Review by Greg on November 22, 2023.

For a band with a single decade of activity, Northen Irish act Acid Age have been through more events than many of their more seasoned peers. Starting out as a one-man project, then morphing into a hyperactive crossover full-fledged act with the first couple of LPs, the last of which being 2016's *inhales* Like a Runaway Combine Harvester in a Field of Crippled Rabbits. Not content with that, the guys wanted to do something rather different for their third opus. Semper Pessimus followed suit in 2021, and immediately appeared barely comparable to its predecessor. As the artwork implies, the band tries their hand at a historical concept, narrating the murky life of Emperor Nero, and the only 100 copies printed truly picture the project as of the thrash equivalent to Giacomo Leopardi.

As it's logical to expect, the music underwent a shift in style as well, with hyperfast crossover leaving the scene to, wait for it... progressive thrash. But before you think the three lads had completely lost their minds, fear not as pretentiousness isn't nearly the first thing you'll think of – they really manage to pull the whole thing off in a natural way. I've seen comparisons with Mekong Delta and I can't say I disagree, to be fair. The almost deathlike, when not outright guttural, vocals, which interestingly enough shriek like the Sheepdog of the days of old, as well as the venomous guitar tone might seem inappropriate in terms of finesse, but they really accentuate the weirdness. Drums are also extremely analogic and natural-sounding, sometimes maybe not the tightest around, but no doubt authentic. All of this give out a certain Blind Illusion influence, which might be extended to the jagged, yet visionary way the various sections intertwine.

We're catapulted into ancient Rome with the narrated intro 'The Shameless Lyre', passing through a solemn, prog-infused lead transitioning to a drum solo, which isn't something you don't see everyday in thrash albums, for sure. Starting with 'Oh What an Artist Dies in Me', then, Acid Age welcome us into their brand-new schizo, technical thrash metal sound, replete with disorienting tempo changes and a general don't-give-a-fuck attitude. As Nero contemplates his whole past life before leaving this mortal world, a dual bass/guitar solo with drums only adding to the chaos in the background elevates a conventional thrash song into brainiac material. This is likely to be the leitmotiv for the entire album, and while 'The Banquet of the Dead' is just a bit overlong, the upside is that Semper Pessimus gets better and better as tracks go by, all the way to the album's musical and conceptual centerpiece 'The Burning of Rome'. Man, this might easily become my second all-time favourite song whose title starts with these three words (the first one may surprise you). It marks the return of violins and antique instruments, still keeps on brutally thrashing your soul, and features an outright super solo which wraps it up in the last two minutes. It's marvelous stuff, standing out even in a fantastic second half where we can find a wonderful jazzy interlude in 'My Wretched Womb', a devastating scorcher in 'Manic Euthanasia', and the reprise (but really I should say 'upgrade') of the opener at the end of both the album and Nero's turbulent existence.

I expected strangeness out of Acid Age's Semper Pessimus, and got a double amount of it. Every composition creeping up on the 6 minute mark might be an initial put-off, and some instances like the ending of 'My Wretched Womb' might sound a bit overcooked, but I can confidently say that none of them lost my attention at any moment, and all are guaranteed to surprise you at one point or another. It goes without saying that I also appreciated the balls it took a crossover act to, well, not just do another crossover album, in stark contrast to their back catalog. But this isn't just good for having come out of a band extraneous to the scene – it's pretty much excellent on its own merits. Make full use of your next spare hour with this.

Rating: 8.6 out of 10