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Sacred Reich

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American thrash metal band

Sacred Reich
Sacred Reich at Wacken Open Air 2012Sacred Reich at Wacken Open Air 2012
Background information
OriginPhoenix, Arizona, United States
Genres
Years active
  • 1985–2000
  • 2006–present
Labels
Members
Past members
  • Jason Rainey
  • Greg Hall
  • Jeff Martinek
  • Dan Kelly
  • Ray Nay
  • Mike Andre

Sacred Reich is an American thrash metal band from Phoenix, Arizona, formed in 1985. The band has been credited (along with Testament, Destruction, Death Angel, and Dark Angel) for leading the second wave of thrash metal in the late 1980s.

Throughout its 39-year career, Sacred Reich has released 5 albums, 2 live albums, a box set, and 3 extended plays. With the exception of their hiatus from 2000 to 2006, Sacred Reich has performed live globally, including playing at clubs, theaters, arenas, and festivals.

History

1985–1989: Early years, Ignorance, and Surf Nicaragua

Sacred Reich were formed at Coronado High School in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1985, with their first stable lineup consisting of guitarists Jason Rainey and Jeff Martinek, drummer Greg Hall, and vocalist-bassist Phil Rind. Originally, vocalist Dan Kelly was intended to be the band's vocalist, but Rind became the vocalist after Kelly became ill. Later that year, they debuted with a demo tape, titled Draining You of Life. Martinek left the band shortly after, and in 1986 was replaced by Wiley Arnett. The band's then lineup remained stable, despite offers from Flotsam and Jetsam sent to Arnett and Rind, a vocalist position slot from Dark Angel offered to Rind, and acclaimed band Slayer offering Hall their then-empty drummer position. With Arnett, they re-recorded the tracks "Sacred Reich" and "Ignorance"; and in 1987, with support from then-Flotsam and Jetsam bassist Jason Newsted, the song "Ignorance" appeared on the Metal Blade Records compilation Metal Massacre VIII, which brought them significant attention. Metal Blade released the band's debut studio album, Ignorance, in October of that year, and they began touring soon after.

In 1988, Sacred Reich released the EP Surf Nicaragua to significant positive reception, and they began a world tour afterward; they toured alongside bands such as Atrophy and Forbidden in the United States, before touring alongside Motörhead in Europe. The band also appeared at Dynamo Open Air in 1989, where their performance was recorded and later released that year as their first live album, Alive at the Dynamo.

1990–2000: The American Way, Independent, Heal, and break-up

In 1990, Sacred Reich released their sophomore album, The American Way, which signaled a maturation in the band's sound since their first album, Ignorance. The album received significant positive recognition, debuting at No. 153 on September 1, 1990, on the Billboard 200 charts, lasting for nine weeks. Sacred Reich toured for nearly two years in support of The American Way, headlining major tours with Atrophy, Obituary, and Forced Entry. They also supported Venom in Europe and for Sepultura on their Arise tour in both Europe and North America. In 1991, the band released an EP, titled A Question. Drummer Greg Hall, who found their extensive touring to be difficult, was replaced by Dave McClain, formerly of S.A. Slayer, later that year.

After several albums on Metal Blade Records, Sacred Reich signed to the major record label Hollywood Records and released their third album, Independent, in 1993. Upon release, the album received little recognition, in part because of the drop in popularity of thrash metal and the gap between album releases. However, the band toured for almost two years in support of Independent, which included opening for Pantera and Danzig on their respective tours for Vulgar Display of Power and Thrall-Demonsweatlive, and performing in Australia for the first time while supporting Sepultura on their Chaos A.D. tour. In 1995, they contributed the Black Sabbath cover "Sweet Leaf" to the Hempilation: Freedom Is NORML compilation album to benefit NORML. Dave McClain left Sacred Reich to join Machine Head after receiving several offers from them earlier that year.

On their fourth album, Heal (1996), Sacred Reich returned to Metal Blade Records to produce the album. Upon release, the album received little to no recognition, for similar reasons to their previous album, Independent. Later that year, Greg Hall rejoined the band; however, drummer Chuck Fitzgerald took over drumming duties for the world tour. The band released a live album, Still Ignorant, in 1997, but they remained relatively inactive (outside of touring) until they officially disbanded in 2000. Wiley Arnett went on to form The Human Condition with St. Madness vocalist Prophet in July 2000; however, the project was put on hold when Arnett was injured in a car accident. Arnett and Hall appeared as guest musicians on Soulfly's cover of the song "One Nation" in 2001.

2006–present: Reunion, Awakening, and upcoming sixth studio album

Phil Rind performing with Sacred Reich at Gelenkirchen Rock Hard Festival in 2014
Phil Rind performing with Sacred Reich at the Rock Hard Festival in 2014

In November 2006, Sacred Reich announced that they would play several shows in Europe in the summer of 2007, including Wacken Open Air; however, they made no promises to re-enter the studio. A three-disc box set with remastered versions of Ignorance and Surf Nicaragua with additional bonus material, including the "Draining You of Life" demo tape and a live DVD, was released in June of that year by Metal Blade Records. They performed at Wacken Open Air again in 2009, which was recorded and later released as a live album, Live at Wacken, in 2012. In the spring of 2017, they announced their first North American tour in 21 years, titled "30 Years of Ignorance" after the 30th anniversary of their debut album, Ignorance; they toured alongside Byzantine for the duration of the tour, which ended on October 7 that year.

In January 2018, Sacred Reich signed to Metal Blade Records and began working on their fifth studio album, Awakening. However, during the album's production, the band experienced major lineup changes. Later in January, Greg Hall was removed from the band and was replaced by drummer Tim Radziwill as a touring musician in August. In September, Machine Head announced that Dave McClain was leaving their band, officially rejoining Sacred Reich in December. In April 2019, Sacred Reich released the split single "Don't Do it Donnie", alongside Iron Reagan, later co-headlining a monthlong tour with them in May. In April, founding guitarist Jason Rainey was replaced by Joey Radziwill.

Awakening was released on August 23, 2019. It is the band's first full-length studio album since 1996's Heal, and their first studio album since their reunion in 2006. Awakening was met with positive reception, with Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating, giving the album a 76 out of 100 rating based on 4 reviews; The album was also featured at No. 9 on Decibel's 40 Best Metal Albums of 2019. In support of the album, Sacred Reich toured in Europe, alongside Night Demon, and supported Gwar on their Use Your Collusion tour that year.

Founding member and former guitarist Jason Rainey died on March 16, 2020, at the age of 53 from an apparent heart attack.

In 2021, Sacred Reich was scheduled to support Sepultura on their Quadra tour in both North America and Europe, however, it was canceled due to the COVID-19 situation; the tour was postponed to fall of 2022 and was completed later that year. Sacred Reich also appeared at the Rock Hard Festival in August of that year. In 2023, the band co-headlined a tour alongside Carcass and Municipal Waste, as well as with a tour with Death Angel and Angelus Apatrida.

At the beginning of 2024, Sacred Reich began recording their upcoming sixth studio album, which is expected to release at the end of the year.

Members

Current members

  • Phil Rind – bass, vocals (1985–2000, 2006–present)
  • Wiley Arnett – lead guitar (1986–2000, 2006–present)
  • Dave McClain – drums (1991–1996, 2018–present)
  • Joey Radziwill – rhythm guitar (2019–present)

Touring musicians

  • Chuck Fitzgerald – drums (1996)
  • Tim Radziwill – drums (2018)

Former members

  • Jason Rainey – rhythm guitar (1985–2000, 2006–2019, died 2020)
  • Greg Hall – drums (1985–1991, 1996–2000, 2006–2018)
  • Dan Kelly – vocals (1985–1986)
  • Jeff Martinek – lead guitar (1985–1986, died 2018)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

  • Draining You of Life (demo) (1986)
  • Surf Nicaragua (1988)
  • A Question (1991)

Live albums

  • Alive at the Dynamo (1989)
  • Still Ignorant (1997)
  • Live at Wacken (2012)

Compilations

  • Ignorance/Surf Nicaragua (2007)

References

  1. ^ Monger, James Christopher. "Sacred Reich Biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
  2. ^ Sharpe-Young, Garry (2007). Metal: The Definitive Guide : Heavy, NWOBH, Progressive, Thrash, Death, Black, Gothic, Doom, Nu. Jawbone Press. p. 138. ISBN 978-1-906002-01-5. OL 8776949M.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (June 1, 1995). The Guinness Who's Who of Heavy Metal (2nd ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 307. ISBN 978-0851126562. OL 9506976M.
  4. ^ Pessaro, Fred (June 18, 2019). "Sacred Reich: Thrash Icons on Trump, Buddhism, First Album in 20 Years 'Awakening'". Revolver. Archived from the original on June 17, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  6. Henderson, Alex. "The American Way - Sacred Reich". AllMusic. Archived from the original on July 22, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2024. As they evolved, Sacred Reich not only became one of the more accessible thrash metal units, but also one of the most lyrically compelling. ... The American Way makes us glad that lead singer/bassist Phil Rind had become fairly easy to understand.
  7. "Top Pop Albums" (PDF). Billboard. Penske Media Corporation. September 1, 1990. p. 79. Archived from the original on November 19, 2024. Retrieved November 19, 2024 – via WorldRadioHistory.com.
  8. ^ Pratt, Greg (January 25, 2018). "That Tour Was Awesome: New Titans on the Bloc (1991)". Decibel Magazine. Archived from the original on July 14, 2024. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
  9. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Independent - Sacred Reich". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 24, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2024. But almost three years would go by before anything was heard from them again, and by the time they finally returned with 1993's Independent, their momentum was lost and thrash metal in general was pretty much yesterday's news.
  10. "Popular Uprisings" (PDF). Billboard. March 27, 1993. p. 21. Archived from the original on November 18, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2024 – via WorldRadioHistory.com. Sacred Reich is opening for Pantera during a monthlong tour that started at the beginning of March.
  11. McIver, Joel (October 15, 2012). Machine Head: Inside the Machine. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857127983.
  12. Anderson, Jason. "Heal - Sacred Reich". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2024. By the time Phoenix thrash band Sacred Reich released Heal in 1996, the excitement that surrounded their particular brand of hard-edged metal had indeed dissipated, as bands like Korn and Deftones began moving mainstream metal in a new direction.
  13. ^ Phillips, William; Cogan, Brian (March 20, 2009). Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal Music. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 204. ISBN 9780313348013. OL 37091855M. (a) ...before calling it quits in 1999." (b) "The band reunited for several shows in 2007, but it is unclear if the tour will continue or will lead to any new music.
  14. "III - Soulfly". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 30, 2024. Retrieved December 1, 2024. feat: Wiley Arnett / Greg Hall
  15. ^ "Sacred Reich | Metal Blade Records". Metal Blade Records. Archived from the original on November 9, 2024. Retrieved November 24, 2024. They would go on to reform in 2006 but strictly as a live act, dropping the Live At Wacken DVD in 2012 ...
  16. "Ignorance/Surf Nicaragua - Sacred Reich | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  17. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Live at Wacken - Sacred Reich". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  18. ^
  19. ^
  22. "SACRED REICH Extends 'Cheeky Middle Finger' To Today's Politics In New Song 'Don't Do It Donnie'". Blabbermouth.net. March 27, 2019. Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  23. "IRON REAGAN And SACRED REICH Announce North American Tour Dates With LEEWAY, ENFORCED". Blabbermouth.net. February 5, 2019. Archived from the original on December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  24. "SACRED REICH Parts Ways With Guitarist JASON RAINEY, Announces Replacement". Blabbermouth.net. February 25, 2019. Archived from the original on April 19, 2024. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  25. ^
  26. "Awakening by Sacred Reich". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 24, 2024. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  27. Reeder (November 16, 2019). "These Are The Best 40 Metal Albums Of 2019, According To Decibel". Metal Addicts. Archived from the original on June 15, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  28. "Sacred Reich announces highly anticipated new album, 'Awakening' | Metal Blade Records". Metal Blade Records. Archived from the original on December 4, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  32. "Kompletter Auftritt auf dem Rock Hard Festival ist online - RockHard". Rock Hard (in German). Archived from the original on December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024. SACRED REICH standen am 3. Juni bei der diesjährigen Ausgabe unseres ROCK HARD FESTIVALS auf der Bühne. [SACRED REICH were on stage at this year's edition of our ROCK HARD FESTIVAL on June 3rd.]
Sacred Reich
  • Jason Rainey
  • Greg Hall
  • Dan Kelly
  • Jeff Martinek
  • Mike Andre
Studio albums
EPs
Live albums
Categories: