ALBUM REVIEW: Live At Freak Valley Fest – The Atomic Bitchwax
Formed in Neptune, New Jersey in 1992, THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX have been an unstoppable force in the psychedelic and stoner scene for the last 30 years, having played over 1,500 shows worldwide and releasing nine studio albums along the way. Mixing together all the best elements of 1960s psychedelic rock, 1970s riff rock and modern progressive rock, you are guaranteed to have a brain-melting, trippy and riff-filled ride when THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX are about. As a result of this bombastic brew, the trio have been a permeant presence in the scene, alongside bands such as MONSTER MAGNET and ORANGE GOBLIN, and the organised chaos and frantic nature of the band’s music has even been placed on shows like Jackass. For our listening pleasure, this frenetic energy transitions effortlessly into the live environment with a relentless performance at Freak Valley.
Freak Valley Festival is a four day heavy psych, blues and stoner open air festival held annually in June in Netphen, Germany. The 2022 edition brought the big guns of the stoner, psychedelic and blues scenes together, with THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX gracing the stage on a hot June evening to enthral the baying crowds of frenzied stoner rock fans. The band’s latest album Scorpio was released in August 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, and it carried on from a string of albums with a brilliant live and earthy feel. Having captured their live chaotic magic magnificently in the studio, it could be a safe assumption that their performance was a highly anticipated one at that year’s festival.
The setlist for their performance covers a significant amount of the band’s faster and more technical songs from their vibrant discography; bringing passion, power, energy and expert musicianship to proceedings, this performance reminds you why THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX are in the upper echelons of the psychedelic and stoner genres. The New Jersey trio waste absolutely no time in getting to the heart of the action; riff after riff after riff comes hurtling at you at a relentless place. Filled with bluesy leads and bass driven grooves, coupled with Chris Kosnik’s party-centred, hype-man style showmanship enticing the crowd to have a good time, the intensity is palpable. As the intensity rises, the energy in the room is tangible as the band and the crowd create a feverish, reciprocal feedback loop of mutually frenzied enjoyment.
What THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX do really well is keep the energy high at all times, even if the song has gone into a slower, more BLACK SABBATH-esque groove section you still feel hyped up and ready to move your body. With Bob Pantella’s pounding drum rhythms locking in with Garrett Sweeny’s restless walking bass lines to set a solid foundation for Kosnik’s crazy guitar wizardry and impassioned vocals, the band’s performance is so tight and cohesive that you can’t help but succumb to their magnetic musical energy. Alongside the vintage 1970s style production, you easily get swept up in the layers of wah, fuzz and overdrive. This evidently goes down well with the audience as their presence is felt from the very beginning of the performance, placing you firmly in the centre of the action with plenty of whooping and hollering coming from all sides.
The aforementioned setlist features songs spanning the length of their career but mostly it consists of older songs such as Forty-Five from Atomic Bitchwax II, alongside Birth To The Earth, Kiss The Sun and Shit Kicker all from their self-titled debut. Dusting off some these songs no doubt contributed to the love and adoration that the fans audibly give them throughout the album. However, the song that shows off the band’s incredible musicianship is the instrumental madness of The Giant, as well as comedically introducing both their songs about Kung Fu, War Claw and Ninja. With all things considered, THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX ultimately have an absolute party on stage.
It’s safe to say that everything about Live At Freak Valley Fest is brilliantly chaotic and infinitely enjoyable. Sometimes you need an all out crazy rock ’n’ roll album to kickstart your day or help you release some excess energy, this is one of those albums. THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX leave it all on the stage in what is a brilliantly old school rock ’n’ roll show.
Rating: 8/10
Live At Freak Valley Fest is set for release on March 10th via Heavy Psych Sounds.
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