten Records, it is considered an underground classic. The album's artwork is a self-portrait made by notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy while in prison awaiting execution.
History[]
Following the release of several demos, Acid Bath would begin recording their debut album in 1994, with D.R.I. guitarist Spike Cassidy and Greg Troyner producing with the band. "Cassie Eats Cockroaches" contains samples from the 1971 Stanley Kubrick film A Clockwork Orange, as well as the 1986 David Lynch film Blue Velvet. A music video was also made for the song "Toubabo Koumi".
The album's cover art is a painting by John Wayne Gacy named "Skull Clown" in which he depicts himself as his clown alter-ego, "Pogo the Clown". The balloons on the lower part contain both his nickname and his real name, J. W. Gacy.
The use of artwork by a convicted serial killer caused controversy, with Rotten Records president Ron Peterson defending the decision by saying "It's America—you should be able to do what you want". Acid Bath's follow-up album, Paegan Terrorism Tactics, continued the provocative streak by using artwork created by euthanasia proponent Jack Kevorkian.
On the Double Live Bootleg! DVD (2002), Dax Riggs introduced the song "Tranquilized" by saying, "This song is about getting high any way you do it, and kicking the earth from beneath you" and "Cheap Vodka" by saying, "This song is about getting wasted and killing things, blood, sex, and blasphemy." "Toubabo Koomi" is Swahili for "land of the white cannibals." It was the only Acid Bath song that was made into a music video. The song "God Machine" begins with a spoken word introduction by Dax Riggs.
In 1999, sales of the album were just over 37,000 copies in the US, which is higher than average for a band with no publicity and released exclusively on an independent label.
Track Listing[]
All songs written by Acid Bath.
- 1. The Blue (6:13)
- 2. Tranquilized (4:14)
- 3. Cheap Vodka (2:14)
- 4. Finger Paintings of The Insane (6:04)
- 5. Jezebel (4:53)
- 6. Scream of The Butterfly (6:14)
- 7. Dr. Seuss Is Dead (6:04)
- 8. Dope Fiend (5:19)
- 9. Toubabo Koomi (5:01)
- 10. God Machine (5:00)
- 11. The Mortician's Flame (4:05)
- 12. What Color Is Death?" (3:19)
- 13. The Bones of Baby Dolls (6:00)
- 14. Cassie Eats Cockroaches (4:22)
Personnel[]
Acid Bath[]
- Dax Riggs - Lead Vocals
- Mike Sanchez - Electric Guitar
- Sammy Pierre Duet - Electric Guitar, Backing Vocals
- Audre Pitre - Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
- Jimmy Kyle - Drums, Percussion
Other Personnel[]
- Acid Bath - Producer
- Spike Cassidy - Engineer, Mixing, Mastering, Producer
- Greg Troyner - Engineer, Mixing, Producer
- Eddie Schreyer - Mastering
- Mike Wasco - Photography
- John Wayne Gacy - Artwork