I will just come out and say, oh boy do I have a classic album to review today. Today I get to review Seattle's longtime and recently reformed SANCTUARY and their compilation "Inception". Forming originally in 1985 and producing a blend of power metal and traditional and heavy metal, the band later broke up in 1992 but reformed again in 2010. When doing recordings, they found old demos and master tapes, the songs of which were remastered, remixed, and re-released today on "Inception". Without further ado, I will just jump right in.

Opening with "Dreams of the Incubus", a blast from the past is the first thought that comes to mind. Featuring the old school clean vocals that are almost cliche of old power metal, the track is simple but good. Strong riffs and beats, well structured, and an easily remembered chorus, the song is nothing that really grabs you but it is good and fits the bill of the genre, if being a bit simple. Following this is "Die for my Sins", which right out of the gate is much more groove oriented. Very melodic with a very well done series of riffs throughout all of the song, and featuring a very well done power metal inspired guitar solo, I really have no complaints about the song. I can honestly say I really liked it, and the overall structure of it would appeal to most anyone was it played in their favorite subgenre. In sum, a great song overall. Next to mention is "Death Rider", which has a really great drum beat. It is not consistent per se,however the track seems to have some heavy thrash influence that is highly noticeable in the instruments, but especially the drums. Regardless, the track is well done in all regards, from the guitar riffs to the bass. However, what stands out most is definitely the drum work.

However, "Ascension to Destiny" seems to fall a bit short. While the other tracks managed to pull you in in one way or another regardless of musical tastes, this one does not. It feels a bit off beat from the tempo of the other tracks in a way that feels too starkly different, and beyond this if I am completely honest the track is a bit boring. While all the tracks can be semi-repetitive, this one somehow feels more so. The instruments aren't very interesting, and the song as a whole feels just "there", like it isn't contributing to the album as a whole. Even the guitar solo really doesn't feel like it does much, and feels uninspired. It feels like the song struggled to find direction when it was first thought of and like it never found it all throughout its creation. Sadly, "Battle Angels" is the same way. The solo is more enjoyable here in my mind, if slower and more gradual, but perhaps it is to it's helping as it sounds more coherent and thought out. It also takes up more of the song too, which helps the song. However, the song as a whole still feels bland and uninspired. The vocals don't really help as the extreme highs just feel forced and don't match the music overall, and get somewhat tiresome by this point.

The variance in the vocals on the album as a whole is most apparent in the cover track, and they are kind of poor really because Warrel Dane seems to be trying to force his voice to be lower. The extreme highs are relentless overall though, and just get somewhat annoying because there isn't much variance, and they are forced on the soundtracks and often times don't mesh with the tracks. Thankfully on "I Am Insane" everything meshes much better, at least at first. Sounding much more like a power metal track, and toning down the vocals a bit to make them feel much more at home. The vocals do revert at times to the arguably too high pitched tone, but it nowhere near overdone. The instruments flow with each other much better too, and match the vocals very well. The track as a whole is solid, but though it flows better and sounds pretty good it is nothing super special truth be told.

The band may be a classic in its region, and they do have potential, but here things seemed to have fallen apart. They are older demos that were remade and I am sure the band has garnered experience since then, but sadly the experience does not show here. There is definitely potential and definitely some gems here, but they seem to be diamonds in the rough on this album. Worth a listen for fans of the genre, but heed the words I say at the very least.