Sacred Reich – “Awakening” (Review)


Sacred Reich – “Awakening” 
(Metal Blade)

Out Now

I recently reviewed the new Tool album “Fear Inoculum” in these very pages and i thought 13 years and 2 months between Tool albums was a considerable chunk of time! Turns out that was a mere blinking of the eye compared with Sacred Reich! The band’s last album, “Heal”, was released WAY back in 1996!! So that’s 23 years between releases! 

Drummer Dave McLain spent ALL of those years behind the kit with Machine Head. When Robb Flynn disbanded Machine Head last year to go back to the original line up, enter Phil Rind asking Dave if he would like to return to Sacred Reich. Turns out that question was a no brainer. Phil, Dave and long time Reich guitarist Wiley Arnett called young hotshot guitarist Jerry Radziwill and into the studio they went. 



According to Rind, recording “Awakening” was an emotional time for him as they hadn’t recorded for so long. They had played sporadic gigs during the previous 23 years, but no new material was forthcoming. Jerry Radziwill is 22 years old and wasn’t even born when the Reich’s last album was released! Enough of the history lesson, is “Awakening” any good? The quick answer is NO, it’s AMAZING! 

Phil’s vocals are clean and powerful and the album sounds HUGE. Opening track, ‘Awakening’, starts with a thundering drum beat and a wonderful chugging guitar riff and Jerry lets rip with a wonderful intro solo and it just makes you smile. Listening to this album will turn you into an actual bobble head doll. Every track will have you nodding your head in appreciation. 

Sacred Reich will be touring the UK at the end of November and start of December. Do yourself a favour and get yourself down to one of those shows, that is after you’ve bought “Awakening”! There’s more than life in these (mainly) old dogs yet! I would say that Sacred Reich 2019 are showing the youngsters how it should be done. A very warm welcome back.

9/10 (Robert Adams) 

“Awakening” track listing:
Awakening
Divide & Conquer
Salvation
Manifest Reality
Killing Machine
Death Valley
Revolution
Something To Believe

Sacred Reich are:
Phil Rind – Bass/Vocals
Wiley Arnett – Guitar
Joey Radziwill – Guitar
Dave McLain - Drums

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