Acid Drinkers

Acid Drinkers are a Polish thrash metal band formed in September 1986 in Poznań. Acid Drinkers were formed on 21 September 1986 consisting of Tomasz "Titus" Pukacki (vocals, bass) and Robert "Litza" Friedrich (guitar, vocals). The band's style is thrash metal, with influences of heavy metal and hardcore punk. Acid Drinkers are rated as one of the most important bands in the Polish thrash and heavy metal world.^[1]

Acid Drinkers
L-R: Aleksander "Olass" Mendyk, Tomasz "Titus" Pukacki, Maciej "Ślimak" Starosta and Darek "Popcorn" Popowicz (2008)
Background information
Origin	Poznań, Poland
Genres	Thrash metal, heavy metal, crossover thrash
Years active	1986–present
Labels	Metal Mind, Under One Flag, Sony Music Entertainment Poland, Mystic
Members	Tomasz "Titus" Pukacki Darek "Popcorn" Popowicz Maciej "Ślimak" Starosta Łukasz "Dzwon" Cyndzer
Past members	Robert "Litza" Friedrich Przemek "Perla" Wejmann Tomek "Lipa" Lipnicki Aleksander "Olass" Mendyk † Wojciech "Jankiel" Moryto Robert "Bobby" Zembrzycki

History

The band's lineup expanded as Dariusz "Popcorn" Popowicz (lead guitar) and a drummer Piotr "Chomik" Kulk (shortly after replaced by Maciej "Ślepy" Głuchowski) joined the band. With this lineup, the band worked on its own compositions, such as "Barmy Army", "Del Rocca" and "I Mean Acid". Within a month of the band's creation, Pukacki was called to join the army and left the band for two years. The others did not intend to idle their time away; Friedrich and Popowicz undertook a reactivation of the band named Slavoy. Soon both of them received a proposal to play for reputable groups: Popowicz from Wolf Spider, and Friedrich from Turbo.

After returning from the army, Pukacki tried to reactivate his first band, Los Desperados. His attempts failed and Pukacki himself, after meeting with Popowicz, decided to reform Acid Drinkers with Friedrich and Maciek "Ślimak" Starosta. Their debut took place 26 August 1989 on Słodowa Island in Wrocław. That performance was actually the beginning of the band's true career. Rumors about a new heavy metal group swiftly spread across Poland. Soon afterwards, the band received an opportunity to record an album. With this line-up came their best-known classics, including their debut, Are You a Rebel?, Vile Vicious Vision, and their most famous, Infernal Connection. At the end of 1998, Friedrich decided to leave the band. Przemysław "Perła" Wejmann, a vocalist and guitarist and a leader of Guess Why, replaced him. With Wejmann on board, the Acids recorded three albums: Amazing Atomic Activity, Broken Head and Acidofilia. At the very beginning of 2003, Wejmann decided to leave the band. It took almost a month before a new guitarist was chosen. The new member, Tomek "Lipa" Lipnicki, turned out to be a well-known frontman of an already-disbanded group, Illusion. Together with Lipnicki, the Acids recorded a well-received long-play, Rock Is Not Enough. After over a year of cooperation, the new guitarist left Acid Drinkers for his own project, Lipali. His place in the band was taken over by Aleksander "Olass" Mendyk from None. The new member of Acid's crew quickly integrated himself into the band and was an active member. The band released a critically acclaimed album Verses of Steel, with most of the songs written by the new guitarist. On 30 November 2008, Mendyk died from circulatory failure in Kraków, at the age of 29. He was replaced on 9 May 2009 by Wojciech "Jankiel" Moryto.

Acid Drinkers are widely considered the best thrash metal band in Poland.^{[citation needed]} Their popularity has gone far beyond the typical metal music sphere. The Acids have played over 500 shows, including in major festivals such as Jarocin, Metalmania, Węgorzewo, Przystanek Woodstock and Odjazdy; they performed at many of these festivals as headliners. They preceded performances in Poland by, among others, Deep Purple, Megadeth, Bruce Dickinson, Sepultura, Paradise Lost and Slayer. Moreover, many known Polish artists such as Edyta Bartosiewicz, Kazik Staszewski, Tomek Lipnicki, Patrycja Kosiarkiewicz and Grzegorz Skawiński took part in Acids' recordings. Acid Drinkers were four times (in 1998, 2000, 2004, 2009) awarded with a Fryderyk in the hard and heavy category, and in 1998 TVP 2 awarded them the "Złoty bączek" (Golden spinning top) award for being the best music group from Poland. Additionally, they were acknowledged as one of the five best Polish artists of the 1990s (together with Hey, Kazik Staszewski, Edyta Bartosiewicz and O.N.A.) by journalists and readers of Tylko Rock (Only Rock) magazine.

In 2010, the band released a second cover album called Fishdick Zwei - The Dick Is Rising Again. The band members covered compositions from artists such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Slayer, Frank Sinatra Donna Summer, The B52's, and guests (Anna Brachaczek team BiFF and Czesław Mozil).

Band members

Current Tomek "Titus" Pukacki – vocals, bass (1986–present) Darek "Popcorn" Popowicz – lead guitar (1986–present) Maciek "Ślimak" Starosta – drums (1986–present) Łukasz "Dzwon" Cyndzer – rhythm guitar, vocals (2017–present)

Former Piotr "Chomik" Kuik – drums (1986) Maciej "Ślepy" Głuchowski – drums (1986) Robert "Litza" Friedrich – rhythm guitar, vocals (1986–1998) Przemek "Perła" Wejmann – rhythm guitar, vocals (1998–2002) Tomek "Lipa" Lipnicki – rhythm guitar, vocals (2003–2004) Alex "Olass" Mendyk – rhythm guitar, vocals (2004–2008; died 2008) Wojciech "Jankiel" Moryto – rhythm guitar, vocals (2009–2016)

Live Paweł "Paulo" Grzegorczyk – rhythm guitar (1994) Robert "Bobby" Zembrzycki – rhythm guitar (2017)

Timeline

Discography

 

 

 

Acid Drinkers performing in 2016

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		POL ^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]
Are You a Rebel?	Released: 9 September 1990^[9] Label: Under One Flag Formats: CD	—
Dirty Money, Dirty Tricks	Released: 17 June 1991^[10] Label: Under One Flag Formats: CD	—
Strip Tease	Released: 14 September 1992^[11] Label: Under One Flag Formats: CD	—
Vile Vicious Vision	Released: 10 October 1993^[12] Label: Under One Flag Formats: CD, digital download^[13]	—
Infernal Connection	Released: December 1994 Label: Loud Out Records Formats: CD	—
The State of Mind Report	Released: 22 April 1996^[14] Label: Polton Formats: CD	—
High Proof Cosmic Milk	Released: 18 March 1998^[15] Label: Metal Mind Productions Formats: CD	—
Amazing Atomic Activity	Released: 17 May 1999^[16] Label: Metal Mind Productions Formats: CD	—
Broken Head	Released: 9 October 2000^[17] Label: Metal Mind Productions Formats: CD	15
Acidofilia	Released: 24 June 2002^[18] Label: Sony Music Formats: CD	25
Rock Is Not Enough	Released: 24 May 2004^[19] Label: Sony Music Formats: CD	16
Verses of Steel	Released: 7 July 2008^[20] Label: Mystic Production Formats: CD, digital download^[21]	9
La part du diable	Released: 19 October 2012^[22] Label: Mystic Production Formats: CD, digital download^[23]	6
25 Cents for a Riff	Released: 6 October 2014^[24] Label: Mystic Production Formats: CD, digital download^[25]	4
Peep Show	Released: 23 September 2016^[26] Label: Makumba Music Formats: CD, digital download	-
"—" denotes a release that did not chart.

Cover albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		POL ^[2]
Fishdick	Released: 6 June 1994^[27] Label: Loud Out Records Formats: CD, digital download^[28]	—
Fishdick Zwei – The Dick Is Rising Again	Released: 1 September 2010^[29] Label: Mystic Production Formats: CD, digital download^[30]	3
"—" denotes a release that did not chart.

Compilation albums

Title	Album details
Maximum Overload	Released: 9 September 2002 Label: Metal Mind Productions Formats: CD
Acid Empire Anthology 1989–2008	Released: 7 July 2008 Label: Metal Mind Productions Formats: CD

Live albums

Title	Album details
Varran Strikes Back: Alive!	Released: 14 September 1998 Label: Metal Mind Productions Formats: CD

Video albums

Title	Video details
15 Screwed Years	Released: 14 June 2004^[31] Label: Metal Mind Productions Formats: DVD
The Hand That Rocks the Coffin	Released: 5 August 2006 Label: Metal Mind Productions Formats: DVD+CD

Music videos

Year	Title	Directed	Album
1992	"Menel Song / Always Look..."	—	Strip Tease
1993	"Zero"	—	Vile Vicious Vision
	"Midnight Visitor"	—
	"Pizza Driver"	—
1994	"Track Time 66,6"	—	Infernal Connection
1996	"2B1"	—	The State of Mind Report
1998	"High Proof Cosmic Milk"	—	High Proof Cosmic Milk
	"Sad Like a Coal Check"	Łukasz Jankowski
	"Proud Mary"
1999	"Satisfaction" (The Rolling Stones cover)		Amazing Atomic Activity
2000	"Don't Go to Where I Sleep"		Broken Head
2002	"Disease Foundation"	—	Acidofilia
	"Acidofilia"	—
2004	"Hate Unlimited"	Łukasz Jankowski	Rock Is Not Enough
	"E.E.G.O.O."
2008	"Swallow the Needle"	CVK Studio Filmowe^[32]	Verses of Steel
	"Blues Beatdown (In Memory of Olass)"	Gunn, Wicek, Krzyk, Blonson^[33]	—
2010	"Love Shack" (The B-52's cover)	TakeOne Studio^[34]^[35]	Fishdick Zwei – The Dick Is Rising Again
2011	"Hit the Road Jack" (Ray Charles cover)
2012	"Old Sparky"		La Part Du Diable

References

1. Babula, Jordan. Brzykcy, Paweł. Dąbrowski, Paweł. Gajewski, Marcin. Filipowski, Robert. Kirmuć, Michał. Koziczyński, Bartosz. Królikowska, Wiktoria. Królikowski, Wiesław. Kszczotek, Grzegorz. Machała, Wojciech. Pawlak, Marcin. Świrkowicz, Marek. Weiss, Wiesław. 50 na 50: najważniejsze płyty polskiego rocka (pl). Teraz Rock 4(50)/2007. ISSN 1730-394X
2. "Oficjalna lista sprzeday :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". Olis.onyx.pl. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
3. "Oficjalna lista sprzeday :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". Olis.onyx.pl. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
4. "Oficjalna lista sprzeday :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". Olis.onyx.pl. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
5. "Oficjalna lista sprzeday :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". Olis.onyx.pl. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
6. "Oficjalna lista sprzeday :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". Olis.onyx.pl. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
7. "Oficjalna lista sprzeday :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". Olis.onyx.pl. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
8. "Oficjalna lista sprzeday :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". Olis.onyx.pl. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
9. "Are You A Rebel?". muzyka.wp.pl. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
10. "Dirty Money, Dirty Tricks". muzyka.wp.pl. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
11. "Strip Tease". muzyka.wp.pl. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
12. "Vile Vicious Vision". muzyka.wp.pl. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
13. "iTunes - Music - Vile Vicious Vision by Acid Drinkers". iTunes. January 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
14. "The State of Mind Report". muzyka.wp.pl. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
15. "High Proof Cosmic Milk". muzyka.wp.pl. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
16. "Amazing Atomic Activity". muzyka.wp.pl. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
17. "Acid Drinkers - Broken Head - Pyta - Muzyka w INTERIA.PL". Muzyka.interia.pl. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
18. "Acid Drinkers - Acidofilia - Pyta - Muzyka w INTERIA.PL". Muzyka.interia.pl. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
19. "ACID DRINKERS - Rock Is Not Enough - Pyta - Muzyka w INTERIA.PL". Muzyka.interia.pl. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
20. "Acid Drinkers - Verses Of Steel - Pyta - Muzyka w INTERIA.PL". Muzyka.interia.pl. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
21. "iTunes Store". itunes.apple.com. 7 August 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
22. "Acid Drinkers - La Part Du Diable - Pyta - Muzyka w INTERIA.PL". Muzyka.interia.pl. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
23. "iTunes Store". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
24. "Aktualności - ACID DRINKERS ujawniają okładkę nowej płyty! - Wytwórnia płytowa - Mystic Production". Mystic.pl. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
25. "iTunes Store". itunes.apple.com. 6 October 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
26. "Peep Show - premiera". acid-drinkers.com.
27. "Fishdick". muzyka.wp.pl. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
28. "iTunes - Music - Fishdick by Acid Drinkers". iTunes. January 2008. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
29. "Fishdick Zwei (The Dick Is Rising Again)". muzyka.wp.pl. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
30. "iTunes Store". itunes.apple.com. September 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
31. . Metalmind.com.pl. Archived from the original on 1 March 2007. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
32. "Acid Drinkers - Swallow The Needle". YouTube. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
33. "Acid Drinkers - Blues Beatdown (In Memory Of Olass)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
34. . Acid-drinkers.com. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
35. . Mystic.pl. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2015.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Acid Drinkers.

• (archived)
• Acid Drinkers on MySpace
• Acid Drinkers at AllMusic