The five different faces of SACROSANCT

After I left Pestilence Back in 1989 I already had the general concept of SACROSANCT in mind.

I truly believe that you can call me an open-minded musician. From the beginning my musical taste has covered a wide range, but I have always focused on hardrock and metal. My formative period coincided with such releases as Status Quo – ‘Live’, Slayer – ‘Reign in blood’ and Dimmu Borgir, just to name a few - and this even barely begins to cover the range of my early influences.

I was and am still listening to bands like Kiss (Alive was my first ‘lesson’), Fates Warning, Slayer, Possessed, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Venom, Motörhead, Death, Metallica, Nightwish... Of course this is also just a selection from a much longer list. But they all have one thing in common:

They all were game changers.

For me personally this is not necessarily true for their entire creative phase. Even so, they once all did something different: they tried to develop their sounds and walk different musical paths from the mainstream.

Pestilence’s 1988 album ‘Malleus Maleficarum’ is still a relevant example. Why? It simply sounds extremely different in comparison to the back catalogue of the band.

So, if we talk about musical paths, these could take all kinds of directions. Some may be more extreme, although most have proven to become increasingly ‘commercial’ (whatever the exact meaning of this term is), some become more progressive and some are riding their faithful horse to death.

I am convinced that all these progressions (maybe some are planned strategies) have their merits, because often it is time for something new, and mostly an artist is not able to repeat their previous success.

Why not, one may wonder? Isn’t it much easier to do the whole thing over and over again?

For me personally the answer here is ‘no’.

I love to develop things and put new ideas and experiences into a new product. It is my way to express myself. Some may also be happy to repeat themselves and that is also fine by me.

In the end it’s always the question of personal taste.

As a fan myself I have my problems with some musical directions some bands have taken during their creative phase. I know how it feels when somebody likes our newer or the older stuff more.

In my next publications I will try to explain my personal views to you. Why our albums sound the way they sound and what to expect from our next album.

I feel that I really have to write this down, because from time to time I notice how this exact topic is discussed online - and that is just great. For us as a band it’s an honour to release music that touches your souls. Music that may also be just a bit unexpected - and hopefully different from what others do.

Besides all those (extreme) musical developments, a song will only stay in your head when the songwriter surprises you in some way. Maybe this is a riff, a chorus, a melody or a raw voice. Whatever it is: it is the magic of the moment. The moment it was recorded and the moment you first heard it.

For me this is one reason that makes it so hard to repeat things. It’s impossible to repeat those magical moments, for both the artist and the listener.

I am so proud and thankful that we have had several magic moments together. And I am sure there will be more of these in the future, different ones. I hope you will continue to accompany us on our journey. No matter which album in our catalogue you prefer.

You all are the most important part of the SACRO-Story. Not only you as our listeners, audience and fans, but also all former members who have put their personal stamps on our body of work to date.

Next time I will take you on a journey through all of our albums including the progress of the new one.

I sincerely hope that you will stick with us and remain a part of our continuing journey.

Till then, stay safe and Stay Tragic!

Randy