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Annihilation Complete - The Early Years (CD/DVD)

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Of all the metal bands to emerge in the `80s, Anacrusis is one that by all rights should have gone way beyond "cult" status. At the very least, their unique vision of progressive thrash metal should have made Anacrusis a hallowed name in progressive metal circles alongside Cynic, Atheist and Believer. For whatever reason, Anacrusis has remained one of metal's best kept secrets. Now, for the first time, the band's earliest recordings have been collected on CD with StormSpell's 2010 collection Annihilation Complete: The Early Years Anthology.

As the title suggests, this anthology includes the band's 1986 demo release, titled Annihilation Complete. It also includes re-recorded versions of the Annihilation Complete songs from 1987 plus a few additional rehearsal demos. The demos collected here are all fairly rough, having been recorded on less than state of the art equipment a long time ago. However, they have been remastered by guitarist/vocalist Kenn Nardi so they sound as good as possible. As for the songs themselves, these are raw, energetic metal songs that combine classic melodic elements with a good dose of speed and thrash metal aggression. You don't get a lot of the progressive technicality that the band is known for, but there's definitely something that sets these songs apart.

Annihilation Complete: The Early Years Anthology also includes a DVD featuring historic Anacrusis performances from 1987 and 1988 as well as a 1986 performance by Nardi's pre-Anacrusis band Heaven's Flame. The audio and video quality is a bit rough, but that's to be expected given the age and quality of the source material. Nardi also mastered and edited the DVD.

Like all StormSpell reissues, Annihilation Complete: The Early Years Anthology is a very attractive and well put together release. Nardi provided a lot of very useful information and rare photos in the detailed liner notes, which only add to the already high quality level of the discs and inserts.

Between this collection and the Hindsight: Suffering Hour & Reason Revisited set, Anacrusis fans have a lot to celebrate in 2010. Now we just need the band to start performing again and writing some new material!

Track Listing:
1. Disemboweled/Annihilation Complete
2. Imprisoned
3. Pendulum
4. Fighting Evil
5. R.O.T.
6. Frigid B!tch
7. Vulture's Prey
8. Apocalypse
9. Injustice
10. Frigid B!tch
11. Pendulum
12. Imprisoned
13. Fighting Evil
14. R.O.T.
15. Injustice
16. Powerhouse