The music that these guys play lies somewhere between (old skool) thrash and death metal. A pleasure for the ear as it does not sound like a simple rip-off band. I’ll be honest to you: I do not know the old skool Metallica and Testament, but as I’ve read numerous reviews of this album, I know Sanctorum comes close to that. But lets take a look at the music itself shall we?

 

2 words: Holy f*ck! How much can a band grow in a period of a little less than two years? Very much! The difference between Aaron Sly’s vocals on Penumbra and The Heavens Shall Burn is just amazing! Where his voice was a little ‘forced’ and immature on Penumbra, he now sets things straight. Death metal growls all over the place! But the ‘forced’ part is history, that’s for sure! A very convincing voice it is! Not to mention his great lyrics!

 

Though, a small minor on the album is the first song, ‘Blood Lust’. It seems like Aaron can’t keep up his dark, angry voice the whole time. Therefore I wouldn’t have picked this song as an opener. Please do not be distracted by those small ‘out of tone’ parts, the album only gets better! For example the second track ‘Ancient Words’, this song is awesome and pretty much represents everything you can expect from Sanctorum.

 

Then there are the guitar solos. Hello Mr. Lewis! I guess you’ve practiced your ass off on these solos, but let me tell you this, the practicing was a good investment, a very good one! The solos are something new to me in the songs of this band but I can only wish they’ll keep doing that in the future as well. And to make it complete, there are the pounding double bass parts. This band has become a real metal monster. There are just hardly any signs on the album that these guys are only 18 years old.  

 

My dear readers, I can only hope you will check out this band and judge for yourself. If it was up to me, this band hasn’t even come close to where they belong. In the international scene that is! I’m ready to check ‘em out live! Be a little open-minded and just check this out ok? They deserve better than the UK-only attention.