Sacrificium was founded in 1993 in Weinstadt (close to Stuttgart), Germany as a thrash metal band. They soon changed their style, and have since blast with might in the death metal vein. They released their first demo in 1994, and another one in 1996. A 3rd demo, entitled 'Mortal Fear' (1998) was also spread around to the press. But it wasn't until 2002 they saw the release of their debut album. Named 'Cold Piece Of Flesh', the album came out on Whirlwind Records. The band was rapidly gaining a solid reputation, (e.g. Rock Hard 2/2004 7.5/10 points), and supporting it with live shows everywhere they could.
ESCAPING THE STUPOR (2005) BLACK LOTUS
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Line-up: Claudio Enzler - Vocals Ulrike Uhlmann - Guitar Oliver Tesch - Guitar Mario Henning - Drums, Acoustic Guitar Samuel Herbrich - Bass Guests: Karl Walfridsson & Pilgrim - Guest vocals on 3 |
Death Metal was a genre that quickly became stale for me. Very few bands managed to create something unique, and most of the bands sounded the same. I had no more need for yet another carbon copy of Death and/or Cannibal Corpse. Especially the Christian scene seemed to overflow with generic death metal acts. The suddenly I heard a German band covering a classic Vengeance Rising song, namely "White Throne". And they did it so well, I just had to hear what more this band had to offer. Thus I bought 'Escaping The Stupor', the sophomore effort from Sacrificium. The cover of "White Throne" was recorded during the same sessions as the songs on this album. I won't say that Sacrificium are a very unique band. They play death metal in a pure form, not dabbling into the Gothenburg-sound at all. They are not overtly technical, but yet has enough variation to keep from getting boring. and herein lies their strength; they know how to write great death metal songs! They keep up the intensity, but prevents getting samey. By, using small variations in the vocals, mixing in some acoustic guitars and even some folk-music inspirations, they create just enough distinctive character to set them apart. The production is also very fitting for this kind of music. It's vibrant and alive, yet clean enough to hear all the instruments. They also keep away from trying to be more than just a death metal band, and keep flirtations with thrash and black metal to non-existence. 'Escaping The Stupor' satisfied my craving for this kind of music, and I hope they now defunct Black Lotus label doesn't keep them from pushing it forward.
Killer tracks. Canvas, Pierced By Death, Tremendum, As Silence Dies
