Acetic Voice

Thessaloniki’s ACETIC VOICE counts among the old garde in Greek Thrash Metal. Founded in 1988, they became an important name with four demo tapes under their belt and plenty of live gigs before folding in the early 1990s. Some of the ex-members would also go on to form acts such as EXHUMATION and MEDIEVAL DEATH. Recounting the band’s history is a feat in itself, so let’s focus on the basics (with some help from the band’s official page and various fanzines):

ACETIC VOICE was probably the first “serious” Thrash Metal act hailing from Thessaloniki – a city that would become a main hub for the Hellenic Thrash-, Death- and Grindcore movements. The early line-up consisted of Flip (vocals – the only member to feature on all A.V.-releases), Mad Max (guitars – MEDIEVAL DEATH), Marianne (guitars), Dai (bass) and Maniac-Jim (drums).This was the setting who attended the band’s debut live performance at a local festival, where they shared the stage with the classic Greek heavy metal band VAVEL.

By the time of “Under Attack” (1988) – the band’s first demo – Marianne had been replaced by Thrashman George (guitars – MEDIEVAL DEATH). Here, ACETIC VOICE performed a raw and rather Punk-oriented brand of Thrash in the vein of early KREATOR with a dash of SLAYER in the riffs. Soon after, both guitarists Mad Max and Thrashman George moved on to form the Death/Thrashing MEDIEVAL DEATH. In came the new guitarist duo Panos “Tweety” Giatzoglou (EXHUMATION) and Zac, who completed the line-up for the “fan-club only” second demo “Terrorised from Fate” (1989), which continued in the Teutonic school with improved technical skill.

Another major membership rotation took place before the creation of demo number three, “Behind Bars” (1990). First Maniac Jim left the drums to Zic Clarke and Johnny replaced Zak on guitars. Then Riggo took over the other guitar post from Tweety (who became a founder of the Death/Doom act EXHUMATION), which marked a new phase in the band’s career. Although still firmly rooted in their old style, “Behind Bars” brought a more melodic sound that borrows as much from the Germans as it does from contemporary US thrash acts such as TESTAMENT and WHIPLASH. The band did many big gigs during this period, and of course the member list kept changing... When their fourth demo was released in 1993, the band consisted of Flip (vocals), Riggo (guitars), Kostas V (guitars), Stelios (bass) and Simos (drums). “Led to Confusion” (1993) was another energetic effort in the vein of its predecessor, but it would also mark the end of the band’s existence (at least for a very long period of time).

Fast forward to 2009: ACETIC VOICE made a surprising return, playing live with the old members Flip, Riggo and Kostas V being joined by Antonis R (bass) and Panos R (drums). Allegedly, ACETIC VOICE has been working on both old and new material. Maybe they’ll get the chance to record a proper album as well…?

Compilation appearances:
* Decapitated Demo Compilation No 1 [Cass, Comp, Numbered: Decapitated Zine, 1988]
* Metal Coma [Cass, Comp: Self-released, 1992]
* Delictum Comp. – 3 [Cass, Comp, Numbered: Self-released (Delictum Zine), 1994]
* Never to Rise Again [Cass, Comp, Numbered: Self-released, 1995]
* 80’s Greek Metal [CD, Comp: Metal Hammer & Heavy Metal, 2015]
* Long Live the Past – The Demo Collection [3LP, Comp, Limited (300): Floga, 2015]
* Braindamage Vol. 1 [Cass, Comp, Numbered: Self-released, ?]
* Necrical Ecstasy [Cass, Comp, Numbered: Self-released, ?]