Ltd 400, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, insert, live at Keep It True; Acid, formed in Bruges in 1980 (and initially called Precious Page), are widely considered to have been one of the first speed metal bands on the European continent. Lead vocalist Kate de Lombaerd, guitarists Dirk Simoens (Dizzy Lizzy) and Donald Devers (Demon), bassist Peter (T-Bone) and drummer Geert (Anvill) recorded three highly regarded albums for Giant Records - »Acid« (1983), »Maniac« (1983) and »Engine Beast« (1985) - before breaking up sometime in the mid-80s. In 2019, Kate de Lombaerd decided to resurrect the band and eventually got together with Mathieu Trobec (bass), Gilles Reuse (guitar), Andreas Stieglitz (guitar) and Bastiaan Andriessen (drums) under the name of Kate's Acid. They appeared live at Keep It True Rising in 2021 and once again at Keep It True in 2023, where the current live album, aptly called »Blowing Your Ears Off«, was recorded. However, »Blowing Your Ears Off« is not Acid's first live album as a few years ago »Live In Belgium '84« saw the light of day. Kate explains: "This was recorded live in Leuven. I received the tape from the PA soundman Max and transferred it on CD to prevent it from being demagnetized. The quality was not that good, but that was the only live tape Acid ever had. So, many years later it was released on vinyl." "The idea to record our show at Keep It True in 2023 came from a friend, " continues Kate, "referring to the video they made at KIT, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to put this out on CD and vinyl. And so contact was made with Oliver Weinsheimer and further on with Jacky Lehmann, who did the recording and later on also the mix." The Acid singer really enjoyed her time at the festival: "The first time on stage at Keep It True for me was in 2010. It was great coming back, and playing for so many people was fantastic. A few things went wrong, but we kept our heads high and performed like never before. The interaction with the crowd (fans) was incredible. I went to KIT on Friday and had to go back to the hotel, to get some rest, even at the hotel, in the restaurant, I met a lot of fans and musicians from other bands. On Saturday before the gig the fans were waiting for me, until I arrived, so I did a lot of meet and greets. It took me about one hour to get to the ice-cream car, and to get to the artist catering room was also difficult, without being stopped for a picture and a nice chat. But that's what rock and roll is all about, isn't it? I had a great time." Although with songs like "Maniac", "Hooked On Metal", "Bottoms Up", "Black Car" and "Max Overload" »Blowing Your Ears Off« contains most of the best material Acid have recorded for their three studio albums, two fan favourites unfortunately didn't make the cut: "Heaven's Devils" and "Lucifera". "I know, " sighs the singer, "but you have to make sacrifices, don't you? Our limit on stage was one hour. You can add other songs to it, but then again you have to skip others, you can not play them all." Apart from Keep It True and Muskelrock Kate's Acid also appeared live at Headbangers Open Air in Northern Germany, which was another highlight: "Oh yeah, apart from an amplifier head which broke down (led a live of his own!) at the beginning of the show, the atmosphere at Headbangers Open Air was superb. Luckily we had good weather and a lot of good bands, all gathered around Thomas Tegelhütter's farm." Kate thinks that there is no more unreleased material lurking in the archives but is happy that High Roller Records has re-issued the entire Acid back catalogue: "I never thought that after nearly 40 years our albums are still wanted. Apparently there are still people who are just now getting to know Acid and thanks to High Roller they can still buy these albums. So High Roller Records did a great job, well done." As one of Acid's greatest hits is called "Hooked On Metal", is Kate herself still hooked on metal and and does she follow what's happening in the current metal scene? The singer laughs: "When you play heavy metal, you must be hooked on metal, hell yeah! There are so many bands to follow, it's difficult to keep track of it, but every day I'm still discovering new bands, of course my favourite genre remains NWOBHM." As Acid started out pretty early, did they at any point in their career have a realistic chance of becoming professional musicians earning enough money to live on by playing and recording music? "In those days I don't think Acid had the chance to become professionals, " is Kate's honest answer, "in my opinion one in a thousand bands can make it. In the first place we played because we love to play. We all dream of being rich and famous, but in reality there's a lot of poverty among musicians, but luckily my music is my fortune." MATTHIAS MADER