ANACRUSIS - Manic Impressions

Manic Impressions is one of those albums that are representative for everything related to instrumental technique in metal. At the time (1991), bands of this kind were labelled techno-thrash, but in time the word techno proved to be synonymous with progressive. Of course, these classifications are all too insignificant, as the most important thing is music, anyway it is labelled. And these guys have always played real music, so any comment is really superfluous.

Anacrusis is a band that hails from St. Louis, Missouri, and Manic Impressions is their third album. Unfortunately, the first two releases (Suffering Hour and Reason) suffer a lot for their production, with rather poor sound even for the time, despite the fact that their crossover thrash is really played by the book and is quite technical. Even so, with their second release they had the chance to have a tour with D.R.I., the godfathers of this sub-genre (who in turn came after a collectible album: Thrash Zone). Perhaps this was the reason why Metal Blade took the four under their wings and sent them to the Royal Recorders studio in Lake Geneva to record this album (a studio that had given birth, among others, to the first Skid Row, but also to Queensryche’s Empire). The production was handled by the same person that did the vocals and the guitar, the band leader Kenn Nardi.

It is hard for me to describe in words what is going on in this record. It is based on thrash, but very technical, the likes of which had not been heard before. Of course, there were many important techno-thrash bands at that time, but Anacrusis came with a lot of new elements, with the searing guitar riffs from Kenn Nardi and Kevin Heidbrede, supported flawlessly by John Emery’s bass. However, I feel that this release had not been what it is if the previous drummer did not have the “good fortune” of joining the Army and being replaced by a true drum god, Chad Smith (who would then play both with Pavlov's Dog, and Geezer Butler’s outfit - G/Z/R). As I was saying above, on the microphone we have the same Nardi, but I feel this is not exactly his strong point, despite the fact that he sings in a variety of manners and tonalities. Regarding John Emery, I find it absolutely incredible how his bass complements the guitars when they stop their madness. You just don’t get any breaks with the way he writes his parts. For this reason I’d like to say that this is one of the best bass players I’ve ever heard in my career as an amateur music lover.

While I can’t say I have a favourite song, it’s impossible not to single out Something Real, Explained Away, or Far Too Long. Of course the other songs are at the same standards without discussions, as otherwise we’d have an unstable album with better and less good songs. With the exception of I Love the World, which is a New Model Army cover, all songs are written by Nardi, Heidbrede and Emery, noting that Nardi appears on all songs as the main writer while the other two only appear on certain tracks as co-writers.

After releasing this record they embarked on an American tour with Overkill and Galactic Cowboys, and had, among others, ten shows opening for Megadeth, taking advantage of the fact that Alice In Chains dropped out of that tour. So, Anacrusis had quite a bright future in front of them in all respects, considering their outlandish technique and their show experience. Despite this, the audience never supported them according to their immense value. Still, we will discuss what happened to them on another occasion, because they didn’t say their final word with Manic Impressions. 

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