Sacrifice is a Canadian 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 from Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

. The band was formed by guitarists Rob Urbinati and Joe Rico in 1983. Sacrifice played a prominent role in the '80s underground metal scene in Toronto, and grew to release four studio albums before parting ways in 1993. After coming back together to play a reunion concert in 2006, they released their fifth studio album with Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian label Marquee Records in 2009. Although the band faced numerous lineup changes, especially in their early days, founding guitarists Urbinati and Rico were joined by bassist Scott Watts and drummer Gus Pynn on nearly every studio album and demo

Demo (music)

A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...

.

Early Days

Friends and guitarists Rob Urbinati and Joe Rico decided to form a metal band in 1983, playing covers

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 of some of their favourite songs. They recruited Rico's friend Scott Watts to play bass, who introduced them to drummer Craig Boyle. Singer John Baldy, a friend of Boyle's, also joined the band. Together they recorded a pair of rehearsal tapes — featuring their original song Turn in Your Grave, along with a variety of covers — to become recognized by the underground metal tape trading

Tape trading

Tape trading is an unofficial method of distribution of demo tapes encompassing musical genres such as punk, hardcore, and extreme metal. The practice which was most prevalent during the 1980s and 1990s, also saw people distribute recordings of live music shows...

 and fanzine

Fanzine

A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...

 communities.

By early 1985, the majority of the band had decided to move towards a heavier and faster direction with Urbinati on vocals, ousting Baldy and Boyle, and were therefore in need of a new drummer. Ernst Flach filled the position for only a few live shows before leaving, as his drumming style did not fit the fast pace the band wanted to play. It was not until Gus Pynn had contacted the band for an audition that they finally found a permanent drummer. Now that they had a complete lineup, local record store employee Brian Taylor approached Sacrifice and local friends Slaughter

Slaughter (Canadian band)

Slaughter was a Canadian death/thrash band. They formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1984 playing thrash metal and briefly featured Chuck Schuldiner on guitar in 1986. Originally, they released two demos and two full albums...

 to finance the recording of demos for these two bands in exchange for the profits made by selling the tapes at his shop. Both bands agreed, and Sacrifice released The Exorcism demo featuring new original songs. Later that year, Sacrifice opened a show in Toronto for Exodus

Exodus (band)

Exodus is an American thrash metal band formed in 1980 in Richmond, California. Spanning a career of over 30 years, Exodus has gone through numerous lineup changes, two extended hiatuses, and the deaths of two former band members. Guitarist Gary Holt remains the only constant member of the band,...

, who were on their first North American tour. Sacrifice credits the growth of their band and the Toronto underground metal scene in general to their appearance at this show.

Current members

• Rob Urbinati − vocals, guitar
  Electric guitar
  An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
  
   (1983–1993, 2006–present)
• Joe Rico − guitar (1983–1993, 2006–present)
• Scott Watts − bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
   (1983–1993, 2006–present)
• Gus Pynn − drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
   (1985–1990, 2006–present)

Past members

• John Baldy − vocals (1983–1985)
• Craig Boyle − drums (1983–1985)
• Ernst Flach − drums (1985)
• Mike Rosenthal − drums (1990–1993)
• Kevin Wimberley − bass (1993)

Albums

• Torment in Fire (1985)
• Forward to Termination (1987)
• Soldiers of Misfortune (1991)
• Apocalypse Inside (1993)
• The Ones I Condemn (2009)

Demos

• Rehearsal (1984)
• Rehearsal #2 (1985)
• The Exorcism (1985)
• Demo 1987 (1987)
• Demo 1989 (1989)