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SACRED REICH
Awakening

Metal Blade (2019)
Rating: 7/10

The mid-to-late 90s was a poor time for heavy metal; sales dipped, bands split, sounds weakened and grunge had taken its toll. 1996 saw the fourth and what sadly seem to be the last album (Heal) from Sacred Reich; a band which, in the 80s, were very much part of the aggressive “second wave” of thrash metal with their 1987 debut opus Ignorance then, and more so now, considered a classic within the field of chugging riffs and vocal chops.

However, like so many acts Sacred Reich fizzled out. The band’s hiatus came from 2000 to 2006, but since then, in spite of gigging, there had been no sign of a new full-length record…until now.

I have to say though, being an 80s thrasher myself, I did have my concerns. Firstly, I did lose interest in the band after 1990’s The American Way, and also without members Greg Hall (drums) and Jason Rainey (guitar) from their classic early line-up I was worried that this new platter would lack bite and possibly succumb to the dynamics of modern technology and come as a whimper rather than a snarl.

Thankfully, for the most part my concerns were quashed as soon as the opening title track hit me. The whiplash guitar licks and Phil Rind’s recognisable beefy slurps transported me right back to the mid-80s; his bass grinding effectively behind the barbed wire speed metal cacophony supplied by Wiley Arnett’s fizzing lead and that barbaric percussion from Dave McClain.

Yep, it’s classic Sacred Reich, which may of course disappoint the purists who wanted the band to be over simply due to the omission of Hall and Rainey. But times change and we move on and it’s great to see the veteran thrash acts remerging and showing the false, copycat kids how it’s done, and Awakening is the sort of electrical surge one requires in an age of dumbed down music. Just check out the ominous chugging throughout; and people say that the last Metallica album (Hardwired… To Self Destruct) is thrash!

But one thing I will say about Rind and company, and that is their ability to throw in an infectious melody which at times does drag the sound back into the 90s.

Closer ‘Something To Believe In’ is the prime example of how Sacred Reich has always liked to experiment; this is very much groove metal bubbling with effective bass rumbles and a riff and chorus that is almost flecked with grunge nuances. It’s not a return to the kaleidoscopic errors of ’31 Flavors’ (from The American Way), but just one listen to the brilliant ‘Divide & Conquer’ shows you where the Sacred Reich sound is at; this one speeds with frenzy, homing in at an almost Slayer-like brutality before suddenly hitting us with a soaring, melodic chorus that modern day Anthrax would be proud of. Either way, it’s still classic thrash hissing with foaming venom and showering one with debris.

‘Salvation’ also follows that Anthrax-style of chugging, to the extent that it’s almost not thrash (if that makes sense?); the combo comfortably hitting the right notes and Rind has never sounded so on point. But while the guitar rolls with plenty of meat, it could be argued that maybe Sacred Reich has succumbed to the modern perils whereby thrash acts seem to offer something a tad watered down. After all, ‘Salvation’ and the aforementioned ‘Divide & Conquer’ are not exactly the sneering, volatile slabs I was expecting; damn there’s even a New Wave Of British Heavy Metal sound mixed with 70s stoner groove thrown in with some of the riffage and melody. Then maybe that was the joy but also the downfall of Sacred Reich during those murky early-to-mid 90s.

But for the hardcore thrasher in us all there’s still plenty to chew on within Awakening and its 30-minute timeframe. The opening riffage of ‘Manifest Reality’ which then bleeds into a frantic, cutting speedball can only be applauded, as can the almost nostalgic chorus that then leads us into the militant opening of ‘Killing Machine’ where further chugs abound.

Yet why do I find the whole feel of the album so comfortable, and should I be critical of such values? I guess not. After all, Sacred Reich stopped being a thrash act a long, long time ago. So the steady craft of ‘Killing Machine’ and downright stoner ethics of ‘Death Valley’ should come as no surprise. And it’s because of these vibes that the album will divide fans, because I’m sure that, even through our ignorance, some of us thrash heads would’ve been expecting Phil Rind and co. to return to the debut sound.

So for such assumptions many will be disappointed with the laborious, grunge-soaked glimmers of ‘Death Valley’, which in reality seems out of place – especially as the crossover elements of ‘Revolution’ come speeding in like a manic hybrid of Suicidal Tendencies and D.R.I. So I’m left frustrated, gritting my teeth at the band for daring to tease us with political thrash outbursts and then slapping us back out of shape with a mediocre groove-based tune.

Awakening only offers us eight tracks, so if more thrashier compositions had been thrown at us we may have forgiven the band for its straying from the path. But in a world where retro thrash is very much flavour of the decade and bands are once again fighting for supremacy in the food chain, I’m not quite sure if Sacred Reich’s fifth outing has done enough to win me over.

In a sense Awakening, for us nostalgia freaks who were there originally, is like the return of your favourite wrestler to the ring only to find that he lacks the hunger or fitness regime to revert back to type. Sacred Reich should’ve reverted back to being a sonic thrash force but they haven’t. Instead, rather than an awakening, the band’s return is more of an all too brief flashback that jolts us then sends us back to a comforting dream of better times.

Neil Arnold

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