ALBUM REVIEW: Inception – Sanctuary

In 1988, a time in the music industry which was saturated with the grunge scene a trailblazing five piece emerged from the shadows and took Seattle by storm with their debut album, produced by none other than Dave Mustaine (MEGADETH), entitled Refuge Denied and that band was SANCTUARY. Despite a brief hiatus, almost 30 years later the band is firing on all cylinders with as much drive and intensity as they possessed in their inception but before we look to the future the band have decided to treat their fans with some long forgotten demos discovered by guitarist Lenny Rutledge in the form of Inception.

Most of the tracks are a culmination of which later became the backbone of Refuge Denied but there are some deep cuts which never came to fruition in the form of the Dream Of The Incubus packed full of galloping riffs and piercingly precise falsetto courtesy of the one and only Warrel Dane and the high intensity, power metal tinged I Am Insane.

The purpose of this album is not just focusing on the music however as the band have collected a package of memories varying from old photos, reminiscing on the timeline of the band discussing such topics as the origin of the name SANCTUARY, how they came to be signed and insights into the artwork by the visionary who helped breathe life into MEGADETH’s mascot Vic Rattlehead, Ed Repka. Hopefully in the world of digital streaming services this will entice fans into joining the band on their trip of nostalgia.

Initially the initial demos contained many flaws but thanks to the craftsmanship of renowned producer Chris “Zeuss” Harris they managed to resurrect the master tapes and provide the original recordings the nurture they deserved giving the fans the opportunity to listen to the previous iterations of tracks such as Battle Angels and Die For My Sins which still to this day are a staple of their live sets. Despite Inception not consisting of a wealth of unreleased material the tracks on show display an impressive abundance of raw energy for a band in their infancy and whether you are a previous fan of SANCTUARY or the 80’s metal movement in general there is plenty to satisfy any listener.

Rating: 7/10

Inception is due for release February 24th via Century Media Records.

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