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SACRED STEEL
Ritual Supremacy
ROAR Records

I was thinking today about the parallels between music and sports. You have people who are just the casual fan, who just watch 1 or 2 games a year, who just listen to whatever's on the radio. Then there's the hardcore fan, who can tell you the schedule, the player stats, who they should draft next. The fan who has delved deep into the Underground, can name bands you've never heard, and can give you a list of essential albums that you NEED, but you've never even seen those releases, much less own them. I know which category I fall under. Which brings us to today's band, Germany's SACRED STEEL. Even though these Teutonic headbangers have been together and releasing albums for almost 30 years, unless you are one of those hardcore Metal fanatics, it wouldn't surprise me if you had in fact, never heard of SACRED STEEL yourself.

The band formed in 1996 and released their first rehearsal demo in October of that same year. They released their 1st album, Reborn In Steel in 1997 and they've been fairly proficient ever since. Their latest opus, Ritual Supremacy which is their 10th full length album, continues on the path of epic Power Metal the band has displayed throughout their history, save for the couple of years of inactivity when the world shutdown due to covid.

As I have several of the band's albums, I must say that this latest offering might be their most diverse album yet. And I can also understand how that sentence might raise a few eyebrows. But when you're talking about a band thoroughly entrenched in the Metal underground, as opposed to your favorite hard rock band who decided to dabble in rap or some other crap to broaden their fanbase then you can put your mind at ease. Title track and album opener "Ritual Supremacy" is a pure assault of molten metal and a powerful way to open the album. There's the all-out Thrash assault of "A Shadow In the Bell Tower" and "Demon Witch Possession", the epic gallop of "Entombed Within the Iron Walls of Dis", and the metallic stomp of "The Watcher Infernal", a personal fave. For the Old Skool fans there's the pure fist banging "Leather, Spikes And Chains" and "Omen Rider", and even a couple of ballads, "Covenant Of Grace" and album closer "Let the Darkness Come to Me". Singer Gerrit Mutz's voice has improved greatly through the years, and he has really raised his own bar. He's also in an epic Doom band called ANGEL OF DAMNATION, so maybe that's rubbed off on SACRED STEEL as there's a bludgingly doom laden track called "Bedlam Eternal" on here as well.

A great variety of different genres on here, but nothing sounds forced or contrived. The production is excellent. The drums sound 'live', the guitars sound amazing, and everything is well balanced. While I'm not 100% certain, I don't think the band has ever toured over here in The Colonies, hence another reason why they may have flown under your radar. But I feel like they are deserving of your attention, so do a little deep digging and pick up this latest slab of Teutonic metal. "None Shall Conquer Steel"!!!!

And there will be Vinyl for this, as SACRED STEEL has always believed in the power of Metal on Wax. So keep those eyes peeled! 4.7 Out Of 5.0 skulls☠️☠️☠️☠️