ANACRUSIS - Screams and Whispers

Screams and Whispers is the last of the four albums released by this progressive metal band. After the superb Manic Impressions (1991), Metal Blade gave the Americans everything they needed to record their new album. So, they got producer Bill Metoyer, the one who brought Slayer and Trouble to fame for the first time, and the recordings were made in the same Royal Recorders studio that gave us their previous opus. Unfortunately, drummer Chad Smith chose to leave the band and was replaced with Paul Miles, who does his job more than honourably on this album.

The 11 songs were written mostly by the band leader, Kenn Nardi (vocals/guitar), with a helping hand from his colleagues Kevin Heidbreder (guitar) and John Emery (bass), on certain songs, managing to keep the same line with the previous record, yet with a somehow airier sound. The album’s hit is Sound the Alarm – perhaps the band’s best known song, especially since it has a video that was quite often played on MTV Romania in the early 2000, in Lenti Chiriac’s shows. Certainly Release, Grateful, My Souls Affliction, or Brotherhood?, and the other songs could have had the same treatment as Sound the Alarm, as they are in no way inferior.  

Among others we can hear some keyboard parts, albeit not very complex, rather atmospheric, a bit unexpected for a band of this genre. Anyway, on Screams and Whispers we find all the ingredients of a top album, as the guitar solos created by Kenn and Kevin are simply amazing, while John Eremy is flawless on the bass. Obviously Paul matches them with his drumming and impeccable technique.

Due to this record they were able to get on an important American tour with Mercyful Fate, and also a European one with Death – a tour that is said to have happened due to Chuck Schuldiner’s insistence, who was really keen on having Anacrusis open their shows, as it was one of his favourite bands at the time. When they returned from this tour, they scattered to their homes and stayed there, leaving two truly fabulous albums behind them (Manic Impressions and Screams and Whispers). 

Even so, despite all expectations, in 2009, Anacrusis returned to the limelight and re-released their first demo - Annihilation Complete (initially released 1987). One year later they re-recorded their first two albums (Suffering Hour and Reason), on a double CD called Hindsight: Suffering Hour & Reason Revisited, a very useful release for all Anacrusis fans. Beside that they had a few shows in the US and Europe. It is not known yet whether there are any plans for the future for Anacrusis, but we still expect a sign of life from Kenn, as does every fan.

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