Acid Death
Balance of Power
Floga Records
2017
Well, Acid Death have made a name for them through all the years of their existence and releases, as well as live performances and are these days recognized as a leading band in the technical death (with thrash elements) field…
However “Balance of Power” is where it all begun… a shelved album that has remained so, for the last twenty five years or so, that remained unreleased due to the company that was meant to put it out, Black Power recs going out of business, leaving the band with no means to put it out on their own, in an era long before CD recordings were mainstream and when it cost still an arm and a leg to produce a silver pressing. Actually 2 of the tracks from it, the title cut as a B side and “Apathy Murders Hope” as the A side, were released as the eponymous EP on blue vinyl by the then famous Molon Lave Records and the rest is history.
“Balance of Power”, the “album, sees the band barely out of their teens, not terribly experienced in terms of recording, but fairly competent in their performing trying their best to channel their Death inspired metal down a 16 channel analog recorder and well not failing spectacularly, but still not managing an awful lot at least in terms of sound quality.
The charm of a band at its inception giving it their all, is there, I suppose as well as some good musical ideas, but by all means this thing is poorly recorded and almost “unlistenable” in terms of clarity by today’s standards, which I suppose makes it more of a memento rather than a meaningful release intended mostly for the band’s fanatics. A re-recording might have been interesting but it would beat the whole purpose, I imagine… take it for what it is – a snapshot in time, preserved for posterity…
However “Balance of Power” is where it all begun… a shelved album that has remained so, for the last twenty five years or so, that remained unreleased due to the company that was meant to put it out, Black Power recs going out of business, leaving the band with no means to put it out on their own, in an era long before CD recordings were mainstream and when it cost still an arm and a leg to produce a silver pressing. Actually 2 of the tracks from it, the title cut as a B side and “Apathy Murders Hope” as the A side, were released as the eponymous EP on blue vinyl by the then famous Molon Lave Records and the rest is history.
“Balance of Power”, the “album, sees the band barely out of their teens, not terribly experienced in terms of recording, but fairly competent in their performing trying their best to channel their Death inspired metal down a 16 channel analog recorder and well not failing spectacularly, but still not managing an awful lot at least in terms of sound quality.
The charm of a band at its inception giving it their all, is there, I suppose as well as some good musical ideas, but by all means this thing is poorly recorded and almost “unlistenable” in terms of clarity by today’s standards, which I suppose makes it more of a memento rather than a meaningful release intended mostly for the band’s fanatics. A re-recording might have been interesting but it would beat the whole purpose, I imagine… take it for what it is – a snapshot in time, preserved for posterity…