Friday, March 22, 2024

Album Review: Avaland's The Legend Of The Storyteller

Welcome to no. 3 of 2023 fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

We’ve just left Finland, and now we make our way to the mystical kingdom of Avaland. It wasn’t too long ago that we were here, as I reviewed Theater Of Sorcery back in November of 2022. I spoke pretty highly of the album, with the only spot on what was otherwise a perfect record being the numerous guest vocalists that were featured. Now it’s a few years later from their first release, and have they evolved in any big way since? Let’s not waste anymore time, and sit down to witness the Legend Of The Storyteller. Let’s begin!

Background ***
Taken from the band’s website:

AVALAND is an Epic and Symphonic Metal Opera, written and composed by Adrien G. Gzagg, born in 1998 in Grenoble, France.

Inspired by fantasy, alchemy, legends and
History, Adrien have thought about 10 stories in different timelines, telling 10 important chapters of the magical place he baptized Avaland.

Adrien’s musical influences started very young with Alan Parsons Project. As a teenager, he discovered in his father’s vinyls Yes, Deep Purple, Genesis, Journey… His curiosity brought him step by step to hard rock and heavy metal, and of course to his today main influences : Avantasia, Ayreon, Savatage…


Basic Description
Theater Of Sorcery turned up a notch.

Now, that doesn’t mean Theater Of Sorcery was awful by any means. If you recall from my review of TOS, I spoke really highly of it. I loved the storytelling, the instrumentation & vocals were spot on, and the overall production was great for a first time release. There was the issue with the guest vocals I had, but that one personal fault doesn’t impact what is an otherwise great experience! Legend Of The Storyteller takes everything that made the prior album great, and amps all of it up. The story is grander (And a little darker in places), the instrumentation is stronger, the vocal work is more operatic, and the recording & production is better! Even the cheese from the prior record has returned in abundance, yet it’s also more evenly placed to allow better musical flow. A victory for Avaland if you ask me!

Best Track
The album opener (Right after the intro) Crimson Tyranny was definitely a nice way to start things off. The track really shows off what this album was going for: immense instrumentation, epic vocal work, powerful presentation & storytelling, and just enough cheese to keep everything glued together. You would think that the cheese factor would be a bit too much, but it actually acts as a balancing agent in addition to being a glue. I wouldn’t pick any other track on this release to open things up for the listener!

Crimson Tyranny

Worst Track
Much like in my Theater Of Sorcery review from 2022 (Read here), the only issue I have that too many guest singers were brought on board this album! 7 guests, as a matter of fact, with the biggest name out of them being former Savatage vocalist Zak Stevens. Again, everybody puts in a lot of effort, and not a single one feels like a waste, but once again the amount of guest singers on Legend Of The Storyteller takes away some of the identity from Avaland. When the band gets to album no. 3, I hope they have just 1 or 2 guest vocalists (Maybe 3), and that’s it!

Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, then click on the link below:

The Legend Of The Storyteller

Overall Impression & Rating

The Legend Of The Storyteller was definitely a big step in Avaland’s evolutionary cycle. Sure, the amount of guest vocalists brought in might be annoying for some, but the overall advancement of recording, production, instrumentation, vocal work, and storytelling more than makes up for that fault. If you were a big fan of Theater Of Sorcery, but wanted it’s best points turned up a bit more, then you’ll not want to miss this!

The Legend Of The Storyteller gets a 8.5 to 9 out of 10.

And that was Legend Of The Storyteller everyone. A great improvement over Theater Of Sorcery, let it doesn’t lose sight of what the band’s first release was trying to be. Well everyone, we must leaving this mystical land, and travel over to Japan next week. There’s an old friend over there I’d like to say hi to. See you then!



***
I’m repeating this information from my Theater Of Sorcery review, as finding newer info is rather difficult.

Friday, March 15, 2024

Album Review: Turmion Kätilöt’s Omen X

We’re still in Finland fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

Last week, I looked at Screem Writers Guild from Lordi. It was spooky, hokey, and definitely badass. The band I’m looking at today is no stranger to my little corner of the internet, and has plenty of Finnish badassery. Like the title says, I’m taking a look at Turmion Kätilöt’s most recent release, Omen X. It’s funny: these S&M warriors have shown up on plenty of my lists, but I think that this marks the first time I’ve reviewed these guys in the near decade that this blog has been up. So, let’s not waste anymore time, and dive right into my review for Turmion Kätilöt’s 2023 release, Omen X. Let’s begin!

Background
Taken from Wikipedia:

Omen X is the tenth studio album by Finnish industrial metal band Turmion Kätilöt and was released on January 13, 2023 on the label Nuclear Blast. The songs "Isä Meidän", "Sormenjälki", and "Kuolettavia Vammoja" have been released as singles from the album, each of which have also been filmed in music videos directed by Rauli Ylitalo.

Basic Description
Past in the present.

That sounds like an odd way to describe Omen X, but hear me out. When I talked about Shadow’s first at the start of this month, I said that the band was both old & new in terms of style and production. In this album’s case, it’s definitely modern in terms of recording & production, but where the past aspect comes into play is purely stylistic. Omen X is very reminiscent of the band’s releases prior to 2013, as the releases before that year were more metallic than Metal & Dance (Though there were a few song exceptions). It’s definitely welcome for anyone that liked their older output, but it might be a little jarring for some (More on that below).

Best Track
Thought it wasn’t the first single, I was a big sucker for Sormenjälki when it came out. Though there is still a dance-groove element within the beats & rhythms (The pacing is fairly fast), it still manages to be a pretty brutal track. What was surprising about this tune wasn’t necessarily the music, but the music video if you can believe it. Considering how odd and strange their collection of music videos is, it was surprising to watch one of their videos that was mostly normal. I say mostly, because there’s still some weirdness in some places. No spoilers though!

Sormenjälki (Fingerprint)


Worst Track
The only fault that Omen X has, and even then it’s more of a nitpick, would be it’s musical shift. Like I said above, the music on this album is more along the lines of their releases before Technodiktator (aka more metallic that dance-like), and as such there’s a weird nostalgic vibe for their older work. There’s a few exceptions on this record, but a giant majority of the tracks are Industrial Metal, but without the dance-like aspect that Turmion Kätilöt would become known for in 2013 & beyond. Again, this is more of a nitpick for fans who like the group’s older work more than their newer material.

Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, then click on the link below:

Omen X

Overall Impression
Omen X, like practically all of Turmion Kätilöt’s discography, is just brutal fun wearing some S&M gear. The shift in style may be odd at first for fans of their work from the start of this decade & the 2010s, but that doesn’t stop this record from being a damn good time whenever it’s listened to. If you’re down for an awesome time, Omen X is a good choice for this!

Omen X gets a out 8.5 to 9 out of 10.

And that was my review of Omen X. Again, apologies for putting up something of a downer at the beginning of this week, but I felt that it was necessary to do first, and then get this review out. Well, with that out of the way, we’re onto number 3, and our first is from a rising star I discovered back in 2021 & their musical evolution in 2023. See you next Friday!

Monday, March 11, 2024

Food For Thought/Thought For Food No. 32 : Akira Toriyama R.I.P.

So.....I didn’t expect this.

As of the 1st of March, famed manga artist Akira Toriyama passed away at the age of 68. The cause of death was Acute Subdural Hematoma, and for anyone who doesn’t know what that is, it is when blood collects between the skull and brain, and in small or symptonless cases it merely needs to be watched over. For more extreme cases, surgery is required. An A.S.H. is usually caused by a head injury strong enough to burst blood vessels, which in turn can cause pooled blood to push on the brain. Things that can increase the risk include age, blood-thinning drugs, and alcohol abuse. Symptoms of an Acute Subdural Hematoma include headaches, confusion, vomiting, slurred speech, or even a coma may appear immediately or weeks after a head injury, and in some cases an A.S.H. doesn’t even cause symptoms. Only thing that wasn’t said was where Mr. Toriyama died, but that is not my place to know.

However, I’m typing this up (As of this past Friday) as a way to show my respect for a legend, yet ironically enough I never had the biggest connection to his work. Kinda like when I talked about Kentaro Miura’s passing back in 2021 (Read here for my thoughts on that), I never got into things like Dragonball & all it’s spinoffs (Though I have watched a sprinkle of episodes here & there), or the various games in which his artstyle was used, but it wasn’t cause of some philosophical difference. For me, I wasn’t a massive fan because they simply didn’t click for. Dragonball & the various sub-series are not bad by any means, but they never connected in the right way for me. And yet.....

I feel a giant hole in my spirit. A guy, who’s work I never interacted with in any meaningful way, is now gone, and I feel like something is missing in my life now. I feel like there’s a little less light coming from the sun, or from the moon and stars at night. Casual anime fans may not understand, but Mr. Toriyama crafted not just a world with Dragonball, but the basis for the entire Shonen genre that’s still going strong today. Toriyama’s work has been a massive inspiration for the creators of One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach to name just a few. He didn’t just inspire those series, but for any otaku/weeb, cosplayer, or vtuber that continues to put out content to this very day. Mr. Toriyama’s message for life was very simple: if you’re able to be your foes, then there’s a chance you’ll stand tall & be stronger for it.

And that’s my thoughts on the passing of Akira Toriyama. Again, I may not have been a massive fan of his work, but I can’t deny the sheer influence he had, and perhaps I might begin to get into his library of material now that he’s gone. In any case, I hope we’re all still hanging in there, and I’ll get back to my scheduled program this Friday. In the meantime.....

IT’S OVER 9000!!!!



***
Here are some lighthearted videos that were inspired by Mr. Toriyama’s works. Click on the links, and enjoy:

Super Deluxe Meat Course from Dragon Ball Z (Arcade with Alvin)

Bucket Ramen from Dragon Ball Super (Anime with Alvin)

Dragon Balls from Dragon Ball Z (Anime with Alvin)

DBZ Drinks for kids who got old (How to Drink)

Friday, March 8, 2024

Album Review: Lordi's Screem Writers Guild

Time for some silly horror fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

For number 4 on my list last year, I made an annual trip to Finland like I typically do for some of my lists. That land of beauty & nature has always been a reliable producer of some of the finest metal bands, whether they be old-school or the new guard. Today’s review is from the fun horror titans Lordi, who are no strangers to the Heavy Metal Otaku blog. For a little over 2 decades, these Finnish fiends have been crawling all over the world, spreading their love of spooks & music. They’ve already made a killing so far this decade, with the fictional compilation album Killection back in 2020, and the mega compilation Lordiversity in 2021. 2023 is no exception, and they crafted quite the release for that year. So, let’s get into our finest suit or dress, head over to the nearby film academy, and enjoy 2023's Screem Writers Guild awards. Let’s begin!

Background
The early years of this decade have become highly recorded, not to mention being highly plague ridden. COVID affected everybody, and Lordi were no exception. Though they had released Killection at the beginning of 2020, they didn’t really have the time to go on tour to promote it for rather obvious reasons. Yet, even in a time of great disease, the monsters from Finland didn’t rest in their lairs, as over the course of 2020 they managed to record seven albums, and would release them all together in one package in 2021 as the monstrous Lordiversity (Which I’m surprised I didn’t cover then or up until now). By the time 2023 came about, the fears of the years before didn’t quite seem so insurmountable, and the world was more open than it had been for some time.

Lordi had already been revving up to go back on tour a little bit beforehand, but not without one bump in the road. On the 5th of May in 2022, longtime guitarist Amen had left the band, and a day later Mr. Lordi would put out a statement about the situation. In it, he said that he had asked Amen to leave at the end of February 2022 due to growing tensions, and at one point it was really personal. Luckily, Lordi managed to find a new guitarist on the 30th of May in the form of Kone, and from there things were all set. The monsters of the band then crept into the studio to begin work on their next release towards the end of 2022, and once it reached the 31st of March in 2023, Screem Writers Guild was released. An ode to the classic monsters of cinema (Universal specifically), it was a breath of fresh air to take in after what the start of this decade was.

Basic Description
Hokey Horror Fun.

Lordi have always been a band that knew how to have fun, but also how to send a few chills up or down your spine. Outside of one or two exceptions that do get a little real-world, Mr. Lordi & the rest of the monsters of the band always manage to bring a smile to their fan’s face, and Screem Writers Guild is perhaps their most upbeat release so far this decade. Like I said above, the inspiration for the music on this record was that of the old Universal movie monsters, and those were always fun to watch. It’s not just the music that carries this inspiration, but the costumes as well: from the Creature From The Black Lagoon, to Dracula, and to Frankenstein, the band wear the inspiration on their sleeve, & they aren’t ashamed of it in the least!

Best Track
Dead Again Jayne was a damn good third single for this record! A speedy song with plenty of creep factor that never goes away, it tells the tale of a dead movie starlet (Inspired somewhat by Jane Mansfield) being brought back to life by a weirdo, all in an effort to try & see if said starlet would be his girlfriend. The instrumentation is fun, but it doesn’t forget to be a conveyor for some scares, and Mr. Lordi knows how to be BOTH when he’s singing!

Dead Again Jayne

Another good track that shows off the quality of Screem Writers Guild would be the ode to creepy circus freaks with Thing In The Cage. A slower-paced tune in comparison to the one above, but makes up for that by being a bit more sinister. The instrumentation just creeps & crawls all over, and Mr. Lordi’s vocals just slither around you until it worms it’s way into your head, where it won’t leave until it wants to. Like anything in the freakshow, Thing In The Cage is creepy and gross, but entertaining at the same time!

Thing In The Cage

Worst Track
Screem Writers Guild is almost a perfect Lordi album. Much like Killection & Lordiversity, the band have make some fun and freaky with this release, but I say it’s almost perfect because of some minor tracklisting. Simply put: the 2nd track should have been the first in order to keep the story flowing just right. On top of that. Both Dead Again Jayne & Thing In The Cage have odd 1-something minute intros, and then the songs plays. The tracks themselves are great, but those introductions feel like timewasters to me!

Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, click on the link below:

Screem Writers Guild

Overall Impression & Rating

Screem Writers Guild is just a lot of fun. It is a little jumbled right at the beginning, but otherwise the music on here is great! Lordi know when to be scary, but they also know when to have a great time, and that’s what this album excels at! If you’re looking for some scares that don’t deal with the real world & isn’t soul-crushing, this release is what you’re looking for!

Screem Writers Guild gets a 9 out of 10.

At that was my look at Screem Writers Guild. A small hiccup at the beginning, and there’s a tiny bit of time wasted, but the overall experience just brings a smile to my face. In a world where it’s horrors are too frequent nowadays, it’s nice to know that there are monsters that like to have fun on stage. So, see you all next week, when we’ll stay in Finland to look at a band that’s all too familiar on this blog. See you soon! ***




***
This was written before Akira Toryama’s death, so expect to see something about that before the next review.

Friday, March 1, 2024

Album Review: Shadows's Out For Blood

It’s that time once again fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

It’s time to look back at the music of the year before, and see if it still earned it’s recognition & rightful place on my top 5 albums of 20XX list. 2023 had a damn good selection of records from across a lot of styles, and from bands both old and new. The only records that aren’t getting a review are the ones I leave out for their own examinations in November....and the one’s I’ve selected are definitely going to be interesting. In any case, let’s take a trip over to Chile, and take a look at a band that’s pretty new to the metal scene, yet has a lot of potential to be something amazing later on down the line. Let’s not waste anymore time, and take a look at the first full-length album from the group Shadows. Let’s begin!

(Starting a month early this year, since I didn’t do any research on Irish Metal Bands, and wasn’t thinking of green MTG cards for some reason)

Background
Taken from Bandcamp:

After the pure magic and fire of the "Into the Nightmare" precursor demo tape, we're thrilled to bring you its full-scale successor and evolution: the unrivaled debut album by Chilean heavy metal cult Shadows. Packing in 30 minutes of legendary songwriting and visionary revivalism "Out for Blood" takes us back to a time, somewhere in the early 80's, when acts like Mercyful Fate, Satan, Death SS, Judas Priest, and Alice Cooper were laying the unforgettable foundations of what would soon become a generational, industry-changing phenomenon: the defining of heavy metal as we know it. A raging and undying fire of searing leads, thundering drums, spooky operatic vocals, ripping guitars, unforgettable hooks and outrageous transgression. With no hesitation or limits to its deathless imagination, Shadows has conceived a classic metal crucible of unparalleled wizardry and dominance, using familiar concepts borrowed from dark b-movies, old comic strips, occultism and esotericism to take the listener down a dark, left-hand path of cinematic storytelling, thrilling fantasy, dark impulses and transgressive paranoia. The ten tracks of "Out for Blood" display a breadth of tricks and expertise rarely seen at such an accomplished level in contemporary NWOTHM and classic metal acts, and this should come as no surprise knowing that Shadows mastermind and main songwriter John Shades (a pseudonym of Cristian Silva of Apostasy fame), has been shaping the pillars of true and untamed underground South American heavy metal for at least three decades. Using a mist of dark, keyboard-laden atmospheres, vorticose melodies and a dominating, dual attack of criss-crossing, blazing razor-sharp solos, Shades and his co-conspirators have unfolded a half-hour of absolute, boundless imagination, covering almost fifty years of heavy metal evolution and transformation, and delving deep into the primordial fabric of the genre's most defining traits, those of technical extremism, frantic intensity, and adrenaline-pumping darkness. A full-frontal assault on the senses where the limitless imagination of epic storytelling and of rare musicianship have converged in creating the ultimate homage, heirloom and celebration to the undying, sacred and eternal flame of heavy metal.

Basic Description
Past & Present in all the right ways.

Shadows are, in my opinion, one of the metal bands that not only capture the letter of 80s metal nostalgia, but also it’s spirit. Whereas many bands in the “New Wave Of Heavy Metal” movement can only capture either the letter or spirit of the decade, these guys manage to grab both at the exact same time. A lot of the grooves & rhythm’s feel like they were taken straight from the 1980s, and the sound seemingly feels like it comes from that decade as well. In particular, a lot of the scare factor in my view comes across like what King Diamond would use. A little hokey in places (More on that below), but definitely can send a small chill up the spine at times.

Where the more modern (Present) parts come in are with it’s recording & production, as well as another band I think Shadows may have been inspired by. Soundwise, Out For Blood is crisp and clean, yet the modern recording techniques don’t take the 80s nostalgia away. As for who I think inspired them in the more modern sense, I have the sneaking suspicion that it may have been Ghost. I say it’s Ghost, because there are some hooks & rhythms that come straight from records like Infestissumam and Meliora. It could just be me, but I swear that the catchiness I hear and feel was inspired by Papa Emeritus & his Nameless Ghouls at least partially.

Best Track
Nightstalker was definitely the most appropriate track to preview this album to potential listeners, and embodies the combination of styles I mentioned above. You’ve got that Ghost-style hooks, the King Diamond-like creepiness, and the 80s metal vibes. I will say that the creepiness ever so slightly bends towards the cheesy side, but overall the mix is perfectly balanced, and is more than worthy of being the opening song. Don’t you dare skip this tune!

Nightstalker

Worst Track
Like I said when I did my top 5 album list for 2023, Out For Blood is a short album. 32 minutes & 50 seconds to be exact. However, if you cut out the two instrumental tracks (Dream Paralysis & Fullmoon), it plays for 30 minutes & 9 seconds, which definitely is shorter. Whether you skip those two songs or not, you gotta listen to this record a bunch of times to get it stuck in your head. I will say though, it’s definitely worth it!

Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, then click on the link below:

Out For Blood

Overall Impression & Rating
Out For Blood was a nice surprise. Sure, it’s on the short side, but it’s compensated by having some incredibly catchy songs with a simple creep factor that draws you in. Their EP before this album planted the seed for future success, and OFB was the plant that came from that seed. If Shadows can put on an album or two that has as much quality as this one did, I got a feeling that the plant might have some nice blossoms later on down the line.

Out For Blood gets an 8 out of 10.

And that was my review of Out For Blood, and the start of my look at the best albums of 2023. We’ve got quite a bit of ground to cover, so join me next week as we get to the first of my no. 4 albums. It’s gonna be really spooky, so see you then!


***
If you’d like to visit the band’s Bandcamp page, click on the link below:

Shadows (Bandcamp)

Sunday, February 18, 2024

Convention Review: Katsucon 2024

Katsucon 2024 is in the books fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

It was wonderful to come back down to the Metro DC/Maryland area, and celebrate all things anime with some of the coolest people here in the United States. I’ve been having a hard time these past few months, so it was mentally & spiritually refreshing to come back to my new otaku home away from home. So, let me not waste anymore time, and show off my review of Katsucon 2024. Let’s begin!

Good Points
To start the positives off on a weird note, I found it was unusually quicker to get down to the Gaylord than in the prior years I’ve visited. I left from a friend’s house a little after 9, and got down there around 4:15, which was pretty faster when compared to previous years. Going home was oddly fast as well: me & the friends I was with left just after 9, and got back to the driver’s residence around 6:40 if I recall correctly. Getting back to my house was about the normal length (35 to 40 minutes, depending on traffic), so I never really factor that in. Definitely a plus that might happen in the future!

Next positive is the Gaylord itself, and let me just say that I love this place! Outside of one fault I had this year (More on that later), I am always in awe of how massive the hotel is. It really does feel like a miniature city when it becomes populated with so many people: from the fountain, to the restaurants, and to the lobby, it’s an incredible sight to see! It also fills me with wonder as I look at all of the outside doors to the hotel rooms, and it just makes me think that most if not all of them could be filled with con-goers. Definitely something that’ll never leave me!

Speaking of the con-goers, let me just say that the cosplay that everyone brings will always be insane to me! From low end comical/meme cosplay, all the way to elaborate costumes with props that are exquisite. Genericon (When it was around) had some nice costume work, and Connecticon definitely turns the knob up a bit, but in my opinion it’s Katsucon that’s the pinnacle of cosplay on the East Coast!

Next up are the merchants/artists & panels, and as usual they’re great also. I did have one hiccup when it came to a potential purchase (More on that later), and the amount of dealers ever so slightly slips when it comes to who showed up, but as usual I was able to get a usual amount of booty, and the artists as usual are always on point when it comes to how good their work is. I want to support all of them, but then I’ll be poor & living in a dumpster. As for the panels, I can only say that the variety always impresses. From big events like the annual idol show & AMV contest, to smaller things like Greg Ayres’s panel on mental health and a 18+ comedy panel about tentacle hentai, there is always something to see and experience! Even if you don’t go to a lot of panels like me, it’s always nice just to sit down & watch everybody that passes by. I know I definitely did that at some points.

This last good point is a bit of a weird one, and it would be that the mask mandate. If you recall last year, you might recall me talking about how the staff last year enforced it pretty poorly, and whether it was because of that poor enforcement or lessening COVID restrictions, the mandate was lifted, and people didn’t need to wear a mask or provide medical information. On the one hand this was refreshing, as it felt a little like before the plague took over the world. On the other hand.....

Okay Points

The lack of mask mandate did give me some heeby jeebies! I caught COVID for the 2nd time in November last year, and even though I was wearing a mask most of the time, I was still worried that I would catch the plague again & bring it home. Thankfully, I did see at least a couple people wearing masks, and fortunately nobody that was wearing one was picked on by those kind of people. If I’ll feel this or not in 2025, I don’t know.

Bad Points
Ironically enough, I only got 2 bad things to talk about. One is kind minor, and the other was frustrating to me. The minor thing is the lack of T-Shirts for sale, and this was something I’ve encountered before. Back in 2022 I wasn’t able to get that con’s shirt, only to get it & 2023's at the same time. 2024 is no different: the table where they would have been didn’t know if they’d be getting them, and they sounded confused when I ask them if they had any available. If anyone has answers as to why, please let me know.

Secondly, and this isn’t a knock to the convention itself, but towards the Gaylord itself. I don’t know who’s idea it was to switch from cash, to Credit/Debit Card & Gift Card is out of their damn mind! I heard from one of the people at the Potomac area that apparently they changed the policy the week of the con itself, but I may have misheard things when she was talking to me about it. Even if I didn’t hear things wrong, it’s still insane that they’re going forward with this, and I hope it doesn’t cause issue at future Katsucon events

Final Thoughts & Rating
Katsucon 2024 was definitely a step up from last year. Yeah, it did have a blemish or two, but I definitely had a bit more fun in 2024 than last year. Felt a lot more lively, a weight was taken off it’s shoulders, and everybody there just seemed to have a bit more spring in their step. I definitely felt a big weight taken off of me once I stepped foot into the Gaylord, and as I’m typing this I still have some feeling of happiness & love from being around so many amazing geeks, nerds, and otaku of all kinds. All I can say, is good on you Katsucon!

Katsucon 2024 gets an 8.5 out of 10.

And that was my review of Katsucon 2024. Definitely better than last year, and if they can work out the kinks by 2025, it might just be perfect. Well everyone, this was my last post for February. So, join me next month for a look back at my favorite albums of 2023, and until then take care.



***
If you’d like to read my review of last year’s Katsucon, click on the link below:

Katsucon 2023

Thursday, February 8, 2024

Metal Overview: Sanctuary

The first metal overview of 2024 fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

At the beginning of this month, I made my first ever Music Overview, taking a look at the 90s relic Scatman John. I hope it was a big hit, and maybe I’ll do more of them in the future. However, we have to get to the metal, and the band in today’s overview is rather unique. The first time that my friend Al actually got one over on me, what he didn’t know was that a seed was planted that day, and the resulting plant that grew from the ground is one I continue to water to this day. They might not have been a metallic titan, they none the less were a respectful force when they first emerged, and still manages to have a sizable fanbase to this day! So everyone, let’s dive into the discography of the Thrash/Power Metal band Sanctuary, and see what they’re all about. Let’s begin!  

Refuge Denied (1988)

Our story begins in 1985. Guitarists Lenny Rutledge & Sean Blosl, bassist Jim Sheppard, drummer Dave Budbill, and legendary vocalist Warrel Dane all got together to record a demo. Not long after the demo, Lenny had actually managed to get in contact with singer and guitarist Dave Mustaine after a Megadeth show. Dave expressed interest in the demo, and also expressed interest in being the band’s producer. Dave’s manager, Keith Rawls, financed the recording of their next release, and finally became Sanctuary's manager. After a few talks with some record labels, they would ultimately sign up with Epic Records, and on the 26th of April in 1988, Refuge Denied was released.  

Sales for Refuge Denied were exceptionally low upon it’s release, as it initially sold just 7,000 vinyl records. By June of 2011 however , it would go on to have sold over 200,000 copies. The record in 2010 would be re-release alongside it’s 1990 successor (More on that in a bit) by the reissue label IronBird (via Cherry Red), and in 2016 the track Battle Angels was featured in the 4th episode of the Netflix series The OA.

Best Track? White Rabbit was the song that my friend Al got the one up on me with, and by extent opened the door for me to get into this band. A cover of the classic Grace Slick song, this version is considerably darker in nature, and scraps most of the “High” feelings for something more akin to that of a nightmare. Warren Dane’s voice is exceptionally creepy in this track, as it comes across like something crawling all over your body, or that of a banshee when he gets really loud. The instrumentation just adds to this overall dark feeling, yet it doesn’t go soft, and thus the intensity stays strong.

White Rabbit


Worst Track? Nothing! Refuge Denied from top to bottom is a lovely piece of Thrash Metal Cheesecake, and one that’s still spoken about to this day. Despite not selling a ton upon it’s initial release back in 88, it was a damn fine way to emerge onto the Heavy Metal scene. At a time where the genre was moving out of the commercial spotlight, it was nice to see the end of the decade go down swinging. Next album!

Into The Mirror Black (1990)

After the tour for Refuge Denied ended, Sanctuary went right back into the studio to record their next album, and on the 27th of February, 1990, Into The Mirror Black. A video for the album’s opener Future Tense was made, and actually got some airtime on Headbanger’s Ball. While they were touring for the record alongside bands like Fates Warning & Morbid Angel, guitarist Sean Blosl left the band, and he would be replaced by Jeff Loomis.

Into The Mirror Black had a bit more success when compared to Refuge Denied, selling 34,000 copies worldwide for it’s first week. On the 9th of October in 2020, Century Media Records re-released the album for it’s 30th anniversary. This edition has three additional studio demos, as well as a live album that was originally released in pieces on the promotional EP Into The Mirror Live / Black Reflections.

Best Track? One More Murder was a surprise to me. When I first saw the track title, I expected it to be a bloody & gory tune about a serial killer stalking one last target, but instead it turns into an incredibly poignant political commentary song. There’s a reference to the Gulf War, death by drugs, and what I can only assume is dying in the street due to said drugs alongside gang violence. It’s pretty potent subject matter, with some of it still being unfortunately relevant here in 2024.  

One More Murder

Worst Track? Kind of like Zeit from Rammstein, there’s just something off about Into The Mirror Black.....but I don’t know what it is. Just when I think I located the problem, it goes away into another part of the record, but runs away again when I zero in on it. It’s incredibly frustrating to try & figure out what’s up, yet it doesn’t impact the listening experience as much as I’m making it out to.

Into The Mirror Black. Not in the spotlight as much as Refuge Denied, and something about the record is wrong, but it still happens to be fantastic to listen to. Next album!

The Year The Sun Died (2014)

I find it rather ironic that in 2024, with every awful thing that’s happened so far, I’m listening to an album named The Year The Sun Died. Released on the 6th of October, 2014, the release would come after the band was disbanded for nearly 20 years! After the tour for Into The Mirror Black, there was incredible pressure from Epic Records to try and being more like the newly emerging Seattle Grunge scene, which caused disagreements between band members regarding how the band should move forward, and in 1992 they decided to split. Ironically enough from around this time, Epic Records was to release Into The Mirror Live, which was a live recording of Sanctuary’s final tour, but only a limited amount of a promo version ever saw the light of day, and is an interesting story in it’s own right.

However, all was not lost. In 1992, Warrel Dane, Jim Sheppard and Jeff Loomis would form the band Nevermore, and former Sanctuary guitarist Lenny Rutledge would be the band’s producer (He had his own studio). Fast forward to 2010, and Warrel Dane, Jim Sheppard, Lenny Rutledge and Dave Budbill got back together for a few select reunion performances. At first the reunion shows were all they wanted to do, but a mix of the on-stage chemistry & response from fans was so immense that they decided to go back into the studio on February the 2nd to record, and the rest is history.

Best Track? The Year The Sun Died the song is an incredibly apocalyptic track. Placed at the very end of the album, and perhaps because of it’s position on the record, there’s this buildup throughout everything before, and when you get to this tune everything just explodes. Ironic, since it’s slower-paced, but the quality is just fantastic. Not only that, but Warrel Dane’s richer voice really shines here, and when he’s been nothing but a great singer across this whole release that’s saying something!

The Year The Sun Died

Worst Track? Like the last 2 releases, there’s not a single track on this album that sucks. Sanctuary has always been a consistent level when it comes to quality, but if there was one thing that surprised me, it would be that The Year The Sun Died is surprisingly dark in nature. Not on the level like Obsidian from Paradise Lost & Tapping The Vein from Sodom, but in it’s own right is oddly depressing in places. Sanctuary aren’t a warm & fuzzy band by any means, but this release does make Refuge Denied & Into The Mirror Black look like a picnic on a warm summer day.

The Year The Sun Died. Darker when compared to their last 2 records, it still manages to be a well-made and powerful release, and it never loses the entertainment value. If you like this band back in the day but wanted them to be more modern when it came to recording & production, then you’ll easily love this. Next album!

Inception (2017)

Taken from Wikipedia:

Inception is a compilation album by American heavy metal band Sanctuary, released on February 24, 2017, through Century Media. A prequel to the band's 1988 debut album Refuge Denied, the album contains remixed and remastered lost studio recordings from 1986. This is Sanctuary's final release with vocalist Warrel Dane, who died of a heart attack on December 13, 2017

Olivier Badin of Terrorizer magazine rated Inception moderately positive, writing, "Zeuss' careful remastering job here has leased a new sense of life to these early versions. And even with a then 25-year-old Warrel Dane in pure Rob Halford mode and a very mid-'80s power/thrash style, this doesn't sound dated at all and even actually has a sense of urgency its second version lacked." He concluded his review with, "With 'Refuge Denied' hard to get these days, it's a win-win situation."

Best Track? The demo version of White Rabbit is just absolutely creepy if you ask me! A little bit shorter than the final version (2 minutes & 36 seconds compared to 3 minutes & 10 seconds), it still manages to have a “Nightmare” vibe. Maybe even more so here, thanks to the rougher audio quality of it’s demo nature. Don’t skip this track!

White Rabbit (Demo)

Worst Track? Even as a collection of demos, Inception doesn’t have a single bad song! That being said, these are demos, and as such their sound quality can be rough in places. If there was one issue I could say about the nature of the demos, and maybe it was just me hearing things incorrectly, but I could have sworn that some of the songs sounded a little more remastered than others. Again, it might have just been my imagination, but I could swear that a couple tracks sounded better than the rest.

Inception. A great relic of the band’s past, but maybe it needed just a little extra polish before it came out. Still, it was nice that Sanctuary was able to release one final album with everybody together, as on the 13th of December in 2017, Warrel Dane died of a heart attack while he was in  São Paulo, Brazil recording his second solo album. Still, this vision of the past was quite the welcome one, and as a way for the classic lineup to reluctantly bow out on, it was a good one.

And that was my look at Sanctuary. A band that sadly was all too brief in the metal world, yet the fans that loved them still linger to this day. So, I’m taking a break for a little bit, but I’ll come back in a week or two for my annual Katsucon review. See you then!


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If you’re curious about listening to these albums, click on the links below:

Refuge Denied

Into The Mirror Black

The Year The Sun Died

Inception