Sacrilege (band)
Encyclopedia
Sacrilege were a female-fronted thrash metal
band from the Midlands
region of England
. Despite having played relatively few gigs during their existence, Sacrilege are today recognised as an important band; both as an influence on later heavy metal and doom metal bands, and as an example of the blending of hardcore punk
, radical politics, and heavy metal that occurred during the 1980s, making Sacrilege one of the prototypical crust punk bands of the time.
demos under the moniker Warwound. In 1983, the duo joined the Varukers, Damian left the Varukers in 1984 to form Sacrilege. In 1984 and '85, the band recorded demos and contributed tracks to the compilations We Won't Be Your Fucking Poor (Mortarhate, 1985) and Anglican Scrape Attic (a pre-Earache
release from Digby Pearson
)
After replacing drummer Pickering with Andrew Baker, Sacrilege recorded their first album, Behind the Realms of Madness, in 1985, which was released through the Bristol
-based label Children of the Revolution (COR) Records. The album was moderately successful, selling a respectable 7000 copies. Shortly after this, the band brought in former Warhammer member Mitch Dickinson on second guitar, although he never played live with the band and he soon left to join hardcore
group Heresy
and later Unseen Terror
. Around this time, the band were approached by FM Revolver Records, but this ultimately went nowhere.
Their second release, Within the Prophecy, was recorded in January 1987 at Birmingham's Rich Bitch Studios with Rob Bruce and producer Mike Ivory. It was released later that year through Under One Flag Records, a subsidiary of Music for Nations
. Sacrilege underwent a significant line-up change at this juncture, replacing drummer Baker with Paul Brookes, bassist May with Paul Morrisey and adding rhythm guitarist Frank Healey. After a further change, this time replacing Brookes with new drummer Spikey T. Smith, the new line-up recorded the band's third album, Turn Back Trilobite, issued in April 1989. This record saw the band moving away from their thrash metal roots into a more doom metal
musical direction, with touches of folk
. Sacrilege split up quietly in the early 1990s.
After Sacrilege, Healey and Baker would go on to join Cerebral Fix
, with Healey later joining Benediction
and Baker also playing in an early incarnation of Cathedral
. Brookes would also Benediction, and then metal act Marshall Law in 1999.
Cerebral Fix covered Sacrilege's 'The Closing Irony' on their 1990 album 'Tower of Spite', suitably using it as the final track and making a slight name alteration 'Closing Irony'.
Sacrilege's first two albums were re-released through Blackend Records in 1996.
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 the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
region of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Despite having played relatively few gigs during their existence, Sacrilege are today recognised as an important band; both as an influence on later heavy metal and doom metal bands, and as an example of the blending of hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
, radical politics, and heavy metal that occurred during the 1980s, making Sacrilege one of the prototypical crust punk bands of the time.
Biography
Prior to the formation of Sacrilege, guitarist Damian Thompson,drummer Andy Baker released a pair of thrash metalThrash 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...
demos under the moniker Warwound. In 1983, the duo joined the Varukers, Damian left the Varukers in 1984 to form Sacrilege. In 1984 and '85, the band recorded demos and contributed tracks to the compilations We Won't Be Your Fucking Poor (Mortarhate, 1985) and Anglican Scrape Attic (a pre-Earache
Earache Records
Earache Records is a heavy metal-oriented record label based in Nottingham, UK and New York, USA. It helped to pioneer extreme metal by releasing many of the earliest grindcore and death metal records in the period 1988-1994.-History:...
release from Digby Pearson
Digby Pearson
Digby Pearson, also known as "Dig," is a British musician who founded Earache Records, which signed some of the most infamous heavy metal acts worldwide in the 1980s and early 1990s....
)
After replacing drummer Pickering with Andrew Baker, Sacrilege recorded their first album, Behind the Realms of Madness, in 1985, which was released through the Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
-based label Children of the Revolution (COR) Records. The album was moderately successful, selling a respectable 7000 copies. Shortly after this, the band brought in former Warhammer member Mitch Dickinson on second guitar, although he never played live with the band and he soon left to join hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
group Heresy
Heresy (band)
Heresy were a hardcore punk band from Nottingham, England, formed in 1985 and active until late 1988. They released three albums and recorded three sessions for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show...
and later Unseen Terror
Unseen Terror
Unseen Terror was a British extreme metal band formed by Shane Embury and Mitch Dickinson , and played extreme metal with a technical edge. Their most notable feat took place in March 1988, when they recorded tracks for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 program.-History:To set the record straight - The band...
. Around this time, the band were approached by FM Revolver Records, but this ultimately went nowhere.
Their second release, Within the Prophecy, was recorded in January 1987 at Birmingham's Rich Bitch Studios with Rob Bruce and producer Mike Ivory. It was released later that year through Under One Flag Records, a subsidiary of Music for Nations
Music For Nations
Music For Nations was a British independent record label focusing mainly on rock and metal. They were a subsidiary of the larger label distributor Zomba Records who in turn is owned by BMG....
. Sacrilege underwent a significant line-up change at this juncture, replacing drummer Baker with Paul Brookes, bassist May with Paul Morrisey and adding rhythm guitarist Frank Healey. After a further change, this time replacing Brookes with new drummer Spikey T. Smith, the new line-up recorded the band's third album, Turn Back Trilobite, issued in April 1989. This record saw the band moving away from their thrash metal roots into a more doom metal
Doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...
musical direction, with touches of folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
. Sacrilege split up quietly in the early 1990s.
After Sacrilege, Healey and Baker would go on to join Cerebral Fix
Cerebral Fix
Cerebral Fix are an English thrash/death metal band formed in Birmingham in 1986. They became members of the UK thrash metal and death metal scenes through four albums, three of which were on major labels before finally disbanding in 1993...
, with Healey later joining Benediction
Benediction (band)
Benediction is a British death metal band from Birmingham, England. They were formed in February 1989.-Biography:The Birmingham-based death metal band Benediction were formed in February 1989 by Paul Adams , Peter Rew , Darren Brookes , and Mark "Barney" Greenway...
and Baker also playing in an early incarnation of Cathedral
Cathedral (band)
Cathedral are a doom metal band from Coventry, England. The group forged a link between early doom metal and a 1990s extreme metal aesthetic, making doom slower and heavier. Their debut album, Forest of Equilibrium, is considered a classic of the genre. They later on changed their doom style,...
. Brookes would also Benediction, and then metal act Marshall Law in 1999.
Cerebral Fix covered Sacrilege's 'The Closing Irony' on their 1990 album 'Tower of Spite', suitably using it as the final track and making a slight name alteration 'Closing Irony'.
Sacrilege's first two albums were re-released through Blackend Records in 1996.
Last known line-up
- Lynda "Tam" Simpson (vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
) - Damian Thompson (guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, also of Cadaverous Clan, The VarukersThe VarukersThe Varukers are a UK D-beat band formed in 1979 by vocalist Anthony "Rat" Martin, which produced its most influential recordings in the early 1980s. The band are one of the first to play in the musical style of the hardcore punk band Discharge, known as D-beat...
, Warwound, Wrong Attitude) - Frank Healey (bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, also of BenedictionBenediction (band)Benediction is a British death metal band from Birmingham, England. They were formed in February 1989.-Biography:The Birmingham-based death metal band Benediction were formed in February 1989 by Paul Adams , Peter Rew , Darren Brookes , and Mark "Barney" Greenway...
, Cerebral FixCerebral FixCerebral Fix are an English thrash/death metal band formed in Birmingham in 1986. They became members of the UK thrash metal and death metal scenes through four albums, three of which were on major labels before finally disbanding in 1993...
, Napalm DeathNapalm DeathNapalm Death are a death metal band formed in Birmingham, England in 1981. While none of its original members remain in the group, the lineup of vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway, bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch Harris and drummer Danny Herrera has remained consistent for most of the band's ...
) - Spikey T. Smith (drumsDrum kitA 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 ....
, also of Alternative Attack, Destroy Babylon, English DogsEnglish DogsEnglish Dogs are a British crossover punk rock/heavy metal band that began life in the early eighties.-History:English Dogs formed in October 1981 in Grantham and produced two demos during 1982 entitled 'Show No Mercy' and 'Free To Kill'. The band toured as support to fellow punk band Charged GBH...
, The More I SeeThe More I See-Formation:The More I See were formed by guitarist Graham 'Gizz' Butt, formerly of Punk Metal band English Dogs and the Prodigy.Formed in Cambridgeshire in 2002 with vocalist Chad Sunderland, guitarist Gavin King and bassist Lee Churchill.-Personnel changes:To speed the musical pace up, both live...
)
Former members
- Mitch Dickinson (guitar, also of HeresyHeresy (band)Heresy were a hardcore punk band from Nottingham, England, formed in 1985 and active until late 1988. They released three albums and recorded three sessions for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show...
, Unseen TerrorUnseen TerrorUnseen Terror was a British extreme metal band formed by Shane Embury and Mitch Dickinson , and played extreme metal with a technical edge. Their most notable feat took place in March 1988, when they recorded tracks for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 program.-History:To set the record straight - The band...
, Warhammer) - Tony May (bass, also of The Varukers, Final Attempt, Innocent Victims, Indecent Assault)
- Paul Morrisey (bass, also of Prolapse)
- Liam Pickering (drums, also of Warwound)
- Andrew Baker (drums, CathedralCathedral (band)Cathedral are a doom metal band from Coventry, England. The group forged a link between early doom metal and a 1990s extreme metal aesthetic, making doom slower and heavier. Their debut album, Forest of Equilibrium, is considered a classic of the genre. They later on changed their doom style,...
, Cerebral Fix) - Paul Brookes (drums, also of Agincourt, Benediction, Marshall Law, Scarab, White Trash)
As Sacrilege
- Demo I (1984)
- Demo II (1985)
- Behind the Realms of Madness LP (COR Records, 1985; re-released 1996 by Blackend)
- Demo 1/86 (1986)
- Demo 8/86 (1986)
- Within the Prophecy LP (Under One Flag RecordsMusic For NationsMusic For Nations was a British independent record label focusing mainly on rock and metal. They were a subsidiary of the larger label distributor Zomba Records who in turn is owned by BMG....
, 1987; re-released 1996 by Blackend) - Turn Back Trilobite LP (Under One Flag Records, 1989; released in the US on Metal Blade)
Compilation appearances
- We Won't Be Your Fucking Poor LP x 2 (track: "Dig Your Own Grave"; Mortarhate Records, 1985)
- Anglican Scrape Attic split 7" with HiraxHiraxHirax is an American thrash metal band from Cypress, California. Starting in 1984 under the leadership of vocalist Katon W. De Pena , the band played in Los Angeles and San Francisco with the other new thrash metal bands of the area such as Metallica, Exodus, and Slayer...
, Execute, Lip Cream and Concrete SoxConcrete SoxConcrete Sox are a British crust punk band. They are largely seen as an early crossover thrash band who incorporated many thrash metal-like riffs in the style of their earlier recordings....
(track: "Blood Run", pre-EaracheEarache RecordsEarache Records is a heavy metal-oriented record label based in Nottingham, UK and New York, USA. It helped to pioneer extreme metal by releasing many of the earliest grindcore and death metal records in the period 1988-1994.-History:...
, 1985)
External links
- Official Myspace
- [ Sacrilege biography @ Allmusic.com]
- Sacrilege biography @ MusicMight