Near the end of the 80s, a band from Athens, Greece began its journey into becoming one of the most special acts in the country to date. I am not referring to ROTTING CHRIST or SEPTIC FLESH, yet on a musical entity much sophisticated. ACID DEATH, raising the flag for Progressive Metal, proved that beyond the old school merits of the extreme and Thrash Metal, complexity, applied by the utmost instrumental dexterity, could be achieved similar to other acts from the US that already had a name for themselves such as DEATH and ATHEIST. "Pieces Of Mankind", originally released in 1997, is certainly a signature piece of profound progression. The English label, Corpo Records, reissued the album for the second time, including two past demos, after doing the same back in 1999, a smart move and a benefit for the label and the Greek band.

This certainly wasn't my first time listening to ACID DEATH, yet it was my first time listening to their debut album. In contrast to their comeback album of 2012, "Eidolon", the band's musical direction remained steady and with a clear indication of a strong attention to every bit of detail. After the band's emergence in 2011, even the chief songwriters remained. The chief difference within "Pieces Of Mankind" is that its sound is the crisp of the early 90s, the crunchy low gained guitars and the clear soloing in the mix. Furthermore, I believe that material wise, ACID DEATH showed a lot of wits in their earlier version, going wild with their massive technical abilities, applying various motifs, whether from Rock, Metal and even Jazz genres. Attributing melodies, which reminded me a bit of a refined version of British Metal were simply off the charts. Twin guitar melodies running around alongside impressively written and executed soloing. Moreover, the addition of keyboards and acoustic guitars, helping to ascertain a level of dramatics between the lines, classical patches encrusted by unforgiving changes of pace and passage diversities. It is true that at times I felt disoriented, losing sight to which song I was listening to, but that surpassed to the fact that the band has the ability to keep the context and also maintaining their creations interesting and hooking.

I will be frank with you, due to the immense complexity of the songs, and I am sure that you would notice that right in the first listen, it is hard for me to break it down and analyze each song that got my attention. On the other hand, who am I to not at least share the titles with you. "A/I", "Our Shadows", "Realising" and "Frozen Heart" are my top picks, simply amazing tracks that could take you everywhere, either Thrash or Death Metal, you shall have it and with ounces of cleverness. "The Mirror on the Top of the World" is the black sheep on the setlist, a rather atmospheric track that can barely be deemed as Metal but for sure a climactic example of awesomeness.

Like a lot of technical / progressive albums, "Pieces Of Mankind" will challenge you and will be testing your concentration, so be ready to be baffled. Next in line for me will be the reissue of the sophomore "Random's Manifest", stay tuned.