Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Acid - Maniac (1983)

Belgium's Acid were/are a fun bunch by the sounds of it.  Their current status might be a bit of a grey area with a rumoured two versions of the band being in existence but on their sophomore album there is no ambiguity on any front.  What we get here is straight up heavy/speed metal absolutely brimming with energy and youthful vigour.  Whilst they might not have been the most flamboyant musicians they certainly know how to put on a performance and this is in no small part is due to vocalist Kate de Lombaert.

Now, Kate isn't any soprano type vocalist and indeed shows no hint of melody or harmony during the record.  Instead she uses her curt and blunt pronunciation to great effect, combining it with her gruff and aggressive delivery that makes for a perfect accompaniment to the hi-octane pace of the music, elevating the overall edginess of Acid's sound.  Although it does rely heavily on this urgent and busy riffing style, Maniac has branches of variety that show build to tracks such as America making them immediate and memorable without sacrificing the cutthroat approach to the music overall.

It does still lack variety overall though, and the elements of filler mentioned in other reviews (namely No Time) results with the odd sigh getting uttered during the listen through.  There's certainly no dynamic playing going on across the instrumentation here, in fact I would go as far as to say that without Kate this album wouldn't work quite so well.  I can't remember any leads if I am honest and the drum work seems to happily sit as a background element only. 

Still, for a sophomore release (done in the same year as their debut) it is a good effort, solid and consistent if not predictable as a result.