Acid Age "Live In Belfast" Album Review

   The beginning of 2023 brought about a few significent events that would change the landscape for the incomparable war jazz merchants Acid Age, around the start of February would see them have their 10th anniversary and was that an experience in itself,what would happen after is the band entered Metal 2 The Masses a few short weeks after and a few months later what still seems surreal they would be announced as the winners which resulted in them performing at Bloodstock, their live shows are something to behold,if you haven't witnessed that madness you reallt are missing out, eventually by the tail end of the year they would record their first ever live album aptly titled Live In Belfast during a live set in The Limelight 2 on 29th December,this release contains select favourites from their phenomenal Semper Pessimus album and some cracking unreleased tracks that will be on next years Perilous Compulsion album.lets delve into this absolutely superlative offering.

 Kicking things off with the Nero-Claudius inspired The Burning Of Rome, this tracks seems to be a template in their live sets and is an absolutely monstrous song full of twist and turns and always goes down a treat, the first taste of what they have in store in the future comes in the guise of the asbsolute rifftastic Revenge For Sale this combines relentless speed with a technicality that is fitting to their wacky sound and time signatures,those familar with the band know full well there's always some sort of hilarity or comedic value,this is a common theme at any of their live shows and as always Jude comes up with some anecdote to get the crowd more invloved and part of the whole experience.

  

    Possibly one of my favourite newer songs is the stonkingly heavy Third Eye Locksmith the groove throughout this is possibly one of the heaviest i've heard in a long time,as can be expected with their trademark wackiness the song goes in all sort of directions leaving a feeling of disorientation with each passing second, yet another new song and like the previous two Every Cliche  will also be another one on the upcoming Perilous Compulsion,this track has the most insanely fast riffing that leads to all sort of mind bending time signatures,within it's base this is a definitive Thrash Metal anthem but you have a bit of Jazz Fusion incorporated into mix,the bassline in this is shockingly heavy and levels the senses like a wrecking ball, there's yet more getting the crowd invloved anecdotes before setting an unstoppable blaze with the rip roaring My Wretched Womb, the absolute madcap wackiness of this songs always puts a smile on my face,the combined elements of jazz fusion,black and death metal all layered on top of a technical thrash nuances is seriously mind blowing and is something that sets this band apart from your traditional Thrash or Death Metal acts.

 Acid Age have really stepped up their game in the last few years with one of the best albums within the Irish scene in the last 5 years,their live shows have become the stuff of legend,people literally don't know how to think or react to the levels of technical ability that they're witnessing,also the fact that they're going to be gracing their presence at Bloodstock Festival for the second year in a row by opening up the whole festival on the Sophie Lancaster Stage is no fluke, the new songs on this live offering are a taste of the lethal dose of  what to expect on their highly anticipated upcoming opus Perilous Compulsion, this release is an awful lot of fun to listen to from one of the most underrated bands out there today, do yourself a favour and go listen to this band.

RATING: 9.5/10

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Acid Age: Semper Pessimus Album Review

  Northern Ireland War Jazz Hellions Acid Age have finally unleashed their third full lenght album Semper Pessimus, it's been five years since their last output the fantastic Like a Runaway Combine Harvester in a Field of Crippled Rabbits, the long overdue wait has been truly worth it, this album is something truly special and needs to be heard to be believed how sublime it is.

Been a long time Fan/Follower of this band since their inception in 2013, the progreesion of their sound and musicianship has got better with each release and finally in my opinion they've reached that undoubted potential i could see when i first heard them,anyway enough of the superlatives for now let's get down to the guts of this album.

  The concept of the album is based around Nero, The last Emperor of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty,each song tells a story of his Tyrannical and Murderous reign; the opening track The Shameless Lyre sets the tone for the whole album perfectly,the spoken word/rhyme section creates an extremely sinister tone for the story to unfold,midway through the song there's a brilliantly executed Millitant style drum solo courtesy of the ultra talented Aran Howe.

There's a very prevelent Progressive structure to the music not too dissimilar to Blind Illusion and Watchtower, Jude's absolutely Stellar Guitar work combined with Jake's insanely Bombastic Basslines are absolutely awe inspiring and almost head exploding at times; there's also a level of brutality/heaviness which is designed to bludgeon and destroy to a level never experienced before, this is also the first time the band decided to go with analog production(previous releases were all digital production), this was a very smart idea as it gives the sound a very old school feel but still the band maintain a level of originality you're unlikely to hear in any modern albums.

 This is a release everyone need to listen to at least once,  every track on offer has something unique and special to it, my personal favourites would either be Banquet Of The Dead or The Burning of Rome but the album as a whole offers plenty of absolutely Top Notch songs, if you decide not to listen to this you'll regret it big time, this is some top level musicianship you're not likely to hear anytime soon.

Digital and Physical copies of The album can be purchased at the link below

https://acidage.bandcamp.com/album/semper-pessimus

Album is also available on Spotify(Link Below)

https://open.spotify.com/album/1Eno0kIBP6OtMloNqBdvcc?si=tSUm5p40Sn2DxBv1cppI7w

Checkout the bands You Tube Channel at the link below

https://www.youtube.com/user/acidagethrash

While you're at it follow the band on Facebook(Link Below)

https://www.facebook.com/acidagethrash