Sacrilege - Reaping the Demo(n)s

The UK has a wealth of talent and starting back in 1984 in the Birmingham area, famous for spawning Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and more relevant to this band Cerebral Fix and Napalm Death. Sacrilege went down a doom route on latter albums, but these demos represent raw aggressive thrash mixed with a lot of the UK crust punk scene, what a stunning combination. Whilst bands also represented in this genre stood out in the press (namely the English Dogs, Wardance, Extreme Noise Terror and Cerebral Fix), Sacrilege still represent somewhat of an underground phenomenon. Of course, looking at your history, Sacrilege shared a couple of members (Frank Healy and Spike Smith) with Napalm Death, Cerebral Fix and English Dogs. The vocal talents of Tam, whilst being youthful and full of angst always give these songs on offer that element of energy. It is worth pointing out that these tunes have been re-issued previously, but this 2CD package includes the ‘Beyond the Realms’ recording sessions and a live set from 1986. Dave Rotten’s Xtreem Music has put together a cool collection of classics.

Even though some of these tracks appear here in their demo form, tracks like ‘Flight of the Nazgul’, ‘Bloodlust’ and ‘Dig Your Own Grave’ span their entire recorded career. Opening track from Demo 4 ‘Search Eternal’ thrashes out for over 7 minutes, towards the ending, the guitar solos and tone of the instruments sound as if it could have come off Metallica’s classic ‘Ride the Lightening’, I kid you not. It also strikes you how good the demos are in the quality stakes, although raw and 1980’s, the recorded sounds are vibrant and cohesive. Listen to ‘Sight of the Wise’; if that isn’t classic thrash then I don’t know what is on the intro. The mostly live CD, CD number 2, is raw, very tinny, but a live recording from 1986 is well represented, Tam is belting out those lyrics, especially on ‘At Death’s Door’. Apart from repeating myself over and over again, this release is special, if you love thrash, you will love this, if you like punk/crust, you will like this energy, basically, most metal fans should like this, but remember these are demos recordings so do not expect perfect listening clarity. Sacrilege are a classic UK band, hopefully this release will once again show everyone how good this band actually were and are.

At over 2.5 hours of music, this is a package very worthy of your hard earned cash.

CD1
Demo 4 (Aug. '86)
1. Search Eternal
2. The Fear Within
3. Winds of Vengeance
4. Spirit Cry
5. Insurrection
Demo 3 (Jan. '86)
6. Flight of the Nazgul
7. Sight of the Wise
8. The Captive
"Behind the Realms..." recording session (Aug. '85)
9. A Violation of Something Sacred (Dub Mix)
Demo 2 (Feb. '85)
10. Stark Reality
11. Bloodrun
12. A Violation of Something Sacred
13. Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Demo 1 ('84)
14. Apartheid
15. Bloodlust
16. Dig your Own Grave
17. Blind Acceptance

CD 2
Live Leeds, Adam & Eve 03.05.1986
1. Sight of the Wise
2. The Closing Irony
3. A Violation of Something Sacred
4. Flight of the Nazgul
5. Out of Sight, Out of Mind
6. At Death's Door
7. The Captive
8. Lifeline
9. Bloodrun
The Rehearsals (Live at Rich Bitch Studios, Sept. '87)
10. Shadow from Mordor
11. The Captive
12. Winds of Vengeance
13. Spirit Cry
14. Key to Nirvana
15. Out of Sight, Out of Mind
16. Awaken


Xtreem Music
Reviewer: twansibon
Jun 3, 2010
Next review: Red Snow - The Fifth

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