ACID DRINKERS — Are You a Rebel? (review)

ACID DRINKERS — Are You a Rebel? album cover Album · 1990 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Time Signature
CoVinyl Part 2

So, when I found a 1990 Under One Flag pressing of this album in near mint condition, I had to buy it simply because of the hilarious cover artwork. The cartoonish front cover and the overly 90s back cover just screamed crossover at me.

Crossover it is, but it leans much more towards metal than towards punk. And it's actually pretty good stuff for the most part. The tracks on this album are musically much better than I expected. They are well-performed and well-composed. At times, some of the melodies sound intentionally silly, while at other times the guitarists almost venture into neo-classical virtuosic territory. Apart from the mock ballad 'Woman With The Dirty Feet' (obviously a jab at pretty much every late 80s glam metal ballad ever), all the songs are fast-paced thrashers with a couple if midtempo songs every now and then. There are a couple of punky elements too such as the chorus of 'I Fuck the Violence (And I'm Sure I'm right)' and this balance works very well.

In terms of musicianship and songwriting as such, this is all good stuff. Everything is super tight, and Litza and Popcorn (WFT?!?) are excellent at what they do for sure. The songs are also well-written and much more care has been taken to make the this sound good than one might expect. Production-wise, the album also sounds very good. The guitars have a slight Acid Reign feel to them, and the overall sound packs quite a punch. The vocals aren't great to be honest; they're not terrible either, but I think they might be grating to some listeners. The vocals are delivered with such a thick accent that, without the lyrics sheet, it's pretty much impossible to understand what the hell the guy is saying. And, you know what, the lyrics sheet doesn't help much because the lyrics are for the most part nonsensical (unintentionally, I think), and it doesn't make things better that half of the lyrics are missing for a couple of the songs. While this will probably annoy some listeners, I find it all a bit charming to be honest.

Overall, this is a fun and interesting listen. If you check it out, I think you'll find that it's much better than you might expect, but you may be taken aback by the odd vocals and the chaotic nightmare that is the lyrics (or you might love it to pieces). Still, overall, this is a very good album and it's definitely worth grabbing a copy of it if you come across one - especially if you like early 90s crossover thrash.
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Vim Fuego wrote:
more than 2 years ago
I've had this since it came out. Love it!

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