Anacrusis
Anacrusis
Came to think about Anacrusis whilst driving to work this morning (with Pokolgép's Csakazértis popped in the CD player, mind you). I realized this was one of my favourite bands in the early to mid nineties. Along with Manilla Road, Fates Warning and Saint Vitus this was the band I'd always asked record store owners if they had heard about any new releases back then (Youngsters; this was back when the dinosaurs still walked the earth - You often had to ask these people this kind of questions if you wanted to know... There was no... internet )
Anyway, I haven't heard much discussion about Anacrusis here... especially on their later output. What are the reasons behind that? Were they, infact, one of the precursors to all those american (un-)metal subgenres which I always had found it hard to make any sense out of (emo, Linking Park, Slipnot, rapcore, Korn, Marylin Manson...). To me it's still a blur of sounds (the lot, not the actual songs - I am not that old... - and sorry, Helm, I seem not to have learnt much...) seemingly aggressive in sound, but never really in execution or in composition, that suddenly switches of in another direction, be it full on pop choruses, rap or blatant maidenisms. Sort of the direction in which you could argue Anacrusis were going in throughout their recording carreer. Exemplified not necessarily by rap or Iron Maiden but present in their unregard for Heavy Metal tradition (if there were any): New Model Army, Hardcore vocals mixed with Pink Floydish/pop parts, emotions ranging from the extremely cold to extreme passion...
I haven't heard any of their albums for years (I guess I will play them very soon though) and the reason (sic!) for this may well be some subconscious feeling that despite my liking for what they did when they were active I do not support the direction in which they were heading. Should I be glad they aren't still with us?
So, what are your opinions on Anacrusis?
Anyway, I haven't heard much discussion about Anacrusis here... especially on their later output. What are the reasons behind that? Were they, infact, one of the precursors to all those american (un-)metal subgenres which I always had found it hard to make any sense out of (emo, Linking Park, Slipnot, rapcore, Korn, Marylin Manson...). To me it's still a blur of sounds (the lot, not the actual songs - I am not that old... - and sorry, Helm, I seem not to have learnt much...) seemingly aggressive in sound, but never really in execution or in composition, that suddenly switches of in another direction, be it full on pop choruses, rap or blatant maidenisms. Sort of the direction in which you could argue Anacrusis were going in throughout their recording carreer. Exemplified not necessarily by rap or Iron Maiden but present in their unregard for Heavy Metal tradition (if there were any): New Model Army, Hardcore vocals mixed with Pink Floydish/pop parts, emotions ranging from the extremely cold to extreme passion...
I haven't heard any of their albums for years (I guess I will play them very soon though) and the reason (sic!) for this may well be some subconscious feeling that despite my liking for what they did when they were active I do not support the direction in which they were heading. Should I be glad they aren't still with us?
So, what are your opinions on Anacrusis?
I like the first two albums and about half of the third.
This was a decent Thrash act but a little on the modern sounding side which I'm not really a huge fan of.
Now, if only I could find an original copy of "Suffering Hour" without a hole punch in the inserts...
This was a decent Thrash act but a little on the modern sounding side which I'm not really a huge fan of.
Now, if only I could find an original copy of "Suffering Hour" without a hole punch in the inserts...
bigfootkit wrote:"Your Steel Is Not True"
stormspell wrote:"I hate all my releases. I only listen to Korn and Limp Bizkit, don't you know..."
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I consider "Suffering Hour" one of the greatest Thrash albums of all time. Every single song is a masterpiece and the production is incredible - those guitars just steamrolls you to the livingroom floor!
I like rest of 'em too, but they never really got back on track imo. "Reason" was actually the first CD I ever bought and while it's a great album it just pales in comparison to the debut. I find "Manic Impressions" their weakest one, but I was really blown away by "I Love The World" back then and tried for years to figure out the name of the "Metal Band" who'd originally wrote it.
"Screams & Whispers" would be my 2nd fave - not a masterpiece but with some stunning songwriting and a more than worthy farwell.
I like rest of 'em too, but they never really got back on track imo. "Reason" was actually the first CD I ever bought and while it's a great album it just pales in comparison to the debut. I find "Manic Impressions" their weakest one, but I was really blown away by "I Love The World" back then and tried for years to figure out the name of the "Metal Band" who'd originally wrote it.
"Screams & Whispers" would be my 2nd fave - not a masterpiece but with some stunning songwriting and a more than worthy farwell.
Nope, I don't really see the connection there. Even if Anacrusis were a highly original band, they weren't really unique in doing "Progressive Post-Thrash" back in those days, so they definitely belonged in a different scene/sub-genre.GJ wrote:Were they, infact, one of the precursors to all those american (un-)metal subgenres
Anacrusis took the best of Metallica legacy and made some of the best music ever! My favorite is Suffering Hour, but I have to invest more time and blood into the other three.
About Suffering Hour CD - it seems that copies with punches, cuts, etc. are quite "common" (i.e. you can find few of them for sale each year) - same with Hirax's Not Dead Yet CD, and the "normal" copies are way rarer.
About Suffering Hour CD - it seems that copies with punches, cuts, etc. are quite "common" (i.e. you can find few of them for sale each year) - same with Hirax's Not Dead Yet CD, and the "normal" copies are way rarer.
I guess I am no expert in the progressive Post-Thrash area. (One could say I liked Anacrusis not because of, but rather in spite of the Thrash in their output) Still what I meant was if Anacrusis could have had an influence on these nu-metal and what not genres (I blame my lack of knowledge for making my point undecipherable) that tend to plague much of modern day Metal. I guess Voivod would be sort of in the same situation whereas, say, Fates Warning (to me) seem to be mere followers in this aspect...DaN wrote:Nope, I don't really see the connection there. Even if Anacrusis were a highly original band, they weren't really unique in doing "Progressive Post-Thrash" back in those days, so they definitely belonged in a different scene/sub-genre.GJ wrote:Were they, infact, one of the precursors to all those american (un-)metal subgenres
Might as well also mention Metallica and Anthrax while at it in regards to Thrash bands that released material in the late 80's/early 90's that could have potentially influenced nu-metal trends.
bigfootkit wrote:"Your Steel Is Not True"
stormspell wrote:"I hate all my releases. I only listen to Korn and Limp Bizkit, don't you know..."
Probably so, but I didn't listen to these bands even in the late eighties/early nineties so have very little relation to/knowledge of them. I find it hard, though, to think that these bands influenced followers in the way of combining extremes in expression in the way Anacrusis might had done had they been stronger force in music/media. And that (the extremes) seem to be quite common nowadays, in Metal and in Pop music with Metal influences/ingredients.Avenger wrote:Metallica and Anthrax
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I remember loving Manic Impressions when it came out, and then Screams and Whispers I thought was even better (still my favorite). However, when I went to listen to their older stuff, I heard Reason and was very disappointed. I'm honestly not sure I've ever heard the debut. I'll have to change that.
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Good point- I've found on other boards that Anacrusis tend to be one of the few bands that almost no one bitches about. Someone may not like all their albums, but you never hear comments like "they suck", "I hate them", "some of their albums kinda suck", etc. A rare feat indeed!Ernest Thesiger wrote:Exactly. I like their early doomthrash as much as their soul-searching later stuff. They never really went shit.Helm wrote:real emotion at its core.
"I'm sorry Sam, we had real chemistry. But like a monkey on the sun, our love was too hot to live"
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