Sacrament

Item: Haunts of Violence
Author: Spiny Norman

Haunts of Violence

(1992)

Reviewed by Spiny Norman

Discogs Bandcamp Apple Music TIDAL Amazon Music Spotify YouTube Music

Label R.E.X. MusicHeaven's Metal #39January/February 1993

progressive metal speed metal thrash metal

Yes, Sacrament shows they have a very credible sound and talent. This is a very cool thrash album with some intense vocals (that are understandable this time!). New vocalist Rob Wolfe reminds me of a cross between Paul D'Anno (ex-Iron Maiden) and ex-Sacramenter Mike Tyrone. The title track starts the album with an exciting representation of things to come, with relentless aural attacks. Guitarist Mike DiDonato achieved a nice big crunch on every track and spits out some killer leads in the title track. "Souls In Torment," my favorite tune on the album, is a very intense cut that oozes with power. Hats off to Rob for an excellent delivery on the chorus. Another awesome tune is "Carry the Corpse," a heavy groovin' mosh tune. I hate to get trivial or trite, but this is a real headbangin' album. This disc reminds me of the early days of Christian metal: You had some happy hard rock, and then you had the doomy sounds of bands like Saint, who focused on the morbid side of judgement and death. They came off with an attitude that matched much of the darker metal in the world. This material also seems a bit angry at times--and has just the right amount of (righteous?) anger in the lyrics. As a follow-up to "Testimony of Apocalypse," Sacrament has outdone themselves. This album is rock solid and stands up to the company of Believer, Vengeance, Deliverance and Tourniquet (who all stand up to anybody--Metallica, Slayer, whoever). For those who dismissed Sacrament's debut album due to the grunt/growl vocals, the time has come to taste the new and improved Sacrament. They've never sounded better.