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Album Reviews : Sanctuary – Inception

By on March 8, 2017

sanctuaryinceptioncdOld School Metal has made quite the comeback of late. Stalwarts of the scene Iron Maiden still wave the 80’s banner high and bands like Steel Panther have taken up this mantle in more recent times (if in a more comedic sense). This cultural phenomena has created a fertile ground for producer Chris “Zeuss” Harris to restore the original demo ‘Inception’ of legendary metal act Sanctuary. Originally hailing from Seattle, Sanctuary recorded ‘Inception’ in 1986 in Washington State. Seven of the 9 songs from the demo made it on to their official debut release “Refuge Denied’ (the opening and closing tracks are excluded), produced by Dave Mustaine and released under the record label Epic in 1988.

I have never listened to ‘Refuge Denied’ but I can certainly say that the production on ‘Inception’ is phenomenal. The demo tape for ‘Inception’, allegedly, was found in a decaying state on the second floor of a barn owned by the band’s guitarist, Lenny Rutledge. Yes, you heard that right, on the floor of a country barn and it is with astonishment and praise that I can safely say, that the mastered sound of these tracks is phenomenal. Kicking off with the track ‘Dream of the Incubus’, the sound of Sanctuary and the sound of the era is undeniable; from vocalist Warren Dane’s glass shattering pitch and power riffs from guitarists Lenny Rutledge & Sean Blosi, you know this is 80’s Heavy Metal.

Now saying this, even though I loved certain releases from this era, namely Metallica’s ‘…Justice for All’ and Slayer’s ‘Season In The Abyss’, 80’s Heavy Metal is just not my sound but if you like high pitch vocals and shredding guitar work, then this album is for you. I appreciated the technical feat producer ‘Zeuss’ was able to accomplish in restoring the demo of ‘Inception’ to such a high quality and I absolutely adored the closing track being the highly enjoyable cover of Jefferson Airplane’s ‘White Rabbit’. To close, I enjoyed this album on a technical level as an aspiring producer but not on a personal level as a Metal fan.

Band: Sanctuary
Album: Inception
Year: 2017
Genre: Thrash Metal
Label: Century Media Records
Origin:United States

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