Acid Drinkers-Vile Vicious Vision

Metal Mind
1994/2009

From their debut in 1990 Poland's Acid Drinkers instantly established themselves as being more than just a thrash band. At the heart of the music was thrash, but they mixed all kind of odd styles, sounds and whatever they could throw into the mix. At times they sounded like a cross between the Dead Kennedys and Anthrax. By "Vile Vicious Vision" something was definitely changing in this band. The first aspect was that they were definitely slowing down and the thrash parts were becoming few and far between. Okay, maybe that just a product of the times as a number of thrash bands were opting to slow down. Besides being fast these guys had a quirky approach and frequently pulled in numerous different unexpected part and passages. At first I wasn't sure if I had gotten used to their style or if they had just cut down on the surprising parts. Upon a second play I think it's the second reason. At least for about the first perhaps 3/4 of the album the band seems far more subdued and even predictable (at least for them). Granted being less predictable for this band is well above average for most other bands. There are still a number of moments where they just take off on odd paths, but they had certainly toned it down on this release. There are some fine moments and the last three tracks all demonstrate Acid Drinkers at their chaotic best, but this album is certainly weaker than the previous discs. This re-issue includes lyric booklet, a bonus tracks and two video clips.