Old. School.  

SACRED DEATH are a perfect representation of 80s thrash metal, reminiscent of METALLICA’s “Kill Em All” album with hints of MEGADETH too. The harsh sounding guitars played with such ferocity are not for the faint hearted and will certainly be able to keep even those with the heaviest eyes wide awake. There are many aspects of “Deadly Playground” that will hold its own when being compared to the greats of the 80s and 90s: aggressive vocals with a tone that perfectly fits amongst the instrumentation, riffs that will make even seasoned metal veterans feel like they need to take a breath as to not get exhausted, fierce drum patterns, and bass playing so tight that you need to study the player. This album really understands the task of keeping to heavy metal’s roots while also compiling a collection of skills that makes the listening process really worthwhile.  

Opening the album is “In the News” a melodic masterpiece of an opening section that leads in to what thrash metal fans want all day long. Speed and aggression, with a little bit of virtuosity sprinkled on top. When an album opens with a song like this, it is impossible to be able to sit still and purely enjoy the music, you need to get up and raise hell. The album is consistent in its main tonal theme, but it makes it no less interesting. Listening through it showcases the best of what it means to be a thrash metal artist.

“Beginning of the End” is a groovy track, showing that not all thrash wants to be played as fast as possible, but a slightly slower tempo can add a great sense of power to some riffs. Despite, this track does have elements of SLAYER within the intro but progresses nicely into immense riffing and lovely guitar harmonies. Although the band keep to their principles pretty well throughout the whole album there is one track that stands out a little due to its use harmony and melody in the intro, “Pit and Pendulum”. This track shows the bands melodic side like never before and is truly a masterclass in guitar playing. Such a variety of sounds and techniques as well as some wonderous solos, listeners are lucky to come across such a well put together song. However, the final two songs are really what this band are about. “Execution” is an instrumental that allows the skillset of the guitarists to really shine and also shows the variety of the songwriter’s skills as well. Going through styles and techniques at such a high level, it is here that we really get to know just how good these musicians are. Then there is “In the Night”, a song that brutalises listeners ears and reminds you that these guys are thrash monsters.