SACRILEGE Within The Prophecy LP Metal Blade sealed After The Bombs Amebix

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SACRILEGE - Within The Prophecy LP (1987 Metal Blade / Restless 72229-1)

Track Listing:
Sight Of The Wise
The Captive
Winds Of Vengeance
Spirit Cry
Flight Of The Nazgul
The Fear Within
Search Eternal

Item Condition:
New. Factory sealed. Small cut-out mark on the bottom left.

Description:
By the time this full-length was released, Sacrilege had jettisoned much of their crust punk influence, replacing it with doom metal aspects while not ditching the overall thrash metal base. That rusty, filthy and massive guitar sound is still there, which acclimates itself quite well to the album's slower plodding sections, and there's still some moments when the rhythms kick into high-speed gear, but for the most part this is a mid-tempo affair that often lacks drive with that fat rhythm guitar overwhelming the drums on occasion to the point where the music resonates as slower than it actually is due to the lack of any bite or energy a sharper drum-mix could provide. Even the album cover reeks of doom metal posturing, like an homage to Black Sabbath's debut featuring a chubbier and uglier witch (although her skin tone is of a healthier shade).
This album opens with an absolute stunner. In fact, "Sight Of The Wise" seriously teeters towards being my favorite Sacrilege song full-stop. After the moody keyboard prelude, a barrage of mid-paced headbanging riffs churn, morph and flail away without vocals for half of the entire tune until all hell breaks loose after the four minute mark with a barely controlled ripping thrash attack. Lynda finally chimes in, and it's immediately noteworthy in that her vocals are much cleaner than what transpired on their earlier material, retaining some attitude but without all that feral shouting. The lyrics are still bleak and dystopian, though more mystic than harsh, another attribute to the burgeoning doom influence. It's a brilliant opening track that's as raging as their crustier work but with a majestic air that's as glorious as it is venomous.
The following track, "The Captive" aims to stay in that mid-paced zone while cooking up some thrashy riffs, and it's pretty decent on its own, but benefits by being the second cut off the album. If it were to switch places with any of the later tracks such as "Spirit Cry", I probably would have brushed it off as another 'going through the motions' exercise, as much of this release doesn't offer much in variety. That monolithic fuzzy guitar permeates over everything, busting out open E-chord riffs, or in this case, slightly down-tuned E-flat riffs, ad-nauseam until the urge to hear a progression based off any different note, a G, C, B-flat or a fucking H becomes all-consuming.
The diversions from mid-tempo open string worship after the opener can be counted on one hand. "Winds Of Vengeance", after a few minutes of Within The Prophecy's usual fare, segues into a mellow acoustic oasis for a breather, and then thrusts into a fast thrash break that's honestly more of a tease than a return to the first track's fury. Still, I'll take it. "Flight Of The Nazgul" wins the trophy for the most memorable riff, especially since it's the one time the ubiquitous E-flat is not utilized. Almost classic Judas Priest-like in nature, it washes over like a cool refreshing breeze for about a minute until it's back to the usual retread of "The Captive" blueprint. It's like the band didn't know where to go with that cool riff, and simply decided to resort to the same old shit because that's what they fucking do. Business as usual.
"The Fear Within", my second favorite track off the album, offers a bit of deviation from the norm in the vocal department in that Lynda here actually sings somewhat and lets her notes carry a bit. There's even a rare quasi-chorus, with the repeated line "He's tearing inside as alive but entombed!" delivered in classic black-robed doom mode. Granted, she's nothing to write home about technique-wise, but it works well enough as her voice cuts through the usual musical din to provide a hint of vocal melody and memorability. The album goes for broke with an epic length closer, but even that track offers only a modicum of slight acceleration at times, mainly trudging along just like everything else excluding the opener.
Individually, there's nothing wrong with any of these tunes. On various thrash mix-tapes I used to make, a random song from this album would easily stand out, as there weren't a whole lot of bands back then playing sludge-thrash fronted by someone who sounds like a Greenwich Village no-wave chick with a British accent. I also should mention the tasteful guitar soloing, nothing too flashy but certainly classy, almost as if the guitarist weaned his craft from early Mercyful Fate solos. Unfortunately, as a whole the album suffers due to repetition of their singular vision. I don't actually mind albums with a lot of similar sounding cuts, but they should at least be either blazing in intensity, or offer some level of variety. This is an issue Behind The Realms Of Madness avoided, and a track similar to that album's "Life Line" somewhere around the halfway mark would have done wonders to Within The Prophecy.
As disappointed as I I've always been with this release, it's still reasonably good, especially regarding individual songs. In fact, "Sight Of The Wise" is right up there with "At Dawn They Sleep", "Current Of Death" and "Circle Of The Tyrants" as far as my personal "essential 80's metal" list is concerned, and I also love "The Fear Within" as well. It's an interesting release in that although I've mentioned numerous traits that correspond to doom metal, this is still without a doubt a thrash metal album, just a bit slower for most of the long ride. The doom would really kick in concerning their next album, sounding nothing like the crusty thrash of their debut, while Within The Prophecy shares elements of both, remaining a curious work that could have been brilliant with more creativity in the riff department. - Metal Archives

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