High Proof Cosmic Milk

"High Proof Cosmic Milk" marks the last Acid Drinkers album recorded with Litza. Though, surprisingly, he is THE mastermind behind it.

The guitar sound is unique in terms of Acid Drinkers' discography - dark, muddy, spooky, effect-laden. The bass is nothing special, just doing its job and following the rhythm guitar for the better part. And the drums, my Satan, the drums. Extremely spacious, extraordinarily enjoyable. Their sound suits this album just plain perfectly. Did I mention the guitarists use a lot of tasty, weird effects? On the whole album, there is not a single note from beyond the standard thrash instrumentarium.

As for the songs - well, certainly nothing you'd expect from our favorite four-piece from Poznań. If you thought Infernal Connection was dark, you're in for a surprise. Dark, stuffy, sometimes sinister. The kind you'd expect to be born in a psychiatric ward refugee's mind, for lack of a better comparison. This time, Acid Drinkers rely on groove and "hiding" Titus' voice more than on speeding drums and shouted vocals. Actually, there are only two "thrashy" songs - "Be My Godzilla" and the early Sepultura-esque "Gain on Shit". The rest are mid-paced, groovy and demented, save for the cover, "Proud Mary", and the bonus tracks, "Sad Like a Coal Check" and "Blustery Nite" (both of which, incidentally, are an absolute must-listen; the former, a nightmare-like song with no distorted guitars at all, features vocals by Ślimak, and the latter by the whole band). The best songs on the album are "Human Bazooka" (though I must admit I like the live version from AAA better), the title track (this one's a masterpiece and sounds even better live), Dementia Blvd (the most chill song on the whole album, though still retains the "beyond" atmosphere that permeates it), and Acid Drinkers' version of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary". If I were to point to the one song too many, I'd say "Blind Leading the Blind", the only bland, uneventful, and boring thing on the whole album. So, on the whole, the songs are very good.

Granted, "High Proof Cosmic Milk" takes time to get used to even after the initial shock, but it's worth every second and PLN invested. It certainly does not cater to every metal fan's tastes and has many opponents, but hey, works for me. Though be warned, this is NOT your usual Acid Drinkers album.

In 1994 Acid Drinkers changed their style. After four albums they abandoned their original signature sound. They tuned the guitars down, took their music more seriously and the result was “Infernal Connection”. It was the band’s milestone. Acid Drinkers suddenly became widely known and appreciated in polish metal scene. Four years later “High Proof Cosmic Milk” was released. First thing you surely noticed – the cover art. It’s so simple, yet so effective. Everyone who has seen it once will remember it forever. OK, let’s open the CD case and go to the music.


The album has 10 songs and it clocks at 45 minutes. The production is fat, heavy, and dirty. It’s overwhelming and incredibly powerful. If you have a good pair of headphones it’s even better. The guitars are REALLY FUCKING HEAVY. As for drums, the snare drum has a slight reminiscence of Metallica’s infamous “St. Anger” (don’t stop reading, bear with me) but it actually works well with the creepy, muddy guitars. The best example is the intro to “Human Bazooka” when the drums fade in with a thrash metal beat and you feel like your head’s going to explode.

Enough of the production, time to analyze the actual music. The album is very consistent. It is definitely slower than Infernal Connection; it’s more about the groove here. Rattlesnake Blues, the opening track, is a mid-tempo behemoth, with a guitar riff definitely inspired by 1993-1996 Sepultura and it pretty much sets the tone for the whole album. There are slower songs (“Dementia Blvd”), faster songs (“Be My Godzilla”, “Gain on Shit”), and mid-paced songs as well (“High Proof Cosmic Milk”) and they all fit perfectly. I can listen to the whole album from the beginning to the end and not stop or skip ONCE. It just works. Even the cover song, “Proud Mary” (originally by Creedence Clearwater Revival) seems to be destined to appear on that album. I mentioned Sepultura earlier and I have to do it again now – the main heavy riff in “Proud Mary” is taken directly from “Roots Bloody Roots”. Well, at least it sounds great. Litza (the main songwriter) has said many times that he’s always been strongly influenced by Cavalera’s work, and High Proof Cosmic Milk easily proves it. There are many guitar riffs here that could easily be found on “Roots” or even “Chaos AD”. Not only because the style is similar; they are definitely as good. As for the vocals – well, it’s Titus. I assure you, you cannot possibly mistake Titus with anybody on this planet. His voice is unique, with funny accent, and a signature tone. His voice fits this kind of music perfectly, just as it fits the band’s former albums. His lyrics with occasional grammar mistakes just add to the fun. And speaking of lyrics – they’re typical. Nothing more, nothing less. Dementia Blvd kind of stands out but still it’s nothing spectacular. It’s hard to judge lyrics because everyone interprets them in their own way. I have to say they do nothing for me. In some songs Litza does lead vocals, and his voice is similar to – yup, you guessed it - Max Cavalera’s. The drum work (Slimak is in good shape as always) is really good. Even if it’s merely a simple beat, he’s able to throw some crazy stuff there and make it interesting. That’s what I call good drumming.

But the most important thing about the album is that it’s full of weird effects. The booklet says “No keyboards, synthesizers used in the making of this recording” so all the spooky sounds were apparently created with guitar effects processors of some kind. And there’s many of them. Sometimes a traditional guitar solo is replaced with a series of random, ear-ripping sounds. But guess what – it all works perfectly. Dive bombs, harmonics, sirens… Listen to “Gain on Shit” and you’ll see what I mean. Also there’s stuff like this creepy long sound between the first two tracks. If you can pick up that vibe, it is incredibly atmospheric and provides a unique listening experience.


Alright, let’s recap. “HPCM” is a very heavy, dark, less thrashy and rather groovy album. It has an INCREDIBLE atmosphere. It’s definitely weird – starting with the album title (I mean, Cosmic Milk? What the hell?), all the effects, weird lyrics, creepy sound… It might be the hardest Acid Drinkers’ album to get into but once you do, it’s damn worth it. I wouldn’t call this a masterpiece; that would be going too far. It’s simply a strong, powerful, very good CD. Check it out if you like heavy and slower music, and if you’re more into thrash, buy “Infernal Connection” instead.


Essentials/highlights: Rattlesnake Blues, High Proof Cosmic Milk, Be My Godzilla, Dementia Blvd