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When the Kite String Pops
Studio album by Acid Bath
Released	August 8, 1994
Recorded	Side One, Metairie, Louisiana
Genre	Sludge metal
Length	69:02
Producer	Spike Cassidy Greg Troyner Acid Bath
Acid Bath chronology
Hymns of the Needle Freak (1993) When the Kite String Pops (1994) Radio Edits 1 (1994)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	7/10
Sputnikmusic

When the Kite String Pops is the debut studio album of American sludge metal band Acid Bath. Released on August 8, 1994, it is considered an underground classic and an early example of sludge metal. The album's artwork is a self-portrait made by notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy while in prison awaiting execution.

Cover art

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.

Themes

On the Double Live Bootleg! DVD (2002), vocalist 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 Cajun French for "land of the white cannibals." It was the only Acid Bath song that was made into a music video. According to guitarist Sammy Duet, the alligator which appeared in the video ended up biting someone's face. The song "God Machine" begins with a spoken word introduction by Riggs.

Reception

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 and composed by Acid Bath.

• Track 10 contains samples from an episode of The Jerry Springer Show. Track 14 contains samples from the 1971 Stanley Kubrick film A Clockwork Orange, as well as the 1986 David Lynch film Blue Velvet.

Music videos

• "Toubabo Koomi"

Personnel

Acid Bath

• Dax Riggs – lead vocals
• Mike Sanchez – guitar
• Sammy "Pierre" Duet – backing vocals, guitar
• Audie Pitre – backing vocals, bass
• Jimmy Kyle – drums, percussion

Production

• Acid Bath – production
• Spike Cassidy – production, engineer, mixer, mastering
• Greg Troyner – production, engineer, mixer
• Eddie Schreyer – mastering
• Mike Wasco – photography

References

1. ^ AllMusic review
2. Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
3. Mancusio, Jack. "When The Kite String Pops Review". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
4. Sharpe-Young, Garry (2005). New Wave of American Heavy Metal. New Plymouth, New Zealand: Zonda Books Limited. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-9582684-0-0.
5. Glenn, Jenni (February 1997). "Riffs". CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 42. p. 45. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
6. Morris, Chris (November 9, 1996). "Album Artwork Hits New Low on Rotten Records". Billboard. p. 57. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
7. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Sammy tells story of the Acid Bath – Toubabo Koomi Alligator biting someones face. YouTube.
8. Metal Sludge – Sludge Scan For November 1999 – The Power & Glory since 1998
9. "This is Where the Intro of 'God Machine' Comes from (Acid Bath)". YouTube. September 7, 2023.
10. When the Kite String Pops – Acid Bath | Credits | AllMusic, retrieved December 19, 2020

• 1994 debut albums
• Acid Bath albums
• John Wayne Gacy
• Obscenity controversies in music