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

I'm glad Ben choose this release as this month's feature because it's been on my radar to revisit for a while now & I'd probably have checked it out this month at some point anyway. I remember not being as positive about it as I'd hoped at the time of release which is probably why it's taken me all these years to get back to it &, to be honest, not a lot's changed. Ben's been a massive fan of "Screams & Whispers" for a zillion years now but I just can't see what the big deal is. It's a serviceable progressive metal record with some thrash metal influence. I don't think it's accurate to call it a progressive thrash release as the progressive side of Anacrusis' sound dominates this tracklisting with a fair amount of US power metal in their sound. The thrashier parts remind me a lot of Testament's "Practice What You Preach" & "Souls Of Black" albums & vocalist Kenn Nardi seems to try to sound like Chuck Billy during his more aggressive moments too but I'd compare "Screams & Whispers" more to bands like Watchtower, Mekong Delta & particularly Nevermore more than I would to Coroner or Vektor.

Unlike Sonny though, I'm gonna have to admit that I find the vocals to be one of the weaker components of "Screams & Whispers". I wouldn't say they're much more than serviceable & think that a record like this one is sorely lacking a top line front man. I also find the production to sound noticeably dated with the rhythm guitar tone suffering from a hollow frequency scoop that was very much of its time & the keyboards being pretty random & more than a bit cheesy. I don't really find the album to get going until it makes a late surge through the one-two punch of the Voivod-inspired "My Soul's Affliction" into "Driven" but sadly the tracklisting dies in the ass shortly afterwards with the lengthy closer "Brotherhood?" which is the clear low point of the album.

I dunno. There are some really good things going on here (particularly the proggier lead guitar work which generally elevates things) but I'm afraid I don't see this record as the minor underground classic it's widely regarded as being. Enjoyable? Certainly but, despite the clear talent on display, I find it a bit hard to look past the flaws here.