Release date: April 24, 2007
Label: Roadrunner Records
Tracks: 12
Rating: 8
Road to Bloodshed is the debut album for the four-piece North Carolina metal band Sanctity, and It’s a showstopper. The band was thrilled to receive the highest praise from Trivium’s front man Matthew Heafy, who helped them get the record deal, and shortly after that their idol Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) caught a show and was impressed enough to offer Sanctity a spot on the Gigantour stage. The product of the record deal with Roadrunner was a 12-track metalfest that is tightly played, well composed, and ultimately a real tribute to the metal giants on the band members? constant playlist: Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, and Megadeth.
Vocalist Jared MacEachern says he was a choir member in his youth, a crucial piece of training that means he is able to not only bring a purely metal edge to the tracks but can manipulate his voice to be deep, harsh, reflective, and melodic in the space of one well-executed song. Think Slipknot’s ?Wait and Bleed? (self-titled album, 2000) and you’ll understand the abilities of this front man. The vocal range does a lot to bring the tracks together in a way that is compelling where it might have otherwise been merely endurable.
Of course, the requirement of a metal band is the ability to manipulate the guitar and bass with speed, agility, and pure harmonic melody. Have they done it? Sanctity passes with a top grade–Zeff Childress on guitar and Derek Anderson on bass bring the perfect riffs and many, many solos to pull together the insistent pounding of Jeremy London on drums and MacEachern on the mic. According to London, songwriting is a ?collaborative effort? (1) for the entire band. ?Usually Zeff will come up with a riff, and then he and I will work the song out a bit. Then Jared will come in and help shape it and give it a dynamic voice,? (1) says London, who started his musical career as a bass player.
Overall, It’s a great album even if you aren’t the biggest metal fan; of course you’ll need a solid appreciation of guitar, bass, drums, and rock vocals to listen or the entire endeavour will be wasted on you! The songs are stable, work well with one another, and if this debut is anything to judge by, Sanctity is destined to see their name tattooed across legions of fans in the not-too-distant future.
(1) Roadrunner Records. ?Band Biography.? Retrieved May 30, 2007, from http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/artists/Sanctity/bio.aspx
