Thrash was a big part of my life in the 80s and had you told me the genre would die out, be reborn, then die out again, I would have been vexed and vexatious. It seemed the ultimate form for heavy metal: fast, loud, volatile, and hostile. What could ever cause this hideously beautiful genre to crash and burn? Ultimately, the answer was a lack of room to innovate and expand without leaving the style altogether. The big acts of the 80s all ran out of ideas or changed their style radically. A few hardcore and stubborn speed warriors still try to sling sound and fury to this day (Sodom, Overkill, etc.), but you rarely get a top-notch thrash outing anymore. Into this dire reality walks 80s thrashers Sacrifice. Hailing from Canada, these speed merchants were part of the second or third wave of thrash, depending on where you set the road markers. While their 1986 Torment in Fire debut was solid and verged on death metal, it was their 1987 offering Forward to Termination that became their lasting legacy. It’s one of the best pure thrash albums ever and it doesn’t get anywhere near the respect it deserves. 1990s Soldiers of Misfortune was also very good, showcasing a more refined, polished sound. They called it quits in 93 with a decent comeback effort in 2009, and now 15 years later, we get Volume 6. With all the original members on board, can these olde thrash dawgs defy gravity and release the next great thrash platter?
The sound that greets the listener on the scorching opener “Comatose” is unmistakably Sacrifice, with Rob Urbinati’s harsh, sharp vocals instantly recognizable. The song is a rip ride, with the classic Sacrifice sound in place mixed with flashes of Exodus and Razor. The riffs are vicious and the momentum builds up toward pit frenzy and certain injury. I want 40 minutes of shit just like this. I don’t exactly get that here, but there are some tasty nuggets of reckless speed to be had. “Antitode of Poison” is a nasty number with fury and anger boiling over in the riffalanche, and “Missle” is a fierce little rocket aimed right at your sense and sensibility. That means you get a solid 11 minutes of top-tier thrash to open Volume 6. After that, however, things go a bit pear-shaped.
While most tracks have some merit, the writing becomes inconsistent as the band stretches their legs and dabble in varying styles and tempos. “Underneath Millenia” goes for a more proggy slant with Voivoid-isms popping up like Whack-a-Moles. It’s interesting but not something that sticks deep in my head craw. 6-plus minute instrumental “Black Hashish” demonstrates their technical acumen with wild twists and turns, but I don’t need 6 minutes of it, especially considering there’s another 2-minute musical interlude only 2 songs prior. Other moments are fast, furious, and effective like “Your Hunger for War” and especially “Explode” which sounds like a good moment from the Rob Dukes era of Exodus with tasty melodic guitar work segments added on. Others can read a bit more generic, like “Incoming Mass Execution” and the punky, half-baked “Trapped in a World.” The final product ends up a fairly typical latter-day thrash outing. It has a few killer moments but there isn’t enough of the high-level stuff to elevate the album to that next level of badassery. It’s still a fun dose of old time thrash without many nods to modernity, and I always have room for this kind of shit.
Rob Urbinati was one of my favorite thrash vocalists back in the day and he sounds much the same here. He’s got a unique tone to his harsh roaring, almost like a combination of Chuck Schuldiner and Mille from Kreator. He brings the proper amount of venom to the proceedings and keeps things extra mean. His guitar work alongside Joe Rico is impressive, and some of the band’s late-era prog sounds from albums like Soldiers of Misfortune and Apocalpyse Inside are referenced, especially on “Black Hashish.” And of course, there are a goodly number of savage riffs here too, especially on the opening triple-salvo. Gus Pym was always a top-level thrash drummer, and he’s great here, as is the very present basswork by Scott Watts. The band sounds young, dumb, and full of comeback sauce, with only some writing inconsistencies and the decision to include 8-plus minutes of instrumental wanking slowing their thunder roll.
I was quite shocked to see Sacrifice back in the game after so long, and while Volume Six isn’t on the level of their classic era, it’s certainly solid with a few impressive moments. If you’re new to Sacrifice, this isn’t a bad place to start, but you should make time to hear Forward to Termination ASAP. That thing is a merciless wargrinder in the annals of thrash and you must join with it. It would be wise, my friend.1
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Cursed Blessings Records
Websites: facebook.com/sacrificecanada | instagram.com/sacrificecanada
Releases Worldwide: January 24th, 2025
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