ANACRUSIS is a cult legend into North American underground. Its mix between Thrash Metal with Progressive Rock influences earned the title of the 1987's Best Demo for their Demo Tape "Annihilation Complete" from readers of Metal Forces magazine. And their first album, "Suffering Hour", came to the light on 1988, with the band's members funding its recording themselves. And now, it's being reissued. But what it shows to the modern Metalheads that could justify this new release?

Well, as written above, "Suffering Hour" is a technical mix between North American Thrash Metal with Progressive Rock influences, something extremely different for those days. But on those days, things were not so easy due the great ones from Big Four already have released albums that consolidated their positions and earned the attention of the public. But their music is really very good, and could sound as a mix of influences of names as QUEENSRYCHE and FATES WARNING with METALLICA and MEGADETH, with melodic and aggressive instrumental parts, normal vocals that emit high pitched screams or clean agonizing voices And it had a lot of potential back then, indeed.

J. J. Johnson is the producer of the album, and the one who mixed it. His work sounds like the model for old and classic independent albums from US Metal bands, with that "smoky" ambience (it's the feeling that can be described like a cloud of smoke floating above the music), and the instrumental tunes aren't 100% of what their music deserves. But it's good, and some old school Metalheads that insist that it's the right way of how a band can sound organic will love it. And this reissue was remastered as well.

There are some excellent songs on "Suffering Hour" that could justify its re-release, as "Present Tense" (a song with many tempo changes and aggressive guitars), the complex musical arrangements presented on "Imprisoned" and on "R.O.T. (Reign of Terror)", the bitter ambience on the slow parts of "Butcher's Block", and Progressive/ Power Metal feeling that fills "Fighting Evil", and the ripping weight of "Annihilation Complete / Disemboweled". And there are four bonus tracks as a gift for the fans: a version for BLACK SABBATH's "N.I.B", "Frigid Bitch" (taken from their 1986 Demo Tape), and "Vulture's Prey" and "Apocalypse", both songs from their 1987's Demo. Obviously, the sound quality of the Demo Tape songs is raw, but there is a time spam of more than 30 years between then and now.

So "Suffering Hour" really deserved to be re-released, because ANACRUSIS was a promising name back then, but still has a lot of to offer to the new fans.