Anacrusis
Maniac Impressions
[Metal Blade]
Another one of those "evolving" bands that began as a complete thrash project and eventually morphed into prog metal. Hailing from Bridgeton, Missouri (just outside of St. Louis), Anacrusis plugged out a demo and four albums before splitting up during their first headlined tour by refusing to play a concert in late December 1993. The exact reasons for this are still unknown but supposedly Metal Blade dropped them in within 45 minutes. A tragedy for a few close fans, even if Anacrusis never really reached any widespread acceptance, and it seems like nowadays more and more people are digging their material up (which is unfortunately difficult at this point because it's all out of print).
Manic Impressions is the third full-length and often considered the strongest release. I'm not so sure that I'm inclined to agree, as at this point the band has definitely trekked a long way down the path of Pink Floyd; while I don't consider this a bad thing in itself, they have definitely exiled some great thrash and death elements. In many ways Anacrusis can be compared to Voivod as opinions about the best albums will always be contradicting. The vocals here have become almost completely clean with an overly haunting effect, though that snarled rasp and screaming growl effect often returns which will remind many followers of Suffering Hour. The bass is commonly used as a third guitar and the treble is particularly harsh, separating Manic Impressions in a lot of ways from typical progressive metal (a term that almost always turns me off). I doubt the band really fits that categorization anyway.
Cold, mechanical, and moody. My personal highlights are "I Love the World" (actually a New Model Army cover), "Something Real" (sort of a love ballad but quite entrancing), "Explained Away" (simply heavy and great), and "Our Reunion" (perhaps Anacrusis' best song). Overall, a very solid and fresh output with very few flaws - the band lost some edge on their succeeding release, so maybe it's all for the better that they chose to split anyway.
You'll probably either love it or hate it and. For me, Manic Impressions took a few listens to get into (as is often the case with abstract stuff), but I'm definitely glad that I kept spinning. Dark, unique, disconcerting, and highly recommended.
© 2000 hando
Manic Impressions is the third full-length and often considered the strongest release. I'm not so sure that I'm inclined to agree, as at this point the band has definitely trekked a long way down the path of Pink Floyd; while I don't consider this a bad thing in itself, they have definitely exiled some great thrash and death elements. In many ways Anacrusis can be compared to Voivod as opinions about the best albums will always be contradicting. The vocals here have become almost completely clean with an overly haunting effect, though that snarled rasp and screaming growl effect often returns which will remind many followers of Suffering Hour. The bass is commonly used as a third guitar and the treble is particularly harsh, separating Manic Impressions in a lot of ways from typical progressive metal (a term that almost always turns me off). I doubt the band really fits that categorization anyway.
Cold, mechanical, and moody. My personal highlights are "I Love the World" (actually a New Model Army cover), "Something Real" (sort of a love ballad but quite entrancing), "Explained Away" (simply heavy and great), and "Our Reunion" (perhaps Anacrusis' best song). Overall, a very solid and fresh output with very few flaws - the band lost some edge on their succeeding release, so maybe it's all for the better that they chose to split anyway.
You'll probably either love it or hate it and. For me, Manic Impressions took a few listens to get into (as is often the case with abstract stuff), but I'm definitely glad that I kept spinning. Dark, unique, disconcerting, and highly recommended.
© 2000 hando