Sacrilege – Behind The Realms of Madness

Bagsy the stud on the right. The similarity looks-wise to early Napalm Death is unnerving.

How the hell did I overlook these grotty thrash-punk geniuses? They were even from my home town of Birmingham, UK. Admittedly I was still in short trousers when Sacrilege put out their crossover debut but sweet fucking Jesus, how can I not know about a band whose alumni played for greats such as Napalm Death, Benediction, The Damned and… uh.., Morrisey, ah well you can’t win ’em all I guess.

In 1985 they put out a record that combined the best of Discharge, Crass, and the sloppier end of thrash (think Venom or Possessed) for a truly British take on crossover. The ace in the hole though was Tam’s singular vocals. She truly is the queen of crusty thrash vox: snotty, anguished but supremely listenable.

They also had an interesting lyrical approach, melding your typical crusty socio-political rants (think Napalm Death style) but wrapping them in Lord of the Rings worship. Pretty crazy for the time, huh.

Fire up the 2015 Relapse reissue that has great sound and adds another 7 tracks to the original wham-bam-thank-you-mam 6 and enjoy some chunky, memorable riffs, crusty beats and unique vocals. My fave track is probably Death’s Door.

 

Nostalgia – Memory and Music

For Proust, small cakes. For me The Stone Roses or New Model Army

Sensations can be a powerful trigger of memory. Just as Proust was famously transported back to his childhood upon biting into his tea-dipped madeleine, certain records when dusted off and played after a long hiatus can – quite unexpectedly – hurl me back in time.

It’s an unnerving and emotional experience that leaves me feeling disoriented and out of step with the world around me.