Human Sacrifice (album)
Encyclopedia
Human Sacrifice is the first studio album of the Christian
death
and thrash metal
band Vengeance Rising
, as the first Christian thrash metal album as it was released in 1988
. Though controversial, Human Sacrifice and the following album, Once Dead were huge successes in the world of Christian music, making Vengeance Rising one of the few bands in the genre to cross over into the secular music scene. Dave Caughney of Cross Rhythms magazine wrote in 1990 that this "legendary classic debut [...] breathed much needed freshness into the somewhat stale white metal (Christian metal) scene". HM Magazine
editor Doug Van Pelt called Human Sacrifice "the most radical Christian album ever released". In 2010, HM ranked Human Sacrifice the best Christian metal album of all time on its Top 100 list because it "tilted the Christian metal world on its ear".
The lyrics of Human Sacrifice retell several major points of Christ's ministry
: His incarnation
, crucifixion
, resurrection
, and second coming
. The band compares the form to that of an opera
, with a dramatic beginning, middle, and ending.
the same year with 1,000 copies. Soon a Dutch band called Vengeance demanded the group to change its name. After renaming itself as "Vengeance Rising", the band re-released Human Sacrifice with the word "rising" under the logo on cover picture. Causing further issues for the band, some Christians, noting the unusual vocal and musical style, labeled the release as demonic
. These issues, along with the cover image which featured the pierced hand hand of Bob Beeman (founder of Sanctuary International) caused the album to be pulled from the shelves of some Christian bookstores.
Musically, Human Sacrifice focuses on brutal thrash metal in vein of Dark Angel, old Death and Slayer. Roger Martinez's vocals are more of the death metal type growling approach than typical thrash shouting. One Christian youth magazine stated that the style made "Stryper
sound like Sandi Patti." Vengeance Rising was influenced by 1970s hard rock and heavy metal groups. This shows in the blues rock influences on several tracks. There are three short songs on Human Sacrifice: "Receive Him" (6 s.), "Salvation" (17 s.) and "He is God" (53 s.) Lyrically, Human Sacrifice was noticed for having violent themes on songs like "Burn", and fire and brimstone
themes that "would make even the most conservative theologian proud" on "Fill This Place With Blood".
Human Sacrifice is said to be some of the more extreme Christian metal albums that was available in the 1980s, and it has become somewhat a legend in the Christian circles. In the Summer 2006 issue of Revolver magazine
's The Revolver Record Collection section, guest writer Doug Van Pelt provided a list of ten recommended Christian metal albums in which Human Sacrifice was mentioned, stating that "In daring to be sonically scary, Human Sacrifice bumped up the credibility of Christian metal several notches." In 2010, HM magazine ranked Human Sacrifice #10 on its Top 100 Christian Rock Albums of All Time list stating that "nothing has really come out before or since this album hit the scene. Awesome riffs played at breakneck speed, but just gnarly, groove-heavy riffs on their own. Tunes like “White Throne” and the title track are without question high water marks of the Christian metal scene. Has only one blemish (probably the worst audio engineering glitch of all time) – a bad vocal edit, which comes in at 2:02 during the song “Burn.” On August 2010 issue of Heaven's Metal fanzine, the album ranked #1 on the Top 100 Christian metal albums of all time list because it "is just amazing. It tilted the Christian metal world on its ear. Imagine Slayer with Jesus-first lyrics. The band was so tight and rooted in blues, but played at 100 mph. The vocalist is now an avowed 'Satanic atheist,' so there is a lot of drama post the breakup of the band. The song 'White Throne' will just knock you off your seat. Great building song with dramatic payoff in each chorus."
Intense Millennium Records reissued both Human Sacrifice and Once Dead albums with new artwork on November 9, 2010.
Christian metal
Christian metal, also known as white metal, is a form of heavy metal music usually defined by its message in a song's lyrics as well as the band's dedication to Christianity...
death
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
and thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
band Vengeance Rising
Vengeance Rising
Vengeance Rising is an American Christian thrash metal band from Los Angeles, CA. Fronted by vocalist Roger Martinez, they originally formed as Vengeance in 1987, but changed their name in 1989 to avoid conflict with another band from the Netherlands...
, as the first Christian thrash metal album as it was released in 1988
1988 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1988.-January-March:* January 1 – André Rieu's Johann Strauss Orchestra plays its first concert....
. Though controversial, Human Sacrifice and the following album, Once Dead were huge successes in the world of Christian music, making Vengeance Rising one of the few bands in the genre to cross over into the secular music scene. Dave Caughney of Cross Rhythms magazine wrote in 1990 that this "legendary classic debut [...] breathed much needed freshness into the somewhat stale white metal (Christian metal) scene". HM Magazine
HM Magazine
HM: The Hard Music Magazine is an American bimonthly publication focusing on both Christianity and hard rock. Articles include news, album and festival reviews, posters, artists to watch, indie artist reviews, devotionals and interviews with Christian artists...
editor Doug Van Pelt called Human Sacrifice "the most radical Christian album ever released". In 2010, HM ranked Human Sacrifice the best Christian metal album of all time on its Top 100 list because it "tilted the Christian metal world on its ear".
The lyrics of Human Sacrifice retell several major points of Christ's ministry
Christology
Christology is the field of study within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature and person of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament. Primary considerations include the relationship of Jesus' nature and person with the nature...
: His incarnation
Incarnation (Christianity)
The Incarnation in traditional Christianity is the belief that Jesus Christ the second person of the Trinity, also known as God the Son or the Logos , "became flesh" by being conceived in the womb of a woman, the Virgin Mary, also known as the Theotokos .The Incarnation is a fundamental theological...
, crucifixion
Crucifixion of Jesus
The crucifixion of Jesus and his ensuing death is an event that occurred during the 1st century AD. Jesus, who Christians believe is the Son of God as well as the Messiah, was arrested, tried, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged, and finally executed on a cross...
, resurrection
Resurrection of Jesus
The Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus states that Jesus returned to bodily life on the third day following his death by crucifixion. It is a key element of Christian faith and theology and part of the Nicene Creed: "On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures"...
, and second coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
. The band compares the form to that of an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, with a dramatic beginning, middle, and ending.
Recording history
Human Sacrifice was recorded in 1988, and released on Intense RecordsIntense Records
Intense Records was an independent record label whose releases were mostly in the metal genre. Intense was bought out in 1989 by Frontline Records and became an imprint of that company...
the same year with 1,000 copies. Soon a Dutch band called Vengeance demanded the group to change its name. After renaming itself as "Vengeance Rising", the band re-released Human Sacrifice with the word "rising" under the logo on cover picture. Causing further issues for the band, some Christians, noting the unusual vocal and musical style, labeled the release as demonic
Demonic possession
Demonic possession is held by many belief systems to be the control of an individual by a malevolent supernatural being. Descriptions of demonic possessions often include erased memories or personalities, convulsions, “fits” and fainting as if one were dying...
. These issues, along with the cover image which featured the pierced hand hand of Bob Beeman (founder of Sanctuary International) caused the album to be pulled from the shelves of some Christian bookstores.
Musically, Human Sacrifice focuses on brutal thrash metal in vein of Dark Angel, old Death and Slayer. Roger Martinez's vocals are more of the death metal type growling approach than typical thrash shouting. One Christian youth magazine stated that the style made "Stryper
Stryper
Stryper is a Christian glam metal band from Orange County, California. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet , Oz Fox , Tim Gaines , and Robert Sweet...
sound like Sandi Patti." Vengeance Rising was influenced by 1970s hard rock and heavy metal groups. This shows in the blues rock influences on several tracks. There are three short songs on Human Sacrifice: "Receive Him" (6 s.), "Salvation" (17 s.) and "He is God" (53 s.) Lyrically, Human Sacrifice was noticed for having violent themes on songs like "Burn", and fire and brimstone
Fire and brimstone
Fire and brimstone is an idiomatic expression of signs of God's wrath in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. In the Bible, they often appear in reference to the fate of the unfaithful. "Brimstone," possibly the ancient name for sulfur, evokes the acrid odor of volcanic activity...
themes that "would make even the most conservative theologian proud" on "Fill This Place With Blood".
Human Sacrifice is said to be some of the more extreme Christian metal albums that was available in the 1980s, and it has become somewhat a legend in the Christian circles. In the Summer 2006 issue of Revolver magazine
Revolver (magazine)
Revolver is a bi-monthly rock and heavy metal magazine published by Future US. Before covering heavy metal, rock & hard rock solely, it was a more mainstream oriented magazine. The magazine is structured in a manner similar to publications such as Spin while covering many avenues within the heavy...
's The Revolver Record Collection section, guest writer Doug Van Pelt provided a list of ten recommended Christian metal albums in which Human Sacrifice was mentioned, stating that "In daring to be sonically scary, Human Sacrifice bumped up the credibility of Christian metal several notches." In 2010, HM magazine ranked Human Sacrifice #10 on its Top 100 Christian Rock Albums of All Time list stating that "nothing has really come out before or since this album hit the scene. Awesome riffs played at breakneck speed, but just gnarly, groove-heavy riffs on their own. Tunes like “White Throne” and the title track are without question high water marks of the Christian metal scene. Has only one blemish (probably the worst audio engineering glitch of all time) – a bad vocal edit, which comes in at 2:02 during the song “Burn.” On August 2010 issue of Heaven's Metal fanzine, the album ranked #1 on the Top 100 Christian metal albums of all time list because it "is just amazing. It tilted the Christian metal world on its ear. Imagine Slayer with Jesus-first lyrics. The band was so tight and rooted in blues, but played at 100 mph. The vocalist is now an avowed 'Satanic atheist,' so there is a lot of drama post the breakup of the band. The song 'White Throne' will just knock you off your seat. Great building song with dramatic payoff in each chorus."
Intense Millennium Records reissued both Human Sacrifice and Once Dead albums with new artwork on November 9, 2010.
Track listing
- "Human Sacrifice" (2:36)
- "Burn" (3:59)
- "Mulligan Stew" (3:02)
- "Receive Him" (0:06)
- "I Love Hating Evil" (3:26)
- "Fatal Delay" (3:13)
- "White Throne" (3:06)
- "Salvation" (0:17)
- "From the Dead" (4:34)
- "Ascension" (5:25)
- "He is God" (0:53)
- "Fill this Place with Blood" (2:39)
- "Beheaded" (3:10)
External links
- Human Sacrifice at Metal-Archives