1991.This year guards two strange moments for Metal in the USA, which echoed throughout the world: the release of "Metallica" (also known as "Black Album"), who abandoned Thrash Metal to embrace a catchy and accessible (but still aggressive) form of traditional Heavy Metal; and the final assault of Grunge/Alternative Rock on the musical parades, what sent Metal on a bottomless limbo. Such facts unleashed a hard time for Metal in the USA, but it was the year that ANACRUSIS released its third album, "Manic Impressions". And its new reissue is at hands.

Finally, their musical way is solidified into a personal, aggressive and energetic Progressive Thrash Metal. Their music sounds like a fusion between earlier US Prog Metal with melodic insight of US Thrash Metal, or barely describing, it sounds like QUEENSRYCHE could play as METALLICA and MEGADETH, but having in mind that their complex technique is filled with a great dose of energy and a very personal insight. Kenn and the band produced the album, having Dave "Fuzzy" Dvirnak working on the mixing, and Eddy Schreyer on the mastering. Besides on their biography on their website tells about how things weren't as they wish on the final result, the sound quality of "Manic Impressions" is very good, giving them the necessary weight, aggressiveness and clarity to make their songs sound with energy. It is the best sound quality for the band since their first album.

Their mix of rhythmic changes with very good technical insight and aggressiveness shown on "Paint a Picture" (excellent guitars, indeed), the harsh and brutal "Something Real" (the vocals are sounding so good on the changes of tunes as never did before), the bitter ambiance of "Explained Away", the furious "Still Black" and "Our Reunion", and the very good and introspective Thrashing force of the guitar riffs on "Far too Long" are the album's finest shots. But their version for NEW MODEL ARMY's "I Love the World" (a great song, indeed, that gained a new and aggressive energy on the quartet's hands, but a bit darker than the original in some parts), and the bonus tracks heard on the demo versions for "Tools of Separation", "Paint a Picture", "(Grey is) Still Black", and "Far too Long" are great as well.

If Metal could be great for two more years, many ANACRUSIS could grow more, but as told above, Grunge/Alternative Rock fashion came, and put everything down. But "Manic Impressions" is a solid work that deserves to be heard at the loudest.