SACRIFICE is a name that is used quite a lot in the Metal community. This version is from Tokyo in Japan and this is my first musical encounter with them. And I can only say that this is a very pleasant introduction to their songs, as "Tears" is a very addictive and inspiring album. This actually is a rerelease, as the original version saw the light of day way back in 1992 as their third and final album. Because even though the band is still active now (and has been since 2013), originally they were around from 1985 until 1992. The other two albums are their 1987 debut "Crest Of Black" and the 1990 album "Total Steel".

Musically SACRIFICE is a combination of sounds on "Tears". I'll try to explain. First, I have a question; do you like the METALLICA album "Ride The Lightning"? well, a lot of the sound as well as the riffing will remind you of that release. Just make it all sound a little grittier, a lot filthier and as raw as possible, and you're there. I just want to warn you not to have your head whip up when you hear certain passages, as they will sound familiar. But that's not all; you need to love your MOTÖRHEAD as well, as not only does the voice of Akira Sugiuchi leans that way, a song like "Breaking The Silence Of The Night" will make you remember the seventies era of that band. The last bit of mix is the one man band MIDNIGHT, as the underground sound he adopts also works quite well here.

But what is more important when making a record is to be sure that the songs are good enough. Well, that's not a problem at all on "Tears". If you ask me, this Japanese version of SACRIFICE should have been at least as big worldwide as the Canadian Thrash Metal band with the same name. There can't be any doubt at all that these guys were capable of writing and recording bloody good music. On "Tears" that gives us over 44 minutes of beautiful Heavy Metal that might remind you of others, but that is at least good enough to stand on its own two feet. I am now wondering what these guys currently are doing, because if they ever decide to attempt to record a new album, I for one will definitely be interested. The same goes if they decide to rerelease the first two SACRIFICE albums.