Anemic
‘Return To Sender’
(Sugar Shack Records)
4/5
Kicking in with a super-metal riff and some sweet, sweet double bass drum action, somebody’s fed these guys heaviness through an intravenous drip, resulting in a great single.
BIG CHEESE

ANEMIC
'NEW SOUVENIR'
(Sugar Shack Records)
'Sugar-Coated, Californian Cocktail with A Twist'
KKK
The Lowdown:
Intoxicating melodies and anthemic choruses suggest Anemic are another addition to the emo-flux.But the vocals reveal this quartet's secret weapon. Earnest and breathy, Kevin Peters' sharply-pronounced, American-punk twang emits an honesty that lures you in, adding intense credibility to the aggressive outbursts.

This debut is lacking in memorable material, but with such infectious energy and vocal-talent, it’s only a matter of time before Anemic return armed with songs as infectious as the passion behind them.
BEST TRACK: HONESTY
WEB:anemic1.com
KERRANG

ANEMIC
‘NEW SOUVENIR’
(SUGAR SHACK RECORDS)
‘Interesting debut that doesn’t follow the emo template.’
3/5
It’s tempting to write Anemic off as a bunch of pretenders to Thursday’s throne, but there is an undeniable urgency to this release that elevates it above the current crop of predictable copycat bands. From the energy behind the melodic opener’ Pieces’ to the genuinely touching ’This Morning’ you get the idea that they are trying a touch harder than most. True, there are some slightly predictable tracks but on the whole the album swims by quite fluidly, and while it might not grab the attention like the more established purveyors of what is certainly called’ emo’ for some reason it certainly has its moments. The vocals do grate after a while but the power and crunch of the guitars on’ One Shot Away’ or ‘Empty’ provides a welcome dose of catharsis in an otherwise calmly powerful album. One to watch-maybe with some more confidence they could really impress.
BIG CHEESE

ANEMIC
‘NEW SOUVENIR’
(SUGAR SHACK RECORDS)
3/5
San Bernadino, California quartet Anemic specialize in charmingly offbeat, extremely musical emotional hardcore – note the deliberate avoidance of the phrase ‘emo’. What we have here could have slipped through the cracks at an abortive Hundred Reasons session, or dispensed with by Jimmy Eat World for being too upfront; this provides instant reference points, and indicates a step up from the norm. They’ve almost got too many ideas: the drum fills of Slayer giving way to the low slung fuzz of Minor Threat, while Kevin Peters vocals could easily displace those of Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley. Underneath it all snatches of found sound shimmer like half-glimpsed wraiths, and though it runs out of steam at the midpoint,’ Return To Sender’ is an obvious single and the perfect calling card.
LOGO

CLASS OF 2004
METAL HAMMER FEATURE
For most bands starting out the dream is to get into a proper studio where they can record a demo that will hopefully lead to an eventual record deal. Anemic discovered soon after that they formed in ’00 that the traditional route of blowing all your hard earned on recording wasn’t the road for them to take.’ We basically just got sick of driving down to LA and blowing our money on a worthless demo that wasn’t doing our songs any justice,’ says vocalist Kevin Peters.’ My brother (Daniel, guitarist) and I saved up and bought our own Pro Tools rig and just dived into recording, writing and molding songs together. It was a great experience because it allowed us to really focus on writing the best songs that we could.’

Their debut album ‘New Souvenir’ –which sees a release in February-was recorded at the boy’s home studio and is a testament not only to their anthemic intensity when it comes to song writing capabilities but also their production skills. But it’s not on record that Anemic wish to be most appreciated, as with most bands it’s the live arena that they fell best displays what their about.’ Every note is pure intensity. We just go off, the building shakes and we let the music break the rules, push the envelope and hopefully reach people on another level.’
JAMIE HIBBARD
File next to: Funeral, The Used, Billy Talent.

Anemic
‘Return To Sender’
(Sugar Shack Records)
4/5
Kicking in with a super-metal riff and some sweet, sweet double bass drum action, somebody’s fed these guys heaviness through an intravenous drip, resulting in a great single.
BIG CHEESE

ANEMIC
'NEW SOUVENIR'
(Sugar Shack Records)
'Sugar-Coated, Californian Cocktail with A Twist'
KKK
The Lowdown:
Intoxicating melodies and anthemic choruses suggest Anemic are another addition to the emo-flux. But the vocals reveal this quartet's secret weapon. Earnest and breathy, Kevin Peters' sharply-pronounced, American-punk twang emits an honesty that lures you in, adding intense credibility to the aggressive outbursts. This debut is lacking in memorable material, but with such infectious energy and vocal-talent, it’s only a matter of time before Anemic return armed with songs as infectious as the passion behind them.
BEST TRACK: HONESTY
WEB:anemic1.com
KERRANG

ANEMIC
‘NEW SOUVENIR’
(SUGAR SHACK RECORDS)
‘Interesting debut that doesn’t follow the emo template.’
3/5
It’s tempting to write Anemic off as a bunch of pretenders to Thursday’s throne, but there is an undeniable urgency to this release that elevates it above the current crop of predictable copycat bands. From the energy behind the melodic opener 'Pieces' to the genuinely touching ’This Morning’ you get the idea that they are trying a touch harder than most. True, there are some slightly predictable tracks but on the whole the album swims by quite fluidly, and while it might not grab the attention like the more established purveyors of what is certainly called 'emo' for some reason it certainly has its moments. The vocals do grate after a while but the power and crunch of the guitars on’ One Shot Away’ or ‘Empty’ provides a welcome dose of catharsis in an otherwise calmly powerful album. One to watch-maybe with some more confidence they could really impress.
BIG CHEESE

ANEMIC
‘NEW SOUVENIR’
(SUGAR SHACK RECORDS)
3/5
San Bernadino, California quartet Anemic specialize in charmingly offbeat, extremely musical emotional hardcore – note the deliberate avoidance of the phrase ‘emo’. What we have here could have slipped through the cracks at an abortive Hundred Reasons session, or dispensed with by Jimmy Eat World for being too upfront; this provides instant reference points, and indicates a step up from the norm. They’ve almost got too many ideas: the drum fills of Slayer giving way to the low slung fuzz of Minor Threat, while Kevin Peters vocals could easily displace those of Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley. Underneath it all snatches of found sound shimmer like half-glimpsed wraiths, and though it runs out of steam at the midpoint,’ Return To Sender’ is an obvious single and the perfect calling card.
LOGO

CLASS OF 2004
METAL HAMMER FEATURE
For most bands starting out the dream is to get into a proper studio where they can record a demo that will hopefully lead to an eventual record deal. Anemic discovered soon after that they formed in ’00 that the traditional route of blowing all your hard earned on recording wasn’t the road for them to take.’ We basically just got sick of driving down to LA and blowing our money on a worthless demo that wasn’t doing our songs any justice,’ says vocalist Kevin Peters.’ My brother (Daniel, guitarist) and I saved up and bought our own Pro Tools rig and just dived into recording, writing and molding songs together. It was a great experience because it allowed us to really focus on writing the best songs that we could.’ Their debut album ‘New Souvenir’ –which sees a release in February-was recorded at the boy’s home studio and is a testament not only to their anthemic intensity when it comes to song writing capabilities but also their production skills. But it’s not on record that Anemic wish to be most appreciated, as with most bands it’s the live arena that they fell best displays what their about.’ Every note is pure intensity. We just go off, the building shakes and we let the music break the rules, push the envelope and hopefully reach people on another level.’
JAMIE HIBBARD
File next to: Funeral, The Used, Billy Talent. 

Anemic
'Return To Sender'
(Sugar Shack)
Despite thinking this single was called 'Return To Spender' and was somehow about the private detective of the same name played by anvil-nosed Geordie troll, Jimmy Nail: Metal Hammer decided to give this a spin anyway. And thankfully we did because it turned out to be some pretty special screamo with a dash of post hardcore and punk thrown in. Even the whining about girls being mean to them is kept down to a minimum. This four piece who hail from California but are living in Bristol are certainly worth watching out for.
John Doran. 
6/10 METAL HAMMER

Anemic
'New Souvenir'
(Sugar Shack )
Nothing new from Bristol via US rockers.
If ever there was a band that needed to discover an identity of their own, it's Anemic. There's nothing massively wrong with 'New Souvenir', but that's the problem. The album is so damn current, so now, that it grates. Finch and the Lostprophets are the names that blast out of Anemic's sound, and while this might give them a shot at a brief period of fame with the young and impressionable, it's only going to annoy the old and spiteful. The band, hailing from Bristol via LA, are obviously a talented bunch. 'This Morning' hints at some genuine emotion just chomping at the bit to get out and 'Honesty' features a gloriously infectious melody that isn't quite used as effectively as it could and should be. Ultimately, there's nothing on here that hasn't been done to death over the past couple of years, but there is a lot of promise. We can only hope that Anemic realise and release it.
Brett Callwood. 
5/10 METAL HAMMER