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What’s the first thing that you think of when you see what appears to be the fetus of a creature as the focal point of an album sleeve? If the answer is anything but steadily paced death metal, then you may be disappointed, because that’s exactly what we’ve got before us. Sacred Sin plan to deliver their record Anguish… I Harvest on the 19th of this month through Satanath Records, and ahead of that release, they’re giving us a taste of what to expect for the full experience. Thus, you can feast your ears on “Feathers Black,” the track that we are premiering today at the Vault.
To say the least, I hope you like drum kicks that have a clicking, time-bomb like tick to them, because they’re all over the song, starting in small bursts and gradually working in more and more until the entire rhythm rests on it. The main course here is surprisingly built on melodic riffs that compliment the growling vocals which contain a strong sense of comprehension and don’t come on too strong by any means.
Moreover, a high pitched solo that couldn’t be any cleaner for this type of song is assorted into the mix, served with a side of stringy sounding synths in the background. All of this eventually melts into a wave-like playing style of ascending and descending repetition on the higher scales of the fretboard to back the closing vocal track. “Feathers Black” is a very digestible serving of death metal, a great one for those who are relatively new to the genre, and it’s executed concisely avoiding any kind of chaos.
What’s nice is that you can order the full Anguish… I Harvest album on Bandcamp ahead of its release. What’s even nicer is that you can stream another single over there titled “Lead Of Insects” just in case you weren’t completely sold by this song. What’s nicest is that this release includes a remaster of a demo that the band put out in 1997; that’s right, they’re an older act! So plug in your best speakers and kick back to some death metal by Sacred Sin.
https://www.indymetalvault.com/2019/04/08/track-premiere-sacred-sin-feathers-black
The Portuguese band Sacred Sin released their first demo in 1991, qualifying them as one of the country’s earliest practitioners of metallic extremity. Their debut album Darkside, released in 1993, began a sequence of five albums in which the first letters of the titles spelled out the word “Death”. The last of those, Hekaton – The Return To Primordial Chaos, come out in 2003. And then a long hiatus followed before the band resurrected themselves and released 2017’s Grotesque Destructo Art — which is their most recent album to date.
It’s fair to say that the sound of Sacred Sin has varied over time, with death metal being the core but with changing integrations of elements from other sub-genres. The band’s third album, Anguish... I Harvest, is especially difficult to pigeon-hole in genre terms — and it might be the band’s best and most distinctive album of all.
Originally released in 1999, Anguish... I Harvest will be reissued on April 19th by two Ukrainian labels — GrimmDistribution and Envenomed Music — in a special remastered edition that also includes six bonus tracks from a 1997 rehearsal demo, and today we’re premiering one of the remastered tracks, a song named “Fire Throne“.
The original recording of “Fire Throne” is now roughly 20 years old, but it is far from a relic. It’s fascinating to hear even today, as is Anguish… as a whole. The album sounds as if Sacred Sin were really letting their creative juices flow, such that there is considerable variation among the album tracks. “Fire Throne” in particular has a vividly idiosyncratic character.
The music is produced in a way that provides greater clarity than the more grim and grimy character of earlier releases, and the reason becomes obvious when you hear the song — because the guitarists really put on a show, displaying not only impressive technicality but also a kind of crazed feverishness as they veer from one wild sequence to the next.
Oddly enough, what ties the song together is an insectile “riff” made of rapidly skittering and darting notes over a methodical drum rhythm. A manifestation of manic delirium, it begins and ends the song and surfaces at other places.
In between those episodes of sinister lunacy? Keyboards that resemble the wailing and moaning of wraiths over a more hammering rhythm; battering drum gallops and wisps of thrash riffing; flickering fretwork and braying chords with an ominous magisterial resonance; pounding rhythms and jabbing, pulsating string-work; and rough, vicious, bestial growls that sound like they’re coming from a throat being strangled with barbed-wire.
There’s one other song from the album out in the world right now, and you’ll find it below, too. Its title, “Lead of Insects“, would have suited the song we’re premiering. The music is a gloriously evil and immediately addictive heavy metal romp (that ends too soon).
https://www.nocleansinging.com/2019/04/12/an-ncs-premiere-sacred-sin-fire-throne/
Релиз лейбла-партнера Satanath Records — украинской конторы GrimmDistribution. Дело в том, что GD продолжают дело, начатое Satanath Records - переиздание первых дисков культовой португальской команды SACRED SIN. На первые два я уже откликнулся.
Сабжевый диск - это третий полноформат дэтстеров-лиссабонцев, который первый раз был издан 20 лет назад. Сразу же и скажу, что для интереса и кайфа лейбл GrimmDistribution приплюсовал к полноформату еще и демо-запись 97 года под названием Rehearsal Tape. То есть к сорока основным минутам еще минут 20 добавили игрового времени. Весь материал прошел ремастирование, так что ожидаем толковый результат.
Так оно и есть. И если о втором диске SACRED SIN я писал как о мелодичном трэш-дэте, то теперь в перископы наблюдаем мелодичный и атмосферный дэт-металл. Во многом своеобычный, как и полагается этой уникальной португальской бригаде. Да и португальской сцене в общем..., как мы знаем, мелодика местных групп совсем иная и даже блэк-металл здесь другой.
Сейчас просмотрел свои отклики и заметил, что умудрился в своих опусах НЕ сказать хотя бы пару слов о Jose Costa.
А ведь этот музыкант очень известен среди региональных коллег. Вот выписка из его трудовой книжки — по версии метал-архивов — группы, где он играл(ет): Annwn, Undertaker, ex-Dark Tales, ex-Enforce, ex-Massacre, Eterna Saudade, ex-Disaffected, ex-Masque of Innocence, ex-Paranormal Waltz, ex-Corpus Christii (live), ex-Crystal Dragon, ex-Firestarter, ex-Just About, ex-Lordship, ex-Veracruz. Внушительный список, и меня лично порадовало, что он помогал в живых выступлениях Corpus Christii.
Коста валит на басу и вокалит. Кстати, - весьма трешево, интенсивно, резко - как пулеметная очередь его партии в SACRED SIN, а это нечасто услышишь про вокалистов. Приемы харшевого вокала в олдовые времена - когда трешеры подходили к микрофонной стойке с хардкоровым привычками. Но тут и владение дэтовым вокалом - с переходами в гроул. Кстати, тут еще и гитарист на бэк-вокалах. И отдельный клавишник - его партии очень органичны и не лезут поперек падре в пекло. При том он еще кое-где синтезаторно поджигает в трэках, слегка - будет не больно.
Тиаматовский A Deeper Kind of Slumber к тому времени (к 1999году) уже вышел и на сабже можно заметить в некоторых местах строй ритм секции и риффов, стремящихся к идолам сцены, но здесь НИКАК НЕ копирование, избави боги астрала. Тем более что SACRED SIN играют все-таки тяжелее и дэтовей, создавая собственную стену личного звука, снося цивилизационный слой перегноя до базальта. Как раз в трэке Аstral музыканты небезуспешно пробуют давать технического металла, сложного, одухотворенного и в итоге красивого мелодически.
А саунд-инженеры в студии потрудились над топким саундом, обволакивающим и затягивающим, со спецэффектами в стерео каналах.
Rehearsal Tape, как и полагается — более брутальная и скажем так, более сатанинская по звуку и вокалу, более блэковая и даже эпическая по настроению в разных местах.
Совместное производство с Envenomed Music (Украина). 12-страничный буклет с текстами.
https://vk.com/wall216331265_4109
Heute gibts es mal weder eine ältere Scheibe von einer noch älteren Band. Sacred Sin aus Portugal existieren bereits seit 1991 und lieferten mit „Anguish… I Harvest“ 1999 ihr drittes Album ab, welches jüngst mit einigen Bonus-Songs vom Rehearsal-Demo von 1997 wiederveröffentlicht wurde. Dazu erhielt das Album des aktuell als Quartett agierenden Trupps ein neues Mastering um es ein klein wenig an die modernen Zeiten anzupassen.
Sacred Sin sind ja seit jeher für ihren leicht angeschwärzten Old School Death Metal bekannt, den sie auch auf ihrem dritten Album zum Besten geben. Mit neuem Sound klingt die Scheibe ein wenig fetter und kraftvoller, hat allerdings seinen etwas rumpeligen, klassischen Charme erhalten. Musikalisch gibts es schön rumpeligen, wummernden Death Metal, der mal ordentlich dreckig groovt, mal eher die melodische Schiene fährt und hier und immer wieder ein paar Industrial-Keyboards und Black Metal-Elemente durchschimmern lässt. Deftiges Geballer trifft also auf einen gesunden Ausgleich mit gut gemachten Übergängen und ausgewogenem Verhältnis. Die Scheibe ist weder zu weichgespült noch zu rumpelig, sondern schafft es gekonnt fette Riffs und rumpelige Drums mit melodischen Leads, ein paar schnelleren Salven und atmosphärisch-düsteren Elementen zu verbinden, die durch den Hauch Black Metal, der hier und da so leicht durchschimmert und ganz leicht an die Black Metal-Elemente von modernen Behemoth erinnert, noch etwas an Wirkung dazugewinnen. Die Band schafft es auch ziemlich gut ein geiles Riff nach dem anderen rauszuhauen und so sind Songs wie „Lead of Insects“ oder „Feathers Black“ gefüllt mit spannenden Ideen, die auch hier und da mal etwas sperriger ausfallen können, aber nie soweit gehen, dass ein zuhören anstrengend werden könnte. Hier und da werden zur Erweiterung der Atmosphäre noch ein paar kurze Keyboard-Versatzstücke und kleine elektronische Elemente eingestreut, die halten sich aber sehr dezent im Hintergrund, lassen nur hier und da mal aufhorchen. Gesanglich gehts dann richtig klassisch zu Werke, denn hier dominieren tiefe, grimmige Growls, die hier und da etwas heiser daher kommen, aber meist kraftvoll und bestimmt ihr Werk vollrichten und sich dabei durch fast nichts aus der Ruhe bringen lassen. Wer dann von der Band noch nicht genug hat, kann sich die Bonus-Songs zu Gemüte führen, aber wie der Name schon sagt sind die Rehearsals eher rumpelig und kaum bis gar nicht gemischt, dementsprechend eher ein Vergnügen für Fans und Lo-Fi-Freunde.
Sacred Sin zeigen auf ihrem dritten Album wie moderner Old School Death Metal (?) zu klingen hat und lockern den grimmigen Reigen mit ordentlich Melodie auf, hier und da schimmern ein paar stampfende oder elektronische Industrial-Anleihen durch und auch Black Metal lässt sich in Ansätzen erahnen. Ansonsten verbindet die Truppe auf „Anguish… I Harvest“ Melodik mit Rhythmus und etwas Gedresche zu einem spannenden und zugänglichen Mix, der Death Metal-Herzen höher schlagen lassen dürfte. Obendrauf gibts noch ein paar Proberaumaufnahmen womit sich die Scheibe auf über eine Stunde erstreckt. Hörenswert.
https://metalviewer.wordpress.com/2020/02/12/sacred-sin-anguish-i-harvest/
Sacred Sin is a long time going band from Portugal - first demo released in the early 90`s. I`ve never actually heard any music of Sacred Sin, however I believe that I could hear the band`s name several times. Strange thing about Portuguese scene is that it`s hard for me to recall at least 5 bands that I know by name. The ones I do know are Moonspell and Dementia 13, assuming that I have no recollection about any other bands .
Anguish... I Harvest was originally released in 1999. I am reviewing recent, re-mastered album edition that includes band`s reh-demo from 1997 which actually has bad, stereo-mono kind of sound, so, I better skip this part.
The interesting part is that album has some good, heavy/thrash metal songs like - The Shinning Trapezoid / Seal Of Nine and better one which is Hope (Still Searching). Quite often, you can hear thick, slightly intricate, speedy guitar shreds with few melodic moments - songs Fire Throne, and killer track 13th Moon (!) that could have been written by Jeff Waters. There is one progressive track called Astral that together with 13th Moon are my two favorite tracks of the album.
Back in 90`s, I remember there was a war about whether keyboards should belong to metal or not - for many people actually, it just did not at all.. Of course, sometimes sooner or later, the idea of using keyboards sound has had to breakthrough to imagination of wider metal community. It happened that Sacred Sin used this instrument when they were making this album. Keyboards are not on the first plan in songs of the band, all arrangements are little more a background for metal-skeleton sound of the band, dominated by guitars, drums and dark sounding vocals. Keyboards sound pretty delicate, and any atmospherics are delivered into music quite moderately, without making any booms for music itself.
Beside growling vocals, mixed with screams, words from a singer are manageable to understand by ear. For me, it`s surely not a strict death metal album at all. Songs of Anguish... I Harvest gravitate between aggressive thrash metal and melo-atmospheric thrash that just has a slightly brutal moments, from time to time. Italian band Sadist was about that in their songs, in sometimes dull, 90`era for metal but Sacred Sin has more straight, thrash metal songs (guitar work) with little mixture of melodic death metal in this album.
Anguish... I Harvest clearly showcased Sacred Sin as the band that has been developing their sound and collective musicianship at that time and, it`s good, diverse album, I just do not know if it`s their best they have done...
This Portuguese death metal band was formed in 1991 and "Anguish... I Harvest" is their third long play record that was originally released back in 1999. Now it has been successfully excavated and reissued with a newly designed layout plus 6 bonus tracks out of their rehearsal demo from 1997. All the tracks for this reissue were remastered in 2018. The 10 album tracks display a kind of experimental death metal with odd futuristic-like keyboard passages that partly reminded me Pestilence's 3rd and 4th records. The musicians masterfully handle their instruments and show their skills off in almost every song, but the programmed synthetic drum sound is annoying and killing the overall production. Still I found those songs good enough, well-structured and professionally executed. I am sure most of the old-school thrash & death metal fans enjoyed it 20 years before and the new ones will also be going to like this forgotten piece out of the European metal history! The rehearsal bonuses sound dirty and totally raw, the way it was used to be recorded and spread around two decades ago. Sacred Sin's sixth full-length album "Grotesque Destructo Art" was released in 2017, so hopefully shortly we can listen to their fresh album as well!!!
http://castrum.com.ua/encomium/7albums3.htm
Sacred Sin are a veteran act of the Portuguese scene, forming in 1991 and releasing six full-lengths along with several EPs and demos over the span of nearly three decades outside of a 2-year hiatus from 2011-2013. Anguish... I Harvest is actually their third album, but it's recently received a reissue through Grimm Distribution that includes the band's 1997 rehearsal tape as well, hence why I'm getting to it now.
Musically, this is Death/Thrash with an emphasis on the Thrash that incorporates some keyboards and the harsh vocals of José Costa, whose half-grunted delivery sounds a good bit like Altti Veteläinen and King Fowley. The star of the show is the guitar duo of Nuno Gonçalves and Tó Pica, who wring out an endless stream of stellar harmonies and killer riffs whose sharp sense of melody and aggression remind me a lot of Chuck Shuldiner's work. The music on here is fairly offbeat and innovative, particularly on the progressive and upbeat "Astral", and it's this willingness to experiment that probably led the band to go on as long as it has. The same can't be said for the rehearsal tape, whose sound quality is so poor as to be practically unlistenable. It was probably put in for the collectors out there, but even then, I don't see much point including it here. If you've never listened to Sacred Sin's brand of strange and novel Death/Thrash before, then this is a pretty good place to fix that.
https://www.metalcrypt.com/pages/review.php?revid=12194