Reviews › The Heavens Shall Burn ›
Live4metal.com
Things are starting to look up in the UK metal scene. Bloodstock goes from strength to strength. New festivals and bands are springing up all over the shop and selling well and Dragonforce are wowing the kids and introducing them to guitar solos and fun where was previously only glumness and beatdowns. Add to this Priest and Maiden back on top form then it is a great time to a UK metaller young or old. Add to this orgy of heavy-osity the debut album by Essex boys Sanctorum. Rising Records released The Heavens Shall Burn on September 11th. Luckily there is more of interest here than the morbid anniversary it shares.
Only formed in 2002, these Colchester lads play with a skill and vigour which belies an accomplished and cohesive unit. Skintight metal is the order of the day with equal parts thrash (old skool) and Scan death. The band wear their influences on their sleeves, most notably to these ears early career In Flames, Heartwork era Carcass and Testament. There is also a soupcon of Machinehead in their metallic broth. Sounds tasty eh?
This truly does rock like a bad mother and whilst the production is not Bang and Olufsen crystal clear, it is a darn sight better than many bands on majors that have assaulted my lugholes over the years. The screaming solos in Closure are a case in point. Hard to type at the moment as I wanna air guitar along to this bastard! The lyrics are very poignant for ones so young, and whilst owing some debt to a rhyming dictionary, provide a great window into the world of this quartet.
The slower passages in songs such as Stand Alone also work well with the squalling outro that segues into "Rise" sticking a gun behind the hairs on my neck and forcing them to attention. The aforementioned "Rise" is heads down thrash. Sanctorum have the nowse to know when to go full pelt and when to take their foot off the pedal and add some grooooooooooooooooooove! "Watch Me Suffer" is a case in point. This is a deliciously nasty tune with plenty of melody and a resolutely old skool solo which will please fans of Cathedral.
There are so many standout tracks on this debut I am quickly running out of funky praise to fling at them. This is metal folks how it used to be, but only in the energy and the attitude. There is nothing remotely hackneyed or rehashed about this platter. These guys really sound like they mean it. Sanctorum sound like they were put together with blood, sweat and beer soaked denim in a garage rather than some record execs casting room. This album is not without faults and is raw in places but in my opinion all the better for it.
Sanctorum are definitely worth looking out for - fancy playing in Lowestoft boys?Matt Mason
