SANCTUARY -

SANCTUARY - REFUGE DENIED - EPIC  
Sanctuary’s debut was released in 1988, which marked the twilight for classic U.S. metal just before the grunge boom started. The band came from Seattle, a city which was at one time loaded with great bands and later stood for a lot of bad music. Produced by Dave Mustaine, the album still does not sound much like Megadeth. Sanctuary can be best described as a mix between Metal Church, very early Queensrÿche (both from Seattle, too) and Helstar. Singer Warrel Dane’s vocals were ultra high and featured an extreme type of vibrato. Among the highlights are the pounding opener Battle Angels, Die For My Sins and the Jefferson Airplane cover White Rabbit. That song was originally recorded in 1967 and is a classic of psychedelic rock. The lyrics deal with Alice in Wonderland, but really are metaphors for drug-induced hallucinations. The experiment of transforming the song into metal was a complete success. The album as a whole is interesting for fans of traditional metal with progressive influences and high vocals. Warrel Dane and bassist Jim Sheppard later founded Nevermore. - Andreas Herzog

SANCTUARY - INTO THE MIRROR BLACK - EPIC  
Into The Mirror Black came out in 1989, and the opener Future Tense honours the date with reflections about the decade and the question “What will the nineties hold?” Warrel Dane uses less vibrato on this album and sounds closer to later Nevermore releases. The same can be said about the lyrics. While Refuge Denied mostly featured fantasy themes, the second album moved towards social and philosophical topics, such as gang wars in One More Murder, religion in Communion and life after death in Epitaph. The song material is on a high level throughout and features a classic with the cynical Taste Revenge. Sanctuary had found their own style with this recording, and two people carried it over to Nevermore, although that band took several years to finally come into being. - Andreas Herzog