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SACRED
Fire To Ice

Stormspell (2025)
Rating: 8/10

Treading the Swedish heavy / power metal boards are Sacred and this is their debut full-length album. However, these guys from Gothenburg aren’t newcomers to the game having appeared under the moniker of Amnesia from 2010 to 2019, releasing a three-song EP, Tyrannical Warfare, in 2016.

Fire To Ice is one of those superbly produced and crisp records that combs a territory somewhere between Riot and Queensrÿche. It’s no real surprise then that Sacred cover the latter’s ‘Queen Of The Reich’ with admirable precision. Elsewhere, this is all about the fantastic guitar work of Jonatan Hallberg and Christoffer Cederstrand whose playful dynamics are not a world away from the classic sound of Iron Maiden through to Hammerfall. Everything about this opus soars, whether it’s the ear shattering vocal display of Gustav Blide, the streaming, fluid bass lines of Robin Utbult or the percussive thunder rolls from Pontus Andrén.

If you’re a lover of pure powerhouse metal then strap in for a smooth yet sizzling ride into the sublime depths of some truly blazing metal mechanics. Opener ‘Into Light’ boasts that crystal clear yet driving familiarity, striding almost elegantly across icy mountain ranges to become one with the heavens. This is far from the cheese-laden power metal I was inspecting. Instead, Sacred approaches with great professionalism and potency, crafting steely yet flaming anthems riddled with lyrical prowess.

On the epic side – although all of the tracks are grandiose – there is the Iron Maiden-esque structure of eight-minute goliath ‘The Flying Dutchman’ where Utbult’s bass work really comes to the fore. And then there’s ‘On The Verge Of Becoming A Shadow’, an evocative and stirring piece brimming with haunting aesthetics circa Dio and Crimson Glory, such is the sheen and enchanting guile.

Both ‘Wasting Away’ and ‘Tyrannical Warfare’ gallop proudly as pristine white stallions, or unicorns if your imagination can stretch that far. It’s a musical soundscape of aloft swords held by proud warriors and as the busy guitars and steady throb of the drums introduce us to ‘Caught In A Snowstorm’ one cannot help but purposefully stride along to the beat of Sacred’s heart.

Immaculate in parts, Fire To Ice revels in its own frosty fantasy, nodding frequently to the elder gods of metal while still finding a niche somewhere on some glacial level. This is a confident if occasionally cold debut indeed.

Neil Arnold

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