SACRED REICH — Independent (review)

SACRED REICH — Independent album cover Album · 1993 · Groove Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Kingcrimsonprog
Phoenix Arizona’s Sacred Reich released their third full-length studio album in 1993, entitled Independent. The album followed up the classic The American Way record and musically saw the band incorporate a few new ideas into their overall sound.

The band were never the biggest Thrash band out there, but their solid crossover style is influential to many of the new millennium’s Thrash Bands. The band have a punky hardcore influenced feel on some tracks in a similar fashion to many of the East Coast Thrash bands, with whom they share more musical similarities than with the German, Canadian or Bay Area Thrash artists.

Independent saw the band play with more slow and mid tempo elements than on previous releases, incorporating some groove metal influences as happened with much of the 1990s output by Thrash Metal bands. It is a little underrated as an album, as fans were quick to abandon ship at the first sight of slow guitars but is actually quite a good album when given a fair chance. If you are willing to keep an open mind there is a lot to enjoy on this record.

Highlights on Independent include the beyond catchy Title Track which is an absolute classic and highlight of any concert, as well as ‘Supremacy,’ ‘Free,’ and the almost eight minute long ‘I Never Said Goodbye.’

This was their first full length Drummer Dave McClain, who would of course go on to join Machine Head and puts down a characteristically strong performance on this album, with his unusual and distinctive style of fills and approach to the double kicks.

The production from Dave Jerden (famous for Alice In Chain’s The Dirt and Anthrax’s Sound Of White Noise) is solid with a good mix and general sound. The lyrics too are strong, and of course are socially aware and politically motivated as usual from Sacred Reich. Overall all the individual aspects of the album are good, the only real thing holding it off of a classic album status is the indefinable x factor that makes some albums amazing but can’t be quantified or often, even replicated.

In summary, Independent is a good album and Sacred Reich fans should find a lot to enjoy on it should the be willing to keep an open mind.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Tormenta De Arena Metalcore
VORAGO
Buy this album from MMA partners
Infinite Metalcore
FUTURE GHOST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Heretic Melodic Death Metal
SUNCINDER
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Skull Burned Wearing Hell Like A Life Vest As The Night Wept Mathcore
FRONTIERER
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Reclamation Of I Metalcore
IMMINENCE
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Future Ghost - Wolves (Official Music Video)
FUTURE GHOST
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Future Ghost - Nemesis Game (Official Music Video)
FUTURE GHOST
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Harrowed TwentyTenVideo
HARROWED
Bosh66· 2 days ago
Sunmancer - Realms of Dilemma (Official Visualizer)
SUNMANCER
Bosh66· 7 days ago
Sunmancer - Lower Cavalier (Official Visualizer)
SUNMANCER
Bosh66· 7 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed