Sacrilege - Six6Six

This is the original Sacrilege band from the UK formed in 1982, often associated with the NWOBHM scene, their style incorporates a lot of doom mixed with some energetic music coupled with some real thoughtful lyrics. This is not a simple fuck you we like Satan release, lyrically its quite profound and expansive while maintains a sinister stance courtesy the music.

The bass is rather heavy, at the start of this release, I even had to adjust my equaliser settings as I thought my speaker cones were going to bounce out of their mounts! ‘Welcome to the Dragons Den’ is a metal juggernaut, it has momentum whilst incorporating the bands very strong doom laden sound. Vocalist and band leader Bill Beadle sings generally in a lower range, but has a massive amount of character and such conveys the lyrics with a real touch of class that invites you to be a part of the story. ‘In Hell’ has some nice time signatures in the drumming. I compare this to a mix of Bill Ward’s work, the little triplets and fills are like that of a seasoned jazz drummer adding a slab of rock to the mix, I like this and it’s more entertaining and keeps interest as a result. The rest of the track itself is a doom monster that picks up the pace towards the end.

‘Forever After’ also follows the same formula, a doom path slowly sped up as time progresses. Near the end the guitar harmony and riff is truly majestic and very atmospheric, it catches the character of the lyric perfectly. The narrative ‘Eyes of the Lord - Prologue’ is a nice touch, its builds up the start of the following ‘Eyes of the Lord’ where Lucifer the fallen angel thinks he can find favour with his father again. This I feel is special, it’s a story, its not an out of the box god bashing statement, it’s a genuine homage to the more sinister side of life and death. There is not a single track on this release that does not ooze quality nor inclusion for the listener, that’s tough in modern times with the amount of albums I listen to each week.

For this to be their first official album to come out as a CD release, it’s a gratifying one. Then there is the artwork that is something of a masterpiece too. Like I said, this is not a new band so If you want to hear the bands earlier material and find out where they come from, the band have also re-recorded some of their demo material produced over the years and has been released by this same record label as ‘Ashes to Ashes’, I recommend you check that out. As for ‘Six6Six’, I feel very content and joyful that this band are out there doing what they do. Sacrilege put in a lot of time on the road, certainly over the last year or so, one hopes this will continue, this and an obvious talent for song writing bears fruit with this recording. If you want a unique NWOBHM band that has a style and tone to their own and a hell of a lot of doom influences, then this is an album for you.

  1. Death March Six6Six
  2. Welcome To The Dragons Den
  3. Lucifer’s Soldiers
  4. In Hell
  5. Sanctuary
  6. Forever After
  7. I Can’t Die
  8. Paranoia
  9. Eyes Of The Lord Prologue
  10. Eyes Of The Lord
  11. Death March Six6Six Reprise