Sacred Reich: Awakening The Beast

September 24, 2019 Dan McHugh

It takes a special kind of band to resurface from the ashes of a lengthy hiatus and come back firing on all cylinders, laughing in the face of time itself. Thrash metallers SACRED REICH are poised to release their first album in a staggering 23 years and despite a few bumps in the road recently they have taken them in their stride. Long standing drummer Greg Hall announced his departure from the band back in 2018 which was also unfortunately followed by founding member and guitarist Jason Rainey stepping down due to health concerns. In most circumstances this would have derailed most bands but SACRED REICH defiantly soldiered on recruiting guitarist Joey Radziwill at the tender age of 23 years old.

“The situation with Jason sucked,” admits frontman Phil Rind. “It was hard knowing he would not be able to continue but Joey has stepped right in and has been fantastic.”

Some events in life feel like the stars have aligned and destiny has been fulfilled, in September 2018 former drummer Dave McClain vacated his position in MACHINE HEAD citing musical differences subsequently opening the door for his triumphant return to SACRED REICH. “He is a great drummer and a great dude,” explains Phil. “When we split with Greg he was our first call. He was busy with MACHINE HEAD at the time but we waited a year for him to be available. When Greg quit in 1991 it was two weeks before we were leaving for a European tour with SEPULTURA, we needed someone fast! We auditioned a lot of drummers but no one was quite right. When Dave began playing, we knew immediately he was our guy. He saved our asses. We are stoked to have him back!”

The long awaited follow-up to 1996’s Heal release entitled Awakening harnesses all the key facets which brought SACRED REICH to the dance all those years ago. “I think fans of the band are going to dig the record” insists Phil. “We knew we wanted some fast and heavy songs on the record for the fans that have been with us since Ignorance. We wanted to expand our sound without losing our roots. Luckily it all came very naturally. We are really excited about how it came out. All the songs are great. It’s heavy and catchy and Wiley‘s leads are killer. He adds such a unique element to our sound. Dave just pummels the drums and Joey‘s rhythms are so tight and crunchy. I think I am singing better than I ever have. So overall, we can’t wait for everyone to hear it.”

As well as the signature sound, Awakening also projects a very important message to the listener. “The lyrics are pretty positive and encouraging. It’s important to be reminded that, even though we sometimes go through hard times everything is going to be alright” says Phil. “The lyrics also talk about taking responsibility, no one is coming to save us. We need to save ourselves and it begins in our hearts. It also represents our own journeys and the things we have learned over the last twenty years. On a deeper level it’s about the real awakening we need. The awakening in our hearts. To open up to love and compassion. That is the real Awakening.”

SACRED REICH formed back in 1985 and in the last 30+ years the landscape of the metal world has changed considerably with a plethora of sub genres adding to the mix of what is on offer. The era of social media and streaming platforms can be a blessing and a curse as listeners are now spoiled for choice with the abundance of material at their finger tips. This is not something that has particularly concerned Phil and Awakening will certainly not be the last we will hear from one of Arizona’s finest. “All we can do is our best. The way other people feel about it is out of our hands. We feel confident that people will like it though. We are in it for the long haul and have ideas for new songs already. It won’t be another twenty years until the next record!”

Post album release, the quartet will be running riot across the UK and Europe through November and December with a lot of plans firmly in place for 2020. “We can’t wait to play the new songs!” Phil says enthusiastically. “I think our band sounds tighter than ever, it’s going to be killer!”

How did Joey come to join the fold?

Phil: Joey‘s dad Tim is a friend. He plays drums and has a studio. While Dave was still touring with MH, Tim offered to help out with the drums and recording of our demos. Joey and Tim have been recording together for years. So Joey engineered the demos and played guitar as well. When it became clear Jason would not be available, Joey already knew the songs and was the obvious choice.

How did you find working with Arthur Rizk?

Phil: Arthur was fantastic! He made a big contribution to the record. He has great ideas and a great vibe. He really added some great ideas to the songs. He and John Aquilino our engineer were a great team to work with. We could not have made this record without them.

SACRED REICH rose to prominence alongside the likes of DEATH ANGEL and TESTAMENT. Are there any bands in recent years which have caught your eye?

Phil: We toured with IRON REAGAN and ENFORCED. I think those guys are great. I really dig POWER TRIP and TURNSTILE a lot. We are taking out NIGHT DEMON as support in Europe because they rule . I think the newer bands are kicking ass and the older bands like SEPULTURA, TESTAMENT, KREATOR, DEATH ANGEL and now us are still making great records. The future looks great!

Awakening is out now via Metal Blade Records. SACRED REICH are featured in our latest digital issue. Subscribe to our Patreon Page to read the feature!

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