Review by Sonny for Anacrusis - Screams and Whispers (1993)

I haven't paid much attention to Anacrusis over the years and so I wasn't quite sure what I would be getting with Screams and Whispers. Well one thing I did get was an interesting listen that's for sure. This is definitely not one of those thrash albums that jumps out and grabs you by the throat, but it requires a degree of investment on the part of the listener in order to unpack and digest what is going on here. Thrash metal can often be a very immediate experience, but a single, or even a couple of listens would never do an album like this justice. It is true that by the time of Screams and Whispers release there were several bands trying to move thrash metal on into a more progressive or technical direction, with varying degrees of success and it's fair to include Anacrusis amongst their number.

One thing that did stand out immediately were Kenn Nardi's vocals which don't come on like most other thrash vocalists who try terribly hard to sound as aggressive as possible, although he certainly shows at times he is capable of vocal aggression, it is not his only recourse. There is a gothic tinge to his vocals and even, I might venture, a touch of grunge about his singing. Most often, he comes off as a cross between Suicidal Tendencies' Mike Muir and Killing Joke's Jaz Coleman, although he can let rip when the material requires it.

Musically Screams and Whispers is a real mixed bag and to call it simply a thrash album is not telling the whole story. I guess progressive metal may cover it, but there really is a shedload of different influences going on here and from track to track, like with Forrest Gump's proverbial box of chocolates, you're never quite sure what you're going to get. Anacrusis seem to take delight in catching their listeners off-guard with a succession of curveballs, whether it's a gothic metal-like track such as the opener, Sound the Alarm (probably my favourite track), or the accessible melodies of tracks like Release that are exceedingly catchy in places, to the keyboard flourishes that sound like they were rented from Yes' Owner of A Lonely Heart that rear their heads on more than a couple of occasions, and the Killing Joke-influenced Division, this is certainly an unpredictable thrash metal release.

But, does it work? Well, I am a man of simple tastes and it could be that this is just too cosmopolitan for me but, no I'm afraid it doesn't always work and on a few occasions the constant change of direction hints at a work that doesn't really know what it wants to be, other than different from the herd. The constant and sudden changes of direction I often found frustrating and a little bit irritating, with it ultimately residing slightly outside my enjoyment zone. Don't get me wrong, there are tracks I enjoyed, the aforementioned Sound the Alarm and Division for example, but for me it isn't sufficiently coherent and those constant curveballs ended up distracting more than engaging me. What does make this album for me and are what I will take away from it are Nardi's vocals which lift the album higher in my regard than I think it would have with an inferior singer, so although I found the whole a bit disappointing, the vocals made it a worthwhile experience nonetheless.