Sacrilege (band)

Prior to the formation of Sacrilege, guitarist Damian Thompson and drummer Andrew Baker released a pair of D-beat punk demos under the moniker Warwound.[2] In 1983, the duo joined The Varukers. Damian left the Varukers after less than a year in 1984 to form Sacrilege with Lynda 'Tam' Simpson (vocals), Liam Pickering (drums), and Tony May (bass). In 1984 and 1985, the band recorded demos and contributed tracks to the compilations We Won't Be Your Fucking Poor (Mortarhate, 1985)[3] and Anglican Scrape Attic (a pre-Earache release from Digby Pearson).[4] The band also played several gigs at this time alongside bands such as Chumbawamba, Antisect, D.I.R.T, Icons of filth, Concrete Sox, Indecent Assault, etc., supporting causes from the 1984 miners strike to squatters rights.

After replacing drummer Liam Pickering with Andrew Baker, Sacrilege recorded their first album, Behind the Realms of Madness in July 1985 at Rich Bitch studios in Birmingham. The album was an uncompromising mix of Damian Thompson's down tuned riff laden guitar, Lynda 'Tam' Simpson's screaming (almost anguished) vocals, along with powerhouse drumming and bass. It drew from early influences such as Discharge and Crass, and the newly emerging thrash/death metal sound of Metallica, Venom, and Slayer. The lyrical content, though, was far from typical for metal bands; subject matter such as global power corruption, inequality, world poverty, and the (then constant) threat of nuclear war was paramount were woven by Lynda (Tam) Simpson into Tolkien-esque and metaphorical storylines (something then unheard of in underground punk circles, these themes continued through all three of their early albums). This was released in the U.K through the Bristol-based label Children of the Revolution (COR) records, a small independent label run by Tim Bennett which specialized in underground crossover punk/metal acts, and by Pusmort Records in the USA (a limited edition run of 50 copies in blue vinyl are now a valuable collectors item).[5] The album was moderately successful at the time, selling a respectable estimated 7000 copies (and bringing the group to the attention of a much larger audience/labels). Since then, this album has become widely regarded as a game-changer within underground punk-metal circles and has gone on through various re-issues/bootlegs to sell many thousands more worldwide, influencing numerous bands (the highly successful Bolt Thrower cite the band as an enormous influence, whilst Napalm Death also recorded their first album at Rich Bitch, so impressed were they with Sacrilege's sound). The album was also released at this time in the USA through Pusmort records run by Brian Schroeder a.k.a. Pushead. A USA only limited edition blue vinyl pressing is now a rare collectors item.

Their second release, Within the Prophecy, which saw the band heading further into thrash metal territory, was recorded in January 1987, again at Rich Bitch Studios with engineer Rob Bruce and producer Mike Ivory. It was released later that year through Under One Flag Records, a subsidiary of Music for Nations, and in the USA by Metal Blade records. The album was well received although the production was far from perfect, though some of the band's original punk following did not appreciate the group's more metal direction. Frustrated by a general lack of creative talent, Sacrilege underwent a significant line-up change at this juncture, replacing drummer Baker with Paul Brookes, bassist May with Paul Morrisey, and adding rhythm guitarist Frank Healy. After another change in which they replaced Brookes with new drummer Spike T. Smith, the new line-up recorded the band's third album, Turn Back Trilobite, issued in April 1989.[3] This record saw the band moving away from their punk/thrash metal roots into a more doom metal musical direction with touches of folk, something virtually unheard of within the contemporaries of the time. New members Frank and Spike rose naturally to the ambitious project. This period of the band saw them gigging alongside the likes of Candlemass, Girlschool, and Sabbat. This album, although now regarded as a classic of its day, was met with many puzzled expressions from fans and press alike as the band strayed away from thrash into highly experimental pieces which were difficult for people to pigeon hole (mixing doom metal, folk, multi-layered harmony vocals, extended acoustic pieces, and even touches of jazz). This was the band's parting shot at that time.

Groups who cited Sacrilege among their major influences include Bolt Thrower and Napalm Death. Cerebral Fix covered Sacrilege's 'The Closing Irony' on their 1990 album 'Tower of Spite', using it as the final track and making a slight name alteration 'Closing Irony'. Napalm Death covered the track 'Lifeline' on 2012's 'Respect your roots' compilation.

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