They say the classics never go out of style… Whatever Refused might have to say on the matter, there’s a reason some albums are heralded as near-untouchable classics. Some records are simply timeless – their appeal near-universal. For as varied and extreme as Acid Death‘s sound has been over the years, they continue to be a band who take their inspiration directly from the source and – if their outstanding new album, Primal Energies is anything to go by – it’s a formula that has served them well, time and time again. When it comes to being the best, it helps to take from the best. Accept no substitutes.
Check out the video for the title track of Primal Energies below then scroll through to explore the classic cornerstones of Acid Death’s sound.
John Anagnostou (Guitars)
Megadeth – Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying? (1986)
Somewhere back in ’87–88, while playing as a kid, I never expected that a random nosebleed would change my life forever! When it happened and being unable to move myself for some minutes, I was forced to watch the TV. Some cartoon karate sketches, accompanied by a wild and distorted sound captured my interest immediately, following the intense movements from some people holding musical instruments and banging their heads up and down has fascinated me. I remember myself as a kid the following period trying to see at the TV again the same scenes but I was not luck at all.
Fast forward to 1997, when I had started discovering metal music and Peace Sells… from Megadeth was a great punch in my face! It was then, when I saw “Peace Sells” video clip, when it hit me… That’s the exact thing that I was watching as a kid. That feeling was so strong that made me want to be able to play that music myself. That was the spark needed to get me into music. I still get the chills when I am listening to that record. “Wake Up Dead”, “Peace Sells”, “Good Mourning / Black Friday” and “My Last Words” are masterpieces that pushed me into trying to learn playing the electric guitar.
Savvas Betinis (Bass/Vocals)
Iron Maiden – The Number of the Beast (1982)
It was summer of 1986 when I bought my first Heavy Metal tape. It was Iron Maiden‘s Number of the Beast album. I was just 14 years old, actually I was a kid, but I was into Rock music from 11-12. But this tape… It was a total surprise for me! The guitar sound, the voice, the drums, but most of all The BASS GUITAR!!! “Yes, I’d like to take some bass guitar lessons!” This was my decision. Steve Harris was, of course, my teenage hero, and sometimes he still is. The “metal tape” was my companion for more than 1 year [and] in 1988 I bought my first bass guitar – a really cheap one but the dream came true. In 1989 Acid Death was active. I was band’s bass player and vocalist also. I still admire that album; I still admire that tape; I still love playing bass; I still work with my band creating music. I am happy with that.
Slayer – Reign in Blood (1986)
Some months later, reading the Greek edition of Metal Hammer magazine, I checked something really new for me: the so-called “Thrash Metal” genre and a band called Slayer, who was ready to release it’s “brand new album, Reign In Blood.” Thrash Metal??? What the Hell was that? I guess a more “Heavy” music genre than Heavy Metal… Ok, let’s try it! Going to the nearest record shop of my neighborhood, I ordered that album with the store owner [looking] at me again and again—[thinking] that “this child was into pop music some months ago and now he is ordering the new Slayer album. Do his parents know anything about it?”
The surprise was soooooo big when the record arrived and I got to the store and pay for it. What a “heavy” cover! What a “heavy” picture at the back cover!!! A child was discovering new things day-by-day. Running back home and enjoying my new “toy” was the next thing. Right after school—my mother was sitting in the kitchen, asking me about how was my day and if everything was ok at school—I was not answering till the time I put the record on the turntable and give he first spin.”YES!!!” I shouted, “This is really HEAVY music!!!” My mother came to my room to see “what was that noise?” Not a good surprise for her, since she loved Greek traditional music and some Italian traditional songs also. But I was more than happy. A happy kid who just had an new world at [his] hands, and I am so happy till today.
Acid Death’s new album Primal Energies is out now on 7Hard Records.