Sometimes you read biographies which make you feel ashamed that the name of that band doesn’t ring a bell right away. Acid Death is one of those. Started in 1991, they have recorded pretty much, they have been buried in positive reviews and yet they never reached me. Is that my own fault or does the bio exaggerate the truth a bit? It often pays to check the archives of Lord of Metal to see whether or not there has been a review before. And there is. To be more exact, about the 2000 album ‘Random’s Manifest’. Not without reason my predecessor, who seemed to have followed the band better than I have, made a comparison with the French band Loudblast, who have also been under my verdict last years, but on a number of points that comparison is totally off too. More about that later on.

I don’t know if the band is named after the Tankard song, if so, that is negative on the score in my eyes. Like said they started off in 1991 already, in Greece to be precise, a year in which a major part of our readers weren’t even born probably, but now they are received with a warm welcome unto the scene. If not: welcome guys! In the meanwhile Acid Death released four demos, an EP, a single (check the enclosed video with this article), a split and three albums. In 2001 they laid down their arms, during the recording of a new album, indeed a moment in which tension can build up to a point of no return. But in 2011 they unearthed up the hatchet. Whether or not that is because they just wanted to have fun again, they were being asked back or they thought they had something to add to the current spectrum, I really can’t tell. But I am sure it is a combination of these three.

After the first, instrumental part, the band starts to unveil its identity a little more. The intro was dreamy metal, but after that, things are way more in-your-face. Especially on vocals, which air some streetwise spirit, with a direct approach. Also the bass bleeps that come to the forefront every now and then make it hint like nineties hardcore, just a little bit. The music on guitar is very adventurous and full of fantasy however, I would almost be tempted to say atmospherically. That is if the vocals wouldn’t bring you back down to earth. Is that a shame? Well, in my eyes it is, but at the same time there will be tons of fans that think otherwise and particularly like it for that. So that’s just a matter of what you personally prefer. But due to the combination of all kinds of factors that play a part in their style, it is very difficult to just put a label on them. The vocals are a rough mixture of thrash, death and hardcore, the guitars tend to melodic death metal and all together they are quite progressive and at times VERY energetic. In consensus with singer Savvas (see interview) I’ll stick to death metal , but be aware that I don’t cover it as a whole there. There are pure thrash parts too and even influences outside metal. Even Dani Filth’s horror narrative is applied. I think that the fun of making heavy music is what keeps them going again after an absence of ten years. A great breakthrough might be too much to ask for, but not everyone that runs in the park will strive to beat Usain Bolt, so that is still fine. Have fun with them, I’d say.

Rating: 77/100