Reunited '80s cult metal outfit SANCTUARY recently filmed video for the song "Frozen" with director Dirk Behlau. The track comes off the band's comeback album, "The Year The Sun Died", which will be released on October 14 in North America and October 6 in Europe via Century Media. Recorded in Seattle at Soundhouse Studios with producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris (SOULFLY, SHADOWS FALL, HATEBREED, MUNICIPAL WASTE), the CD will feature 11 tracks. There will be a deluxe media book, available exclusively at CM Distro in the United States, which features expanded packaging and the bonus track, a cover of THE DOORS classic "Waiting For The Sun". The vinyl version will come with a CD featuring this bonus track as well. The cover artwork for the album was created by Travis Smith (OPETH, NEVERMORE).
Photos from the "Frozen" video shoot can be found on the SANCTUARY Facebook page.
"The Year The Sun Died" track listing
01. Arise And Purify
02. Let The Serpent Follow Me
03. Exitium (Anthem Of The Living)
04. Question Existence Fading
05. I Am Low
06. Frozen
07. One Final Day (Sworn To Believe)
08. The World Is Wired
09. The Dying Age
10. Ad Vitam Aeternam
11. The Year The Sun Died
The song "Arise And Purify" can be streamed below.
Comments SANCTUARY singer Warrel Dane: "Now that hell has officially frozen over and the pigs have flown, I can proudly say 'The Year The Sun Died' is finished. The record that nobody thought would ever get here has come in kicking... and yes, there is screaming!
"Working with Zeuss (a.k.a The Commander) was great. He really pushed us all to be better.
"This is a very modern-sounding record with roots still firmly planted in old-school six-string metal and I gotta give him creds for that."
In 2010, four of the founding SANCTUARY members — Warrel Dane, Jim Sheppard, Lenny Rutledge and Dave Budbill — came together for a few select reunion performances. At first, it was just going to be a handful of shows, but the response and chemistry on stage was so overwhelming that the guys changed their minds. Now, some 20 years after they left off, SANCTUARY has continued with its unique mix of U.S. power metal, hard rock and progressive elements.
To complete the lineup, Brad Hull (FORCED ENTRY) is filling in for former guitar player Sean Blosi.
SANCTUARY released the classic albums "Refuge Denied" and "Into The Mirror Black" during its short existence between 1985 and 1992. Following the band's split, Dane and Sheppard formed NEVERMORE.
In a 2012 interview with GetYourRockOut, Dane stated about SANCTUARY's new material: "We've got so much stuff written that it's hard to sort through, but we played two new songs [at the 2012 edition of the Bloodstock Open Air festival]. We played the one ballad, it's called 'I Am Low', and we played another one called 'The World Is Wired'. Some of the other stuff is a little heavier, but those songs, I think, are… Sometimes the stuff that isn't as heavy is stronger, so that's why we picked those."
He added, "I don't think anybody is gonna be disappointed, because I am involved in the creative process and I know what's going on and I know where we're going and I know it's gonna be killer."
Regarding how SANCTUARY's reformation came about, Dane told Rock My Monkey TV, "[SANCTUARY guitarist Lenny Rutledge and I] always talked to each other, but never really been friends again. And when the whole thing came about, that we were actually friends again, that's when we started talking more about doing it. And it definitely wasn't because NEVERMORE was imploding... which it was, at that point . . . We all just started talking with each other again. That was kind of the groundwork for it. And then we started saying, 'Well, gosh, let's make music again.' And my god! Lenny is writing some stuff that is so friggin great! Obviously, he's been bottling this up for years, because he really hasn't been doing anything... Well, he's had bands here and there. But he's really writing some great stuff that's really inspiring me, and making me fall in love with music again, with the creative process... everything that revolves around that. Really inspiring me to write really evil lyrics."
On the topic of the sound of SANCTUARY's upcoming studio album, Dane said, "This record is not going to sound like the other two. It might sound very similar to the second one ('Into The Mirror Black'). It's definitely not going to sound like the first one, because we're all a little bit older and I can't come up with a c-clamp for a scrotum and a helium tank . . . It's not going to sound like the old ones... It's still gonna be that good, I think, and there's gonna be high-pitched screaming. I'm making sure of that. With NEVERMORE, high-pitched screaming was never really called for. You know, with SANCTUARY... of course it is."
SANCTUARY's current lineup:
Warrel Dane - Vocals
Lenny Rutledge - Guitar
Brad Hull - Guitars
Jim Sheppard - Bass
Dave Budbill - Drums
"Arise And Purify" audio stream:
San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal veterans EXODUS will release their tenth studio album, "Blood In Blood Out", in North America on October 14 via Nuclear Blast. The album art was illustrated by Swedish artist Pär Olofsson, known worldwide for his incredible renderings that have graced the covers of countless heavy metal albums, including EXODUS' "Let There Be Blood".
Crafting an industrial sound bed on the intro to the album opener "Black 13" is electronic music producer Dan the Automator (GORILLAZ, MIKE PATTON, DELTRON 3030).
"[Dan and I] ran into each other a couple times," shares EXODUS guitarist and songwriter Gary Holt. "I knew what I wanted to hear and I knew he could do it, and could do it that day. So we sent him a file with the drums and guitars we already had there and just told him to go crazy with it."
TESTAMENT frontman Chuck Billy lends his signature roar to the track "BTK", one of the first songs recorded by returning vocalist Steve "Zetro" Souza, who recently said: "Chuck and I have known each other forever. We work really well together; we know each other really well. So if I'm doing my vocals and he's there, I can trust him to go, 'No way, Zet, [it] doesn't sound good like that. Do it like this,' or, 'Yeah, that's killer.' If he says it sounds killer, I know it is."
Original EXODUS guitarist Kirk Hammett, who has been a member of METALLICA for the past 31 years, contributed a solo to "Salt The Wound".
"This was actually the first time Kirk got to play on an official EXODUS release," states Holt. "He did the early demo, and then joined METALLICA and didn't do anything with us after that. So he was totally gung-ho about it. He came down and ripped out a bunch of takes and we picked the best one and then had a barbecue and drank beer."
"It felt really casual, really cool — just like it did back in 1980 when we were all just hanging out back in the day," Hammett told RollingStone.com. "Me, recording a solo on their album was a huge thing for me. Other than the EXODUS demo that's been heard by a lot of people, it's the only time I ever recorded with EXODUS. It was a huge thing for me."
He added: "I play a pretty cool solo, and then Gary comes in and plays another solo, and you know what? I listened to that and thought, 'Wow, it's 1982 all over again and here we are, Gary and I are trying to cut each other's heads off with our guitar solos.' Nothing has changed much in the last 30 years. I love it. I love those guys. I've only known them for most of my life, so I'm really happy that I finally got to record with them."
"Blood In Blood Out" track listing:
01. Black 13 (featuring Dan the Automator)
02. Blood In Blood Out
03. Collateral Damage
04. Salt The Wound (featuring Kirk Hammett)
05. Body Harvest
06. BTK (featuring Chuck Billy)
07. Wrapped In The Arms Of Rage
08. My Last Nerve
09. Numb
10. Honor Killings
11. Food For The Worms
Bonus DVD includes:
* "Blood Upon The Goat" making-of footage
* Behind-the-scenes tour footage
* Footage from Kirk Hammett's Fear FestEVIL After-Party at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con
The digital version of "Blood In Blood Out" will include the digital bonus track "Angel Of Death" (ANGEL WITCH cover).
The album’s Japanese edition includes the "Protect Not Dissect" bonus track featuring Rat from THE VARUKERS/DISCHARGE.
"When I was working on the record, I was sitting around watching TV series like 'Gangland' and all these locked-up prison reality shows," said Holt. "And I thought, 'Yeah, that's like EXODUS.' It's a brotherhood. You bleed to get in, you bleed to get out.
"I've been doing this kind of music since I was a teenager, and I'll be doing it 'till I can't physically do it anymore."
The concept for the art was impressively envisaged by Olofsson based on the album title alone, as Gary Holt explained: "The concept came from Pär Olofsson. I fed him the title and he immediately came up with the final concept, and it's perfect! One of my favorite covers we've ever done and it fits the title and theme to a T!"
"Blood In Blood Out" is EXODUS' first album since the departure of the band's lead singer of the past nine years, Rob Dukes, and the return of his predecessor, Steve "Zetro" Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.
Asked what EXODUS is doing differently on "Blood In Blood Out" compared to the band's previous efforts, Souza said: "I just think it's way more brutal now. I think if you look at the production value in the albums, from 'Bonded By Blood' [1985] and even 'Impact Is Imminent' [1990] and now you look at them, from 'Tempo Of The Damned' [2004] and then 'Shovel Headed Kill Machine' [2005] and 'The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A' [2007] and 'Exhibit B: The Human Condition' [2010] and now to 'Blood In, Blood Out', I just think the maturity level and knowing what you wanna sound like and knowing what you're going for and knowing what you do well. Not trying to second-guess yourself and go, 'Oh, we've gotta do this because of this.' It's not like that anymore. Now it's all about, 'Hey, we're EXODUS. We've been EXODUS for 30 years. And let's just be EXODUS.'"
The album can be pre-ordered from the Nuclear Blast USA webshop in CD, digipak, and 2-LP exclusive yellow vinyl formats. Bundles include a t-shirt with exclusive artwork for North America + a poster (while supplies last).
EXODUS will head out to South America in October before returning for a supporting run in November with fellow metal titans SLAYER and SUICIDAL TENDENCIES. The Scion-sponsored leg of this U.S. tour launches on November 11 with two shows at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California. The 26-show trek includes nine headlining off-dates with additional performances to be announced soon. Tickets are on sale now via the links on the official EXODUS Facebook page.
Due to the overwhelmingly demand, EXODUS is making their VIP Experience packages available for the entire tour via SLOtix.com. Fans are encouraged to get them as soon as possible, as VIP package sales will close seven days prior to each show day.
For fans who have already purchased their show ticket and would like to be part of the EXODUS VIP Experience, contact SLO Customer Service at 888-756-4849 or customerservice@slotix.com.
Hammett was a member of EXODUS' original lineup before replacing Dave Mustaine in METALLICA in 1983. In fact, Hammett was not only the person who came up with the EXODUS name, but also the first from the band to meet original EXODUS singer Paul Baloff and brought him into the group.
Dukes joined EXODUS in January 2005 and appeared on four of the band's studio albums — "Shovel Headed Kill Machine" (2005), "The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A" (2007), "Let There Be Blood" (2008, a re-recording of EXODUS' classic 1985 LP, "Bonded By Blood") and "Exhibit B: The Human Condition" (2010).
