SACRIFICE – VOLUME 6

Back in the mid 1980’s thrash metal began to flourish with Metallica, Exodus, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth.   At the same time, Canada was birthing their own with Voivod, Razor, Annihilator and Sacrifice.   I first got introduced to Sacrifice while watching the Power Hour on Much Music with the Video of “Re-Animation” from the stellar album called Forward to Termination (1987, Metal Blade).  It is classic thrash metal video in black & white with four headbangers out of Toronto, pounding drums, screaming solos, with the lead singer torturing the whammy bar on the guitar, and ending with a 8 note bass riff.   Being in my mid teens at the time, I listened to this song almost daily, and air guitared the hell out of it.

Forward to Termination still remains as one of my favourite thrash releases of all time.  Thereafter those years, the band released 4 more albums up until 2009 and really went musically dormant for a number of years, but doing the odd special show in Vancouver or elsewhere in Canada.   For the past, say, 5 years or so, us older metal guardians asked when,   or IF, we will ever see anymore new Sacrifice music, as we did get one song with “World War V” back in 2021.  But that didn’t satisfy us!

Thankfully in April 2024 they finally finished recording enough tracks for an album but took their time because of Covid and waiting with getting a label to support it.  The new album is called Volume 6 (Cursed Blessings Records), appropriately as it’s the sixth full length album and will be released in February 21st of 2025.  

The really cool part about this band is that they are STILL the original members all the way from their first album!   Rob Urbinati (vocals, guitar), Joe Rico (guitar), Scott Watts (bass) and Gus Pynn (drums) continue on, keeping true to the Sacrifice sound.  Having all 4 members this long is exceptionally rare these days, over 40 years!  Volume Six was recorded, mixed, and mastered at Phase One Studios in Scarborough, Ontario. Tracked over a period of sessions between September 2023 and May 2024, the eleven-song offering was produced by Rob Urbinati The question is, do they still have the savage beast in them to be like they were when they were playing in their teens and yet get up to speed to modern sounding metal?

Fortunately, I couldn’t wait to hear it, and was able to attain the new album from the Sacrifice team.  I have been giving it many listens, front to back while on my jog and squarely focused on it.  Here are my thoughts track by track…..

Comatose –   Ok, wow, this gives me chills!  This is an outstanding track, so happy to hear this.  It is absolutely blistering and at a break neck pace. Urbinati explains “‘Comatose’ comes from us playing in Vancouver a lot and seeing the amount of drug abuse around downtown East Vancouver. It affects you when you’re seeing human beings everywhere with extreme drug problems and paramedics walking around at night in groups of three basically looking for people who have overdosed or died. There’s that, world politics, all the wars going on, natural disasters – half of Canada was on fire last year! – the album is pretty dark, and I think the art conveys the content.”.  It definitely didn’t put me in a coma, but it will if I hit my head on the stage frantically headbanging at the front!

Antidote of Poison – This one we got a little early as a lyric video.   I was completely floored with this pounding bassline and percussion at the start.   Damn, this is an incredible song.  Urbinati’s vocals are super pissed off and sound not much different from the mid 80’s!  Ripping guitar solos, everything you expect to hear in a great thrash metal song. You want old Sacrifice in 2025?  You got it here folks.

Missile – They don’t slow down at all with this song either as the pace continues relentlessly.  Grinding, galloping guitars.  Lyrically the band keeps with the dark themes, no happy-sappy stuff on this album.  Nor do I hear anything so far that is un-sacrifice like, so rest assured nothing off the rails.

Underneath Millenia – The opening drum beats sound like an homage to Forward to Termination’s “Flames of the Armageddon”.  This one slows down, and there is nothing wrong with that at all, as it has that infectious palm muted guitar riff at the start that sucks you in.  One thing about Urbinati is that you can clearly understand the vocals as his phrasing is quite clear.   This is another epic song on the album

Your Hunger for War – I hate this opening riff.  Why? Because its a damn brain worm !  Its so simple but effective.  If your hungry for shredding guitar solo work, Rico and Urbinati will definitely satisfy your hunger.  They even give Scott a little bass outro, love it!

Incoming Mass Extinction –  A two minute head slammer that has a of hardcore punk feel to it.   This song is actually growing on me every listen.   Some cool riffs at the backend.  Definitely a song they could use to drive a moshpit frenzy.

Lunar Eclipse – Ok 45 seconds gone by and no vocals so this is an instrumental.  Lots of epic searing guitar and signature whammy wrenching galore

Explode – A song title like that wont be a waltz, and forsure they pick the pace backup here with more gloom and doom lyrics that we expect.   They do rachet it down for abit but no worries as it ends hard and fast.

Black Hashish – This was a headscratcher for me.  Another instrumental? Rare we get one on most albums these days but 2 instrumentals? But give it a chance, it contains some creative shredding that should put both Rob and Rico on the map as some of the most underrated players in metal. This over 6:33 song really highlights all the members however, as Gus Pynn and Scott Watts for some time in the limelight. It has a definite psychedelic aura to it, maybe not a bad song to light one up to after the kids have gone to sleep. If I were to ask the band, what is the significance of the female vocal bits?  Interesting…

We Will Not Survive – Man oh man, does this opening riff sound vintage like speed metal.  Love the breakdown at the end of this one.  Another moshpit potential

Trapped in World (Featuring Brian Tailor) – I’d have to admit, after not hearing much new in 16 years, I wasn’t quite ready for a guest vocalist.  BUT in this case, they used guest vocals by Youth Youth Youth vocalist and Toronto music legend Brian Taylor, who operated the Diabolic Force label in the eighties and produced the band’s first three albums, bringing everything full-circle three decades later with his appearance here.   Could’ve Urbinati handled it?  I think so, but Brian does a great job here with this mostly hardcore feeling song.

I can tell you when I was jogging down the street with a smile on my face listening to Volume 6, I must of looked like someone off the Smile horror movies.   I couldn’t be more ecstatic to hear this one as Volume 6 slaps really hard with just about every song.   Generation X’ers like me will definitely be pleased.  Especially if you want some real thrash metal from one of the best, this is definitely an album to have in the collection.  Not only does it sound good with a great mix from Darius Szczepaniak, the sinister album cover is exceptional visually, which was painted by Propagandhi bassist Todd Kowalski.  I am looking forward to seeing Sacrifice this spring in Vancouver at the Modified Ghost Festival and hope they play a good wack of songs off this album, especially the first 3 or 4 which are very strong.   If you haven’t sensed it yet, I strongly recommend you buy this one!

Release Date: February 21st 2025 via Cursed Blessings Records