Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Heavy Metal has never seemed more healthy on the continent, whether in the unusual domains of France or in the realms of the lands that come together under the banner of the Nordic, metal it seems has seen off the shackles of the 20th Century, survived the many splits in the genre and now enjoys the start of a brand new era. In the natural home of Metal, the old industrial confines in which nurtured and honed the sound of iron and steel, it has been sadly lacking. The U.K. could be seen as having turned its back on the hammering sound of crashing guitar and beating heart of the drum. That is with a few exceptions…of which Sacred Mother Tongue proudly sit near the very top.
Northampton might not be the first port of call when the public think of places in the U.K. that typify Heavy Metal, that accolade normally heads to the old vestiges haunts of the industrial midlands, Birmingham and the Black Country, London even has provided more than its fair share of the gods of British Metal. Northampton though? Not so much.
However if you are going to buck a trend or create the next phase of a field then why not start it in an un-thought off area and then perhaps declare the town as its next home. Certainly with the groups new album Out Of The Darkness, it deserves the respect that was once afforded to the likes of early Iron Maiden and Sabbat. Although the ties that bind are more close to the era that defined Sabbat than the Irons’ there is something in the music that harks back to a young Steve Harris, a man who was unafraid to show utter commitment to the love of the bass. The music is unhindered, it pulsates with life, it is the saw blade against the tree that keeps on giving so called reality music air time. The album resonates the same feeling as when the American movement of the big four of Thrash started making in-roads into a genre that was on the wane, part Metallica around the time of Ride the Lightning, part Iron Maiden…All Sacred Mother Tongue.
The album itself is a Metal dream come true, in songs such as Seven, A Light Will Shine and The City is Crying, there is reason to believe that no matter how admirable the music coming out of the lands of Northern Europe and the usual standard bearers of Germany, there is still more than a place for home grown excellence.
Ian D. Hall