VENGEANCE RISING - HUMAN SACRIFICE 25th Anniverary Picture Disc

Vengeance Rising’s Human Sacrifice is the greatest Christian Thrash Metal album ever recorded. I realize it’s been said before and more than once by me.  However not only was it the first of its kind but the reality is, it was (and still is) an epic release!

            Roxx Records has undertaken a special release in time for this landmarks 25^th anniversary.  A full on picture disc limited to only 300 pressed!! Whenever I hear the magic words “only so many pressed” I get nervous because I know that many of you, like me, are collectors who really want the coolest stuff and believe me this is one of the COOLEST!! There are some other goodies that come with this including picks, stickers.

 J Powell at Steinhaus remastered this slab of metal history specifically for vinyl and man does it sound good. The warmth is there with full lower end without sacrificing clarity.  J Powell has an unbelievable ability to make so many of these older releases sound as vital and powerful as ever.  The guitars of Larry Farkas and Doug Thieme on I Love Hating Evil sound just as loud as ever, perhaps even more intense.  Roger Martins bombastic bass delivers the goods on Fill This Place With Blood and Burn with a rich and pulsating dynamic power. Glenn Mancaruso’s drums sound as full and dynamic as ever with a little more punch in the kick drum.

            Revisiting this album in depth after so long is just a reminder to me of what Christian metal was like back in 1987 (a year before this albums release). There was nothing! And I mean nothing in Christian music that competed with the Slayers, Metallica’s or Megadeth’s of the world (let alone the Dark Angel’s or Kreator’s). When people thought of Christian Metal they thought of Stryper and Calling on You or Honestly. Not exactly bang yer head start a pit type stuff.

            Living in the San Francisco bay area during that time I longed for an album I could share with my non Christian friends that was heavy and brutal.  I’d seen VR twice in Southern California and I knew these guys were the real deal. Not only were they one of the tightest bands I’d ever seen, but they MOVED and totally thrashed on stage. It was incredible as I never saw Slayer do that or Metallica or Megadeth (or Testament or Forbidden Evil or Death Angel.)

            When this album came out on Intense in the late summer of 1988 (I bought mine from vocalist Roger Martinez, right out of the box at the beginning of second HIS Festival) it just blew everyone away. I mean everyone; this wasn’t a rehash of old Metallica riffs or a piece of sonic dog doo. This was WORLD CLASS THRASH METAL that was more over the top then most of their secular counter parts.

The ominous intro to White Throne, a pile driving tour de force that is Beheaded, the chunky bob and weave of Mulligan’s Stew, the sonic cacophony that is the instrumental Ascension (which they brought on stage a full group of acrobatic skateboarders at C-Stone in 1990 or was it 89?).

 Human Sacrifice started a movement that was brewing under the surface in Christian music. It stretched the boundaries about a million miles about what defined “Christian” music, let alone metal. These guys did not make a dime for their efforts but instead left a legacy that continues to this day. Every extreme metal act out there with a Christian worldview owes their gratitude to the trail blazers in this genre and like Resurrection Band; Vengeance Rising has that mantle placed on them.

Grab a piece of Christian Metal history and pick up this fabulous picture disc. You won’t regret it.

10 axes (the album itself is a classic)

VENGEANCE RISING - DESTRUCTION COMES

Vengeance Rising’s third album Destruction Comes has been reissued and remastered by Intense Millennium. They’ve even included the music video for the track Before the Time.

Destruction Comes, if you’re not familiar with it, is full on thrash/grind metal which is low on subtlety and long on bombast. Gone are many of the somewhat melodic elements of the first two Vengeance albums and what you have here is pure brain crushing ear splitting metal best heard at high volume.

You Can’t Stop It, Countless Corpses, Thanatos, Before the Time and the rest don’t allow you to breathe (well maybe part of Raegoul does…). Undoubtedly the even more brutal direction is due to the fact that only Roger Martinez remained from the original line-up.

The guitar tone on this album is much more processed which I thought the remastering might help clean up. Unfortunately that really didn’t occur, many of the tones are louder which adds to a bit fuller sound, but that also means that the guitar elements are just louder as well.

This is still a solid Vengeance album and I’ve read where some fans actually like this disc and the one that followed Unleashed Upon the Earth even better than the first two. Myself I’m glad to see Destruction Comes see the light of day in an updated format.

If you like things hard and heavy this is a must add to your collection.


7 axes

VENGEANCE RISING - HUMAN SACRIFICE remaster

Human Sacrifice by Vengeance Rising is in my opinion the epitome of heavy metal from a Christian point of view circa the late 80’s. From their bombastic and crushing sound to the completely biblical lyrical content, the final piece was the live performance and having seen Vengeance Rising no less than five times from 1987 through 1990 they easily were on pair with their secular counterparts, if they didn’t exceed them.

Musical influences like Slayer, Possessed, early Anthrax and Metallica leave you completely in awe the first time you hear it. The intensity of the music which doesn’t let up one bit is only surpassed by the lyrical content which is exemplarily.

Songs such as I Love Hating Evil, White Throne, and Fill This Place with Blood all speak to the redemptive power of the King, Jesus Christ, and the resulting changes that occurs within a believer. Not to mention their classic track Burn, which discusses the final resting place of Lucifer, the lake of fire; with a chorus that repeats ‘Burn Satan Burn…’ make no mistake Vengeance Rising understand who the victor is. Sit down with your Bible and take the lyric sheet you’ll be amazed.

Human Sacrifice is full tilt thrash metal which is just as heavy today as it was in 1988 when it was released. I would wager that if I put this album against any other thrash album today Human Sacrifice would hold its own. Strong guitar riffs, brutal vocals, a world class rhythm section from the opening notes to the closing screams Vengeance Rising have written an album that clearly is a definitive piece of the Christian metal puzzle.

From the full on thrash of White Throne or Beheaded to the slow powerful tunes such as Mulligan’s Stew and Burn the listener is treated to a musical cacophony that still sets standards today. One of the best things about this release was that Vengeance could deliver live as well. Make no mistake, when they hit the scene in 1987 their live shows were legendary snippets of sonic greatness.

Production wise this is a 1980’s recording, but the remastering done by J Powell at Steinhaus is masterful. The kick drum is more pronounced and not completely buried in the mix. Troublesome frequencies have been corrected. The sound is big and fat, with plenty of atmosphere.

Intense Millennium has provided new artwork for all of their remasters and this album is no exception. However for the purist you can easily flip the booklet around and view the original artwork. Speaking of the booklet Pastor Bob Beeman provides some insightful liner notes and there are some cool photos. One of those photos was the cover of White Throne #3 with Larry Farkas on the cover.

Perhaps you’ve only heard about Vengeance Rising and never had the chance to check it out for yourself. Well here’s your chance. This album is heavy and powerful and makes no apologies for itself. Apologies aren’t necessary because this disc is the one to get. Human Sacrifice is a classic in every sense of the word...


10 axes