Sacred Reich @ Cathouse, Glasgow (30th November, 2019)
with: Night Demon and Catalysis
Hosted by: Hamilton Hunter
With Sacred Reich releasing their new album Awakening back in August, it was time to tour the record and bring the magic of 80s thrash to the world. I wasn’t sure if I would see this show given that the band has a main stage slot at Bloodstock next year, but I figured a full set by the band would be fun to experience.
This show was originally meant to take place at Slay in Glasgow, but like all shows scheduled there, it was quickly changed over to a different venue. While the Cathouse has it’s perks, it isn’t always the best for sound quality (as evidenced by a suspiciously quiet performance by Cattle Decapitation last month). How would it fare for a night of thrash?
The first band on the stage (roughly ten minutes after the doors actually opened) were Catalysis, a four-piece band from Dundee. I did feel bad for the band at first as when they started playing there were only around a dozen people actually taking the time to watch them. Most people had only just gotten through the door, hadn’t arrived yet, or were looking at merch and buying drinks at the bar.
Thankfully as the band continued to play, the crowd continued to grow and grow, creating more noise as they went on and I’m sure the band appreciated it. For an idea on their musical style, they did have a deathcore base with some thrash elements thrown in for good measure, making for an energetic opening performance to warm up the ear drums. The band only played six tracks, making sure not to wear out their welcome whilst leaving the crowd hungry for more. Looking into the band, I can see that they have only released EPs so far and have only been a band since 2016, but the lead vocalist announced that a full length record was soon to be released and a European tour to follow.
I’ll be keeping my eye out for that. Good start.
Following on from the opening act were Californian old school metallers Night Demon. Much like The Vintage Caravan at the Opeth show last month, I decided to leave this as a surprise and didn’t listen to any of the band's material beforehand. I’m glad that I did, as this was a surprisingly great performance.
Seeing the art work and just the name of the band, I assumed they would be some sort of goth metal band similar to Tribulation, but these guys were far from that, as they intended to take the audience back in time to the 1980s when classic heavy metal was at its peak.
The band ripped onto the stage with ‘Welcome to the Night’ and proceeded to damn near blow the roof off the place with such a fast paced fun track. Anyone unfamiliar with the band were immediately hooked on and weren’t letting go until the set was over. Next track ‘Full Speed Ahead’ certainly kept that almost exhausting speed going. Anyone reminiscing for the classic days of metal would do well to check these guys out. Set highlight ‘Dawn Rider’ was even introduced with the first minute of Motorhead’s ‘Overkill’ to add to that classic feel. ‘Dawn Rider’ itself was so good that I thought it was actually a cover from Dio I hadn’t heard before. That killer chorus stuck with me all night.
The entire set lasted around 45 minutes but I would have been happy if it had been extended for another half hour. All in all, it was a wonderful performance from a band I will most certainly be checking out and I look forward to the next time I see them live. By then I'll also know the big tracks a little better. As the band left the stage, the entire crowd chanted their name, proving that the show had pretty much been stolen.
By the way, I know I haven’t mentioned this yet, but the sound quality of Cathouse on this night was great which did surprise me a bit.
While at this point I could have went home happy, we still had the main event to go. After a short wait, it was time for Sacred Reich to take the stage. While bands like Power Trip have revived thrash in the modern metal world, Sacred Reich are a band who show that the old guys can still go when they need to.
Opening up with more recent track ‘Divide and Conquer’ it was clear that the band had the crowd in the palm of their hand. It was pretty obvious that everyone now knows the chorus and nothing could stop them (and myself) from singing along. A pit broke out next to me that continued for the entirety of the set. I did have to move back a bit as I continued being covered by errant beers flying all over the place.
The band did manage to play at least 2 songs from each of their 5 studio releases, with the latest (Awakening) having the most with 5 tracks being played. As a band with a lot of classic material, it can be difficult to incorporate new material into a tried and true setlist, but I think it speaks to just how great the new album is that all songs they played fit right in with their older material while still sounding fresh.
Of course the older material still had it’s place with tracks like the catchy as hell ‘Independent’ and the "so-fast-and-brutal-it’s-practically-Slayer" song‘Death Squad’. For anyone unfamiliar with the band, instead of singing about the devil or violence like practically every other thrash band, Sacred Reich’s message is more about finding peace and love within ourselves while still fighting against a corrupted higher power. Tracks like ‘Manifest Reality’ told us that we’re perfect just the way we are and encouraged us to be ourselves. That’s a pretty damn needed message these days and I’m glad that we have older bands spreading messages like this. The sound quality was practically perfect as the fantastic riffing of the guitars and the fast pace of the drums never took over the vocals and the vocals were totally clear the whole way through.
If you’re a thrash fan and missed this show, then you also really missed out on one of the best thrash performances of the entire year. The band may have only been on for around an hour, but they put that short time to great use with every track played sounding better than its recorded counterpart. The mark of a classic live band. If you get the chance to see them, don’t hesitate. You’ll regret it if you do. The band finished proceedings with ‘Surf Nicaragua’ to open the pit one last time and send us all to bed with sore necks from the headbanging. Tremendous show.
Hosted by: Hamilton Hunter
WORDS: Ross Donald
With Sacred Reich releasing their new album Awakening back in August, it was time to tour the record and bring the magic of 80s thrash to the world. I wasn’t sure if I would see this show given that the band has a main stage slot at Bloodstock next year, but I figured a full set by the band would be fun to experience.
This show was originally meant to take place at Slay in Glasgow, but like all shows scheduled there, it was quickly changed over to a different venue. While the Cathouse has it’s perks, it isn’t always the best for sound quality (as evidenced by a suspiciously quiet performance by Cattle Decapitation last month). How would it fare for a night of thrash?
___________________
The first band on the stage (roughly ten minutes after the doors actually opened) were Catalysis, a four-piece band from Dundee. I did feel bad for the band at first as when they started playing there were only around a dozen people actually taking the time to watch them. Most people had only just gotten through the door, hadn’t arrived yet, or were looking at merch and buying drinks at the bar.
Thankfully as the band continued to play, the crowd continued to grow and grow, creating more noise as they went on and I’m sure the band appreciated it. For an idea on their musical style, they did have a deathcore base with some thrash elements thrown in for good measure, making for an energetic opening performance to warm up the ear drums. The band only played six tracks, making sure not to wear out their welcome whilst leaving the crowd hungry for more. Looking into the band, I can see that they have only released EPs so far and have only been a band since 2016, but the lead vocalist announced that a full length record was soon to be released and a European tour to follow.
I’ll be keeping my eye out for that. Good start.
___________________
Seeing the art work and just the name of the band, I assumed they would be some sort of goth metal band similar to Tribulation, but these guys were far from that, as they intended to take the audience back in time to the 1980s when classic heavy metal was at its peak.
The band ripped onto the stage with ‘Welcome to the Night’ and proceeded to damn near blow the roof off the place with such a fast paced fun track. Anyone unfamiliar with the band were immediately hooked on and weren’t letting go until the set was over. Next track ‘Full Speed Ahead’ certainly kept that almost exhausting speed going. Anyone reminiscing for the classic days of metal would do well to check these guys out. Set highlight ‘Dawn Rider’ was even introduced with the first minute of Motorhead’s ‘Overkill’ to add to that classic feel. ‘Dawn Rider’ itself was so good that I thought it was actually a cover from Dio I hadn’t heard before. That killer chorus stuck with me all night.
The entire set lasted around 45 minutes but I would have been happy if it had been extended for another half hour. All in all, it was a wonderful performance from a band I will most certainly be checking out and I look forward to the next time I see them live. By then I'll also know the big tracks a little better. As the band left the stage, the entire crowd chanted their name, proving that the show had pretty much been stolen.
By the way, I know I haven’t mentioned this yet, but the sound quality of Cathouse on this night was great which did surprise me a bit.
___________________
While at this point I could have went home happy, we still had the main event to go. After a short wait, it was time for Sacred Reich to take the stage. While bands like Power Trip have revived thrash in the modern metal world, Sacred Reich are a band who show that the old guys can still go when they need to.
Opening up with more recent track ‘Divide and Conquer’ it was clear that the band had the crowd in the palm of their hand. It was pretty obvious that everyone now knows the chorus and nothing could stop them (and myself) from singing along. A pit broke out next to me that continued for the entirety of the set. I did have to move back a bit as I continued being covered by errant beers flying all over the place.
The band did manage to play at least 2 songs from each of their 5 studio releases, with the latest (Awakening) having the most with 5 tracks being played. As a band with a lot of classic material, it can be difficult to incorporate new material into a tried and true setlist, but I think it speaks to just how great the new album is that all songs they played fit right in with their older material while still sounding fresh.
Of course the older material still had it’s place with tracks like the catchy as hell ‘Independent’ and the "so-fast-and-brutal-it’s-practically-Slayer" song‘Death Squad’. For anyone unfamiliar with the band, instead of singing about the devil or violence like practically every other thrash band, Sacred Reich’s message is more about finding peace and love within ourselves while still fighting against a corrupted higher power. Tracks like ‘Manifest Reality’ told us that we’re perfect just the way we are and encouraged us to be ourselves. That’s a pretty damn needed message these days and I’m glad that we have older bands spreading messages like this. The sound quality was practically perfect as the fantastic riffing of the guitars and the fast pace of the drums never took over the vocals and the vocals were totally clear the whole way through.
If you’re a thrash fan and missed this show, then you also really missed out on one of the best thrash performances of the entire year. The band may have only been on for around an hour, but they put that short time to great use with every track played sounding better than its recorded counterpart. The mark of a classic live band. If you get the chance to see them, don’t hesitate. You’ll regret it if you do. The band finished proceedings with ‘Surf Nicaragua’ to open the pit one last time and send us all to bed with sore necks from the headbanging. Tremendous show.
___________________
Thanks to Ross for writing this review on Sacred Reich at the Cathouse, and thanks to you for checking it out! Feel free to leave a comment below or support RWEI by giving us a like/follow over on the socials.
Cheers!
Saw them in Dublin. Outstanding performance, brilliant sound and one of the tightest live bands around. Seriously, talking Iron Maiden tight. Phil's voice is only getting better. Pleasure to see them. Amazing gig.
ReplyDeleteSounds like they were just as good in Dublin as they were in Glasgow. Thank you for checking out this review! :)
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