Vengeance celebrate 30 years of thrash

It was 30 years ago in 1987 when Pastor Bob Beeman of Sanctuary International would be led to call together a very special group of musicians that would come together to form a new ministry minded band out of Southern California. With a lot of prayer and faith the players were assembled and the full band would come together to record and distribute their very first demo tape. That tape would be what many people still consider to be the beginning of a movement, one thing was certain it was about to make a lasting impression on the Christian music community. 

That band was one of the very first in the genre of Christian thrash, that band was called Vengeance and that tape was their original 5 song self-titled cassette only demo. That tape would lead them to signing a multiple album record contract on Intense Records which ultimately led to the release of their first full length album entitled ‘Human Sacrifice’.
‘Human Sacrifice’ was one of the most controversial releases of the time. Many Christian record stores would ban the album from their shelves completely. The album featured the hand of Pastor Bob himself portraying the bloodied hand of Christ nailed to the cross. The music was harsh and in the vein of bands like Dark Angel and Slayer, it definitely took the Christian ‘White’ Metal scene to a whole new level. 

This classic album has been long out of print outside of a Limited Edition CD reissue (1000 pieces) on the defunct Intense Millennium Records in 2010 and a Limited Edition vinyl picture disc (300 pieces) on Roxx Records in 2013, all of which are long sold out and now collector’s items themselves. With the album still in high demand we are very happy to bring to the public a new and very special pressing adding a few twists as we celebrate 30 years of Vengeance.

Roxx Records is proud to bring you a very special pressing of ‘Human Sacrifice’ this special package includes brand new liner notes from original Vengeance bassist Roger Dale Martin. It has been completely remastered by J Powell of Steinhaus Mastering and features a brand new layout done by our very own Scott Waters (Roxx Records/No Life til Metal). This limited edition pressing will feature the newly designed artwork as originally featured on the vinyl picture disc version from 2013 and comes packaged in a beautiful glossy 6 panel wallet, last but not least we have added 5 special bonus tracks from that original demo tape that started it all 30 years ago. 

Official release date for this pressing is August 25th with pre orders going live now. Pre orders only will come with a very special limited run 6” x 6” sticker as a pre order bonus item. But this title will be making its official debut first at this year’s largest Christian Metal Fest called SoCal Metal Fest 2 in Orange California on August 12th. Where there will also be a very special performance from 4 of the original members of Vengeance. If that’s not enough for you we will also be making another very special release announcement regarding Vengeance first that day at the show!  You will not want to miss anything, the new CD, this very special one time performance or the special release announcement we will be making first at the show! 

For all the pre order information and show details visit www.roxxproductions.com

You have even more of my money now/

30 years already? I remember freaking out the first time I saw them on the Metal Mardi Gras VHS! I had to have their music!

Wow, brings back memories.  I remember calling the Intense Records hotline back in the day, and they would play snippets of their releases before they came out (Vengeance, Sacred Warrior, etc.).  Good times for sure.

I thought it was "Vengeance Rising" not "Vengeance".

They started out as "Vengeance" but later changed the name because another band already had the name.
To me, however, they will always be Vengeance.

what bodachi said...

This actually came out sounding great! It will also feature the 5 track demo as bonus tracks! Cliffy remastered and completely redid the original 5 track demo and it sounds just as good as the main tracks!

bodachi wrote:They started out as "Vengeance" but later changed the name because another band already had the name.
To me, however, they will always be Vengeance.

Why not call them "Sacrifice" then? They were called that before "Vengeance".
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Vengeance_Rising/501

Also...

ThomasEversole wrote:

bodachi wrote:They started out as "Vengeance" but later changed the name because another band already had the name.
To me, however, they will always be Vengeance.

Why not call them "Sacrifice" then?  They were called that before "Vengeance".
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Vengeance_Rising/501

Also...

Because none of their albums actually used the band name "Sacrifice."  The first pressing of the album 'Human Sacrifice' was originally under the "Vengeance" moniker.  "Rising" was added to "Vengeance" in later pressings of that album, along with the rest of their catalog after that.  Besides, "Vengeance Rising" sounds way more metal and more brutal than plain old "Sacrifice."  Especially with that almost completed baphomet shaped "V".  \m/

Sonically, I agree this material all sounds about the best it ever has.  I am disappointed, however, 1. that there are additional 2-second gaps of silence between all of the tracks--particularly obvious in the transition between "From the Dead" and "Ascension" (and somewhat less obvious but still noticeable on the demo tracks, but occurs consistently throughout the CD); and 2. that the demo tracks, with the inherently rough sonics greatly improved as advertised, all run audibly above pitch (by close to 43 cents [on the assumption they tuned their guitars to a tuner and not just each other on recording day])--which is a simple fix with basic editing software. :/ The typographical/tagging issues are discussed in another thread.

I'm glad this classic is back in print, regardless.  I think Cliffy managed to squeak out a little more clarity in the high end on the main tracks than he did on his previous fine work on the Intense Millennium reissue.

I like the alternate visuals which remain faithful to the feel of the original release (the demo cover was cool to include), although for a "30th anniversary edition" I would gladly have shelled out an extra dollar for a lyric booklet to have been included.

On "Beheaded," there is a scream starting at 3:05 (not the ending scream) that is not present on my original copy of the cassette!  Anyone have any insight into the differences in mixes?

Just my $.02!

yeah, I'm not sure I notice any difference in the HS part of this other than it is louder...the demo is much different than any versions I have ever heard.

and there is the oops on the track listing I mentioned here:
https://thecmr.forumotion.com/t10418-human-sacrifice-2017-track-listing

as far as this release I don't know if I would have bought it other than
1. it is Vengeance
2. HS is my favorite record of all time...

ahem...I have a "couple" copies of HS...