Random's Manifest

There's a lot of people under the mistaken impression that this is a death/thrash record, but in reality it's just a prog album with slightly more aggressive than usual instrumentation and harsh vocals. I can count on one hand the number of times something actually approximating death/thrash occurs, and I can count the number of death metal riffs on this record on my fist (that means none.) Anyway, Acid Death is a weird little Greek prog band who've attained some very minor notoriety in the underground metal scene, primarily for this album. I find this pretty surprising since it's not as though they're really doing much that the tech thrash or prog scenes haven't really seen before, but maybe they've never been put together in this manner? Oh well.

God, did this have to be so long? The last four tracks could have been easily cut off and this album would be a lot more bearable. There's simply not fifty minutes worth of ideas here; the fact is that most of these songs sound very similar to each other. After the initial burst of aggression in the opener 'Perfect Enemy' (easily the most death/thrash track on the record) the band settles into a pretty straightforward prog metal sound defined by bleeping riffs, funk and jazz-oriented drumming, and constant virtuosity and wandering song structures. Unsurprisingly, most of the more structured passages on these songs are just elaborate setups for wandering instrumental passages based on back-and-forth tech thrash riffs and wild soloing. The vocals really feel like an afterthought- they're pushed towards the back of the production and really don't seem to accentuate the aggression of this music very much; hell, they're silent so often that you won't even notice them a few tracks in.

Where Acid Death goes right is on the occasion where they eschew all the bullshit prog bombast and start composing technical but essentially memorable and interesting melodies, like on 'Curse of Flesh.' On tracks like these, little hints of melodeath pop up, and the band actually plays with them in a pretty intriguing fashion. By taking these traditional mixtures of melodic death metal and traditional '70s heavy metal and putting them into a more complicated rhythmic framework, Acid Death can make music that's memorable, energetic, and exciting, with a definite tension and feeling of kinesis and possibility behind it. Unfortunately, these moments are rather few and far between, and for the most part you're left with a lot of noodling. I definitely get a big Annihilator influence off of this stuff- like 'Alice in Hell,' 'Random's Manifest' frequently feels more like a tech demo than a proper album, just one that's more preoccupied with aping Rush than Megadeth.

All in all, this isn't too bad- as far as prog goes, I can stomach this more than most owing to the more defined melodic sense and genuinely remarkable instrumental and compositional intricacy displayed by the musicians, but ultimately I'm not going to listen to this very often. I'll wholeheartedly recommend it to prog nerds, but everyone else can probably pass on this, no matter how weirdly good a reputation it has in the metal scene.

I just recently received this album after hearing about the band for well over a year. I must say... it's Progressive Death metal at it's finest. The first band that came to mind when listening to this exquisite album by the Greek metallers is Athiest. Then on further listen, I heard an assortment of Progressive and Death metal influences... such as Cynic, Death, and the like. Astounding guitar melodies, plenty of Athiest/Cynic type riffs, beautiful solos, and impeccable drum work make this album a MUST for any fan of Progressive Metal (unless you don't like harsher vocals) or any of the bands I listed above.

Best tracks: Psycho Love, Teach to Kill, and W.A.R.

I recently read an article on Into Eternity describing them as "the first band to successfully mind meld Death and Dream Theater". That tag fits Greece's dearly departed Acid Death like a glove... these guys obviously grew up listening to Death and Cynic. Sense of Annihilation and Teach to Kill are virtually identical to ITP-era Death. However, Acid Death are much more than a one trick pony and Random's Manifest is a mature record.

The most interesting thing about these guys is their penchant for off the wall jazz fusion passages... Random's Manifest in particular reminds me of a focused version of Cynic's Focus (HA!). The brilliant, jazz laced instrumental Misery Colored Yellow-black takes the cake for virtuousity, though.... it damn near personifies the word "progressive".

Acid Death flirth with melodic death metal as well... Psycho Love is an infectious, riff driven tune, easily my favorite on the album. The real surprise comes mid-album, with In Sorrow, a rousing prog-metal number featuring (guest?) clean vocals. Versatility indeed.

Fans of metal in general should certainly find much to cherish with Random's Manifest... fans of Chuck Schulidner's music and it's followers should go apeshit over Random's Manifest.