ACID – Maniac CD (HNE Recordings)
The Belgium quintet’s second album is given a meaty overhaul and strengthened with three bonus tracks from the ‘Black Car’ 12”. ‘Maniac’ sees ACID once again laying down some truly solid, dedicated tunes with a sound embedded in the denim clad ways of Trad-metal, although with a slightly more polished resonance than their previous debut offering. The tasty thrash-dipped pace of ‘Max Overload’ is enough to get anyone’s head rocking, whilst the pounding title track keeps comparisons with many an early Maiden tune (in a positive way). ACID have some atmospheric moments, but nothing that interferes with the bolstered rhythms and impressively slick momentum which is gathered throughout the albums entirety – the overall sound here is powerful and concrete. Perusing part 2 of the in-depth band interview featured within this booklet gives a chance for those of us that missed out first time around plenty of information to catch up on. Mark Freebase