Sacrosanct - Recesses for the Depraved (Reissue)

Sacrosanct

Recesses for the Depraved (Reissue)

by Lior "Steinmetal" Stein at 21 June 2019, 2:00 AM

A single year has passed since the “Truth Is - What Is” debut, an album that revealed SACROSANCT as one hell of a powerful Thrash Metal unit, yet also a kind of band that would go the extra mile in order to keep its listeners pouring in due to its sense of progression. And here we are again with the band’s sophomore’s display of advanced Thrash Metal, entitled “Recesses for the Depraved”. This is also the second reissue made by the Dutch Vic Records, as part of the reissuing of SACROSANCT first three albums.

Other than it being better produced, given that additional punch needed for a tough Thrash Metal driven release in a time period of the early 90s when it still mattered, SACROSANCT’s leader, Randy Meinhard, kept thinking forward with his songwriting and musical approach. Therefore, “Recesses for the Depraved” is not merely a Thrash Metal record driven by SLAYER per se. It is a dash forward, combining melodic and technical elements that could be traced to the American Death Metal pioneers, DEATH, along with a sense of depravity and melancholia. The band didn’t come to simply race their way into people’s minds, but on the contrary, slowing down, letting their message plunge into recognition, becoming a reality.

In overall, “Recesses for the Depraved” is a heavier dosage of the band’s vision of Metallic diversity, involving a destructive form of riffery, creating a layer of soloing, which sounded even fiercer, and an atmospheric crust of melodies. Hell, the brand new rhythm section on the album, really made it happen and even the vocals went through a phase, letting out a brutal implementation. Furthermore, the songwriting itself is challenging, crossing swords with state of minds and directions in order to create havoc but also to reach more folks in the process to heed the band’s calling.

Chosen tracks that paved the road to a deranged behavior: “Like Preached Directions”, “Enter the Sanctum”, “Mortal Remains”, “Astrayed Thoughts” and “Illusive Supremacy”.

Similar to the debut’s packing, “Recesses for the Depraved” follows the same pattern, with two main aspects to lead the reissue’s reason of existence. First, its booklet is rich with historical written value, provided by Legacy Magazine’s Björn Thorsten Jaschinski, along with band members’ interviews that told the story better than any press. In particular hardships and challenges that stood in front of the band as they were reaching into a tough era in the Metal world. Photographs to accompany the written word are there to make the journey through the album livelier. Second, two tracks, “Quarantine” and “Mental Reincarnation”, unreleased and never officially recorded for an album, in their original studio form as part of a promotape made after the album was released. This is quite a rare occasion, and a must for every collector.

“Recesses for the Depraved” is where SACROSANCT continued their stroll on the path of becoming more of an abomination rather than ordinary, closer to CORONER and ANACRUSIS in both sound and music, never a dull moment. Be sure to take part of this phenomenon.