Anacrusis

Anacrusis
	General information
origin	St. Louis , Missouri , United States
Genre (s)	Progressive metal , thrash metal
founding	1986, 2009
resolution	1993
Website	www.anacrusis.us
Founding members
Vocals , guitar	Know Nardi
guitar	Kevin Heidbreder
bass	John Emery
Drums	Mike Owen
Current occupation
Vocals, guitar	Know Nardi
guitar	Mike Henricks (live shows 2011)
bass	John Emery
Drums	Mike Owen (1986–1990, from 2009)
former members
Drums	Chad Smith (1990-1992)
Drums	Paul Miles (1992-1993)
guitar	Kevin Heidbreder (1986–1993, 2009–2010)

Anacrusis ( Engl. :. Poet./mus opener ) is a progressive Metal / Thrash Metal band from St. Louis , Missouri ( USA ), which was founded in 1986. They were the first band to combine Thrash Metal with progressive elements and clean vocal passages. Their albums Manic Impressions and Screams and Whispers are now considered classics and milestones of Progressive / Thrash Metal and the band still has quite a large fan base, especially in Europe. After a long creative break, the band has been active again since 2009.

history

In 1986 friends Kevin Heidbreder, Mike Owen and John Emery decided to start a metal band. After the end of his band Heaven's Flame , Kenn Nardi also joined the band shortly afterwards - originally only as a guitarist, but after a few rehearsals he also took over the vocals, as in his former band. The band name chosen was "Anacrusis" and began to compose their own pieces and rearrange some songs from Heaven's Flame. In order to better adapt the band's sound to Nardi's voice and singing style, the guitars on Dropped B were tuned lower.

The band's first demo, Annihilation Complete , was voted the best demo of the year by readers of Metal Forces magazine in 1987 , after which the songs Annihilation Complete and Imprisoned were published on a compilation album of the magazine. This led to a recording contract with the English label Active Records, for which the band recorded their debut album Suffering Hour in 1988 .

In 1990, their second album Reason followed , on which the band presented their later original progressive sound for the first time. In the course of the album, the band toured as support of DRI by the United States , but a bigger success was due to a lack of disclosure on an American label and no live presence in Europe. Drummer Mike Owen then left the band and was replaced by the former Heaven's Flame drummer, Chad Smith.

The American label Metal Blade Records became aware of Anacrusis and signed the band. In 1991 the band recorded their third album Manic Impressions . With the new songs in their luggage, the band toured the United States first as the opening act for Overkill and then for Megadeth . Despite a new album with excellent reviews in music magazines and video clips for the songs I Love the World ( NMA cover) and Something Real , the band's breakthrough continued to fail.

Shortly after the tour, the band began working on a new album. Chad Smith left the band and was replaced by Paul Miles (ex-Megalith), with whom Anacrusis recorded their fourth and initially last album Screams and Whispers in 1992 . The band then worked with orchestral elements for the first time. Video clips for the songs Sound the Alarm and Release were shot for the album . The band received consistently positive feedback in the scene music magazines. The band went on tour in Europe for the first time with the album release in 1993, in support of Death . After returning from this tour, however, the band began to break up because, despite the almost consistently brilliant response to their albums and concerts, they had still not got beyond the status of an insider tip. Reorientations in the private sector meant that Kenn Nardi left and the band decided to split up completely.

After the band split up, Kenn Nardi briefly joined the St. Louis band, Tribes With Knives , before retiring from music for a long time. The other band members then played in local cover bands or returned to their original bands. In 2006, Kenn Nardi reported back with a solo project called Cruel April , in which he acted as a singer-songwriter and hit moderate rock tones. There were considerations to present the project as a band, but this did not materialize.

In 2009 the band announced that they had reunited with the original line-up of Kenn Nardi, Kevin Heidbreder, John Emery and Mike Owen to perform at the Keep It True XIII Festival in Germany in 2010 and to produce a double CD of their own with new recordings of their first two To release albums Suffering Hour and Reason , as the original production of these albums suffered from an undifferentiated sound. Also in 2009 the CD / DVD Annihilation Complete was released by Stormspell Records . This contained Anacrusis' 1987 demo Annihilation Complete , as well as other demo songs, older Heaven's Flame pieces and early live material. During 2010 the band worked on new songs, but so far only This Killer in My House has been released on the band's website and on the CD Silver Ag47 (Best of Anacrusis) .

In 2010, Anacrusis played a sold out reunion concert in their hometown of St. Louis, which was also recorded and filmed for later visual release. In 2011 the band performed at a metal concert organized by a local radio station, a headliner showcase in the Firebird Club, St. Louis, at the Rock Hard Festival in the Amphitheater Gelsenkirchen , in St. Louis at the Skullfest and at the Alcatraz Metal Festival in Belgium.

style

The Anacrusis guitarists tune their six-string guitars to "Dropped B" (German: H / tuning like seven-string guitar ). The bassist plays a five-string bass to match this. Kenn Nardi's voice is considered particularly charismatic in the metal sector. His singing style ranges from the rough vocals typical of Metal and classic high-pitched screams to clear, melodic passages.

Others

On their website the band provides all albums and demos, current band rehearsal recordings, unreleased pieces and newly recorded versions of their old songs, as well as Kenn Nardis' solo project Cruel April in MP3 format for free download.

Former drummer Chad Smith is not to be confused with the Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer ; it is just a matter of identical names.

Discography

Albums

1988: Suffering Hour
1990: Reason
1991: Manic Impressions
1993: Screams and Whispers
2010: Hindsight: Suffering Hour & Reason Revisited

Compilations

1988: Demolition - Scream Your Brains Out! ( Metal Forces -Compilation with the songs Annihilation Complete and Imprisoned )
2009: Annihilation Complete - The Early Years Anthology
2011: Silver Ag47 (Best of Anacrusis)

Demos

1987: Annihilation Complete
1989: Quick to Doubt
1990: Manic Impressions

Videos

Video clips

1991: I Love the World
1991: Something Real
1993: Sound the Alarm
1993: release
2010: Present Tense
2010: Imprisoned

DVDs

2010: Anacrusis: Live @ Mississippi Nights 1993
2011: Anacrusis: Our Reunion - Live at St. Louis, 2010