Sacrilege (band)
| Sacrilege | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Birmingham, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Hardcore punk, Thrash metal/Doom metal |
| Years active | 1984–1989, 2014-present |
| Labels | Relapse Records, Children of the Revolution, Earache, Metal Blade, Music for Nations, Under One Flag |
| Associated acts | Warwound, Alternative Attack, Benediction, Cadaverous Clan, Cathedral, Cerebral Fix, Destroy Babylon, English Dogs, Heresy, Indecent Assault, The More I See, Napalm Death Unseen Terror, The Varukers. |
| Members | Lynda 'Tam' Simpson (vocals),Damian Thompson (Guitar),Frank Healy (Bass),Spike T Smith (Drums) |
Originally formed in 1984 by guitarist Damian Thompson and vocalist Lynda "Tam" Simpson, Sacrilege is a female-fronted band from the Midlands region of England. Originally Hardcore Punk, their sound later changed to Thrash Metal/Doom Metal. Despite having played relatively few gigs during their original existence, Sacrilege is recognized as an important band, both as an influence on later crust punk/thrash metal and doom metal bands and as an example of the blending of hardcore punk, radical politics, and thrash/death metal that occurred during the mid-1980s, making Sacrilege one of the prototypical 'crust'(that term not coined then) punk/metal bands of the time.
In July 2014, Sacrilege announced work on a brand new album, tentativley titled Emptiness Intoxication after a 25-year hiatus. The line up includes its founding members Tam & Damian, as well as Frank Healy (bass) and Spike T. Smith (drums); it is the same line up that recorded Turn Back Trilobite, the band's last official release in 1989.
Prior to the formation of Sacrilege, guitarist Damian Thompson and drummer Andrew Baker released a pair of D-beat punk demos under the moniker Warwound. In 1983, the duo joined The Varukers. Damian left the Varukers after less than a year in 1984 to form Sacrilege with Lynda 'Tam' Simpson (Vocals), Liam Pickering (Drums), and Tony May (Bass). In 1984 and 1985, 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). The band also played several gigs at this time alongside bands such as Chumbawamba, Antisect, D.I.R.T, Icons of filth, Concrete Sox, Indecent Assault, etc., supporting causes from the 1984 miners strike to squatters rights.
After replacing drummer Liam Pickering with Andrew Baker, Sacrilege recorded their first album, Behind the Realms of Madness in July 1985 at Rich Bitch studios in Birmingham. The album was an uncompromising mix of Damian Thompson's down tuned riff laden guitar, Lynda 'Tam' Simpson's screaming (almost anguished) vocals, along with powerhouse drumming and bass. It drew from early influences such as Discharge and Crass, and the newly emerging Thrash/Death metal sound of Metallica, Venom, and Slayer. The lyrical content, though, was far from typical for metal bands; subject matter such as global power corruption, inequality, world poverty, and the (then constant) threat of nuclear war was paramount were cleverly woven by Lynda (Tam) Simpson into Tolkien-esque and metaphorical storylines (something then unheard of in underground punk circles, these themes continued through all three of their early albums). This was released in the U.K through the Bristol-based label Children of the Revolution (COR) records, a small independent label run by Tim Bennett which specialized in underground crossover Punk/Metal acts, and by Pusmort Records in the U.S.A (A limited edition run of 50 copies in blue vinyl are now a valuable collectors item). The album was moderately successful at the time, selling a respectable estimated 7000 copies (and bringing the group to the attention of a much larger audience/labels). Since then, this album has rightly become widely regarded as a game-changer within underground punk-metal circles and has gone on through various re-issues/bootlegs to sell many thousands more worldwide, influencing scores of bands (the highly successful Bolt Thrower cite the band as an enormous influence, whilst Napalm Death also recorded their first album at Rich Bitch, so impressed were they with Sacrilege's sound). The album was also released at this time in the U.S.A through Pusmort records run by Brian Schroeder a.k.a. Pushead. A U.S.A only limited edition blue vinyl pressing is now a rare collectors item.
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