ACROLYSIS is an Australian Heavy Metal band from Sydney that was formed in 2016. After a lengthy seven years of demos, EP’s and a collaboration they thought it would be time to release a full-length studio album. It was let loose on November 15th 2023 and it is called “Revolution”. I have to admit that the name does fill me with expectations, as I am hoping for something new, something fresh.

Well, a “Revolution” it definitely is not! Sturdy and reliable is what it is. And yes, the influences are very clear. You really can’t get past the similarities that exist between ACROLYSIS and METALLICA. Not only does the voice of Konstatine Ana sound eerily like that of James Hetfield at times, his lyrical lines and intonations will remind you of him as well. On top of that you will regularly ask yourself if the riffing isn’t just a rip off of how the frontman of METALLICA writes his. The ultimate show of adoration continues when you hear the guitar solos, as they could have been penned by Kirk Kammett. I’m not commenting on the drummer, but I feel you can guess where this is going.

So, the question is; is this another METALLICA album or does ACROLYSIS add their own kind of musical sauce into the mix on “Revolution”? Well, the answer is simple; even though it sounds a lot like their Bay Area peers, you can instantly hear it’s not them. This record does have its own identity and personality, but you have to be patient to let it shine through. That is what I needed to do. But undestand this, some of you listeners will not be able to get past the comparison I painted here, or find that it just gets disturbing. That, my friends, really is a personal matter.

As to the quality of the songs on “Revolution”, I can say that they are okay up until quite good. I wouldn’t say outstanding, but they never are boring either. I will say that I do enjoy listening to songs like “Serpentine”, on which you can hear what ACROLYSIS is capable of when they let the adoration go and just sound like themselves. We need more of those tunes. I would have thought that after over seven years ACROLYSIS would have accomplished their own identity down to the bone, but alas, it isn’t to be. I can only say that the title “Revolution” hasn’t been chosen wisely. It should have been “Adoration”. Hopefully next time they will show their own faces in all songs, not in a few.