Sacrament News + a new band arise...

Great, i am 32 years old so please forgive me that a few years ago i found out about the christian thrash metal movement around 30 years ago.
Sacrament is and was a great one, good to see they are kind of alive again.

I will promote it also on my pages (christian metal horde)

Clip sounds promising.

average joe wrote:

It mothy wrote:My only wory is the #metalcore at the bottom of the post. I hope they stay in a more traditional thrash style.

It’s my understanding it will be a mixture of thrash, heavy metal, groove metal.

So maybe like more uptempo Eternal Decision?

Dustofyears wrote:Clip sounds promising.

Agreed! Guitar tones sound Haunts of Violence-esque. I have also heard Torone sounds better than ever. Hoping to get a mix of the intensity that came with those shouts, screams, and growls!

Put the guitar tone/crunch of Haunts of Violence with Torone’s powerful vocals = winning combination!

Sacrament could be great with any of these guys…

Mike Torone
Rob Wolfe 
Ron Rinehart (Dark Angel) *Rinehart is a Christian

I don't think the vocals with most thrash bands are the biggest issue.

They make or break. Far and away the most important instrument IMHO. ; )

I'd rather listen to Vio-lence than Heathen.

In other Sacrament news, "Testimony" was just added to Spotify for the 1st time I believe....!
Prior to this there was only "Slave To Sin" on there from an old compilation.

I really hope that their new album creates (for lack of a better term) a buzz. There really hasn’t been anything great in so many years… IMO 
We need some exciting Christian Metal like the old days!

I’m also optimistic about Gary Lenaire’s new album.

TZ75 wrote:I really hope that their new album creates (for lack of a better term) a buzz. There really hasn’t been anything great in so many years… IMO 
We need some exciting Christian Metal like the old days!

I’m also optimistic about Gary Lenaire’s new album.

Agreed! Can’t remember the last impactful album that really caught attention. It’s been a very long time since a release stood out.

I miss those powerful Jimmy P. Brown riffs that rivaled anything Metallica ever did. Sacrament was awesome, but it seems like they disappeared way too fast after Haunts of Violence! I was left wanting more. Betrayal was very good too!

Sounds like they are still all about getting the message out which is really refreshing to see!

From Eric Shirney personal facebook:

"I just heard the full demo for Testimony of Apocalypse's first song and it's awesome! The band features original #Sacrament vocalist Michael Torone and drummer Paul Graham. They're joined by guitarist / bassist Nick Pacitti. If you're into classic Sacrament or groove-oriented thrash in general, you're going to love this stuff!"

New Merch

https://christianbandshirts.com/sacrament/?fbclid=IwAR2Jy65uDxm3PK_QgkzmeAgFbXGr4MvpOHnVbf7PDe_erbYXIJhPOLgGJgo

“Old school thrash singer with old school boombox (including cassette tape) welcome to 2021=Thrash!!” - Brian Toy

WOW thats killer!

Temple of Blood wrote:

I liked some aspects of that song, but on the whole it didn’t do a lot for me, unfortunately.

So thankful they’re still preaching the Gospel loud and clear, though!

Temple of Blood wrote:

Very different from the original sound, but I like the groove! I hope there will be solos added.

average joe wrote:New Merch

https://christianbandshirts.com/sacrament/?fbclid=IwAR2Jy65uDxm3PK_QgkzmeAgFbXGr4MvpOHnVbf7PDe_erbYXIJhPOLgGJgo

Thanks! I just ordered the Testimony of Apocalypse album cover shirt.

I have no problem with the price of the shirt, but the shipping is too much! Add the tax, it cost me $32… but I had to have it!

Pethead wrote:

Temple of Blood wrote:

I liked some aspects of that song, but on the whole it didn’t do a lot for me, unfortunately.

So thankful they’re still preaching the Gospel loud and clear, though!

It needs some “shrieks” to contrast the low grunting and a guitar lead. Maybe also cut some fat and shorten the length to avoid too much repetition. Keep in mind… it’s just a demo. Hopefully they will have it fine tuned before it’s released.

TZ75 wrote:

Pethead wrote:

Temple of Blood wrote:

I liked some aspects of that song, but on the whole it didn’t do a lot for me, unfortunately.

So thankful they’re still preaching the Gospel loud and clear, though!

It needs some “shrieks” to contrast the low grunting and a guitar lead. Maybe also cut some fat and shorten the length to avoid too much repetition. Keep in mind… it’s just a demo. Hopefully they will have it fine tuned before it’s released.

Yeah, there’s definitely good ideas here.

Agreed on some screams mixed in like on the Testimony album would add a nice touch in terms of variation. I wonder if Torone can still hit those screams? The problem is that it is typically that part of the vocals that seem to go with age. For example, Chuck Billy stays with the lower stuff mixed with more discernible stuff pretty much at all times now and never really hits any highs or shrieking screams. Phil Enselmo (one of the best at it early on) also seemed to lose that shrieking scream skill not long after Cowboys. 

That said, Torone’s vocals have been on a 30 year hiatus, so hopefully he can still mix in screams here and there, even if only in the studio. Bands like Killswitch, for example, have a vocalist that has been hitting those high screams for almost 20 years, so it can be done physically. Would be nice to add that element for variety if he can. Some of the growls sound good as an accent, but overall the vocals have a rather monotone (almost death metal vibe), especially when matched to the music. The spoken parts as a change of pace appear to be an attempt to add variation. The gang vocals also sound a bit out of place. Also, the vocals seem to have some sort of distortion added, which could work as an accent here and there, but maybe not throughout. Maybe it’s just a demo thing. Time will tell. I agree with the duration/repetition and lead critiques, but, it’s a demo. Definitely miss the speed and frantic tempo of their previous work. Refreshing to hear a band after such a long layoff attempt to return to something close to an original form lyrically without a complete change in lyrical content. Congrats to Paul and Mike for their efforts.