Better Know A Band: Sanctuary

[General Zod]

Sanctuary

Wiki entry

Sanctuary is a heavy metal band founded in Seattle, Washington in 1985. The band consisted of Warrel Dane (vocals), Lenny Rutledge (guitar), Sean Blosl (guitar), Jim Sheppard (bass), Dave Budbill (drums), and in the end Jeff Loomis.
Contents

History

They released a demo in 1986, which was well received, and that lead them to sign with Epic Records in 1987. They released their debut album, Refuge Denied, in the same year. It was produced by Dave Mustaine, frontman of thrash metal band Megadeth. Thus followed a tour alongside Megadeth and the German band Warlock.

After the tour, they entered the studio to record their second and final studio album, Into The Mirror Black, in 1990. A video clip for the song Future Tense was made and it received some air play on MTV's Headbanger's Ball. During the tour (with the bands Forbidden and Death Angel), the guitarist Sean Blosl left the band and was replaced by Jeff Loomis.

Shortly after, pressure from Epic Records to fit in with the flourishing Seattle grunge scene caused disagreements between band members (regarding the band's musical direction). So it followed that in 1991, Sanctuary officially disbanded.

Epic Records was to release a full length live recording from this final tour but only a limited number of copies of a promotional live EP ever saw the light of day. It was named Into the Mirror Live.

Refuge Denied and Into The Mirror Black were re-released as a double CD set by IronBird Records on February 22, 2010.

Post-breakup

• After disbanding, Warrel Dane, Jim Sheppard and Jeff Loomis formed the band Nevermore in 1991.
• Dave Budbill lives in Florida, and is currently the drummer for Alive Inside.
• Sean Blosl is creating music and film independently through Golden Flower Media.
• Lenny Rutledge became a musical producer, and has his own studio. Additionally, he helped Nevermore on the demo sessions of their 1999 album, Dreaming Neon Black.

Reunion

Warrel Dane announced in May, 2010, that Sanctuary will reunite to record a new album. Warrel confirmed on Nevermore's official forum that he can still hit the high notes he did in Sanctuary's early days. However, he did not say whether or not he'd be implementing them into the new album. Sean Blosl is currently working on a film called "Into The Heart Of Shiva" and won't be taking part in the reunion.

Recently announced that their only US appearance in 2011 will be at ProgPower USA held annually in Atlanta. They will be headlining on Friday night.

Personal Take:

The seemingly obvious comparison for Sanctuary is Nevermore. However, I would argue comparing the two is akin to comparing apples and oranges. The only true link between the bands is bassist Jim Sheppard. What about Warrel Dane you ask? Warrel is a common component in name only. I doubt there's a person alive who could listen to Refuge Denied and Dreaming Neon Black and guess those two discs were recorded by the same vocalist.

What Sanctuary brought to the table was a unique sound that married a dark flavor of Power Metal with elements of Thrash, further characterized by a vocalist whose falsetto could make King Diamond sit up and take notice.

For some reason, I always think of Sanctuary and Warrior Soul as two peas in a pod. As Metal began its decline, due to an endless stream of Pop Metal bands who desperately wanted to be the next Motley Crue, Sanctuary and Warrior Soul stood out as two unique voices, swimming against an overwhelming tide of unoriginality that would eventually sweep Metal out of the public consciousness.

Discography at a Glance:

Refuge Denied: released in 1987, this disc is best known for four things; Warrel's aforementioned falsetto, Dave Mustaine's role as producer, the Metal classic "Battle Angels" and the twisted re-imagining of the Jefferson Airplane classic, "White Rabbit". Musically, it's a solid release that established Sanctuary as a band with a unique sound that ran counter to the upbeat Metal popular at the time.

Into the Mirror Black: released in 1990, Into the Mirror Black is by far the superior of Sanctuary's two studio releases. Musically, vocally and lyrically there's a drastic leap forward in terms of maturity. Warrel's boiling falsetto finds a comfortable simmer, Lenny Rutledge and Sean Blosl hit their stride as a guitar tandem, and the band as a unit just seems more comfortable in their own skin. While Refuge Denied often feels like a band searching for themselves, Into the Mirror Black demonstrates a cohesion and confidence missing from the debut. Had Metal not already begun its decline, Sanctuary might have captured a much wider audience; Into the Mirror Black might have become a Metal classic, rather than a hidden gem.

Quick Song Hitlist:
Such a list is necessary when a band has a massive catalog. As Sanctuary sports a mere two releases, I'd simply recommend checking out "Battle Angels", "White Rabbit" and the entire second disc.

YouTube Links:

 

[BenMech]

Excellent post Zod.Thank you for not lionizing Refuge Denied while demonizing ItMB, which IS a spiritual cousin of Dreaming Neon Black/

 

[Purveyor Of Evil]

If Warrel can indeed, by the grace of God, still hit those high notes...then this could possibly be one of the top performances in Progpower's history. I know it sounds cliche to death, but I truly believe it.

 

[Creeps]

It truly baffles me that so many people on this forum think so lowly of the Refuge Denied album. But then again, Pain of Salvation bores the shit out of me, so to each their own.

Great write up Zod.

I would only add that if you like to hear an onslaught of great thrash/power metal then look no further than Refuge Denied. Both albums have a very distinct and different sound and vibe. Both albums are classic in my book.

 

[AngraRULES]

When Justin and I discussed the Better Know a Band threads, the first thing that came to my mind was to suggest that Zod did the writeup about them, since there's no better person (in my opinion) in our community to write a piece about either Sanctuary or Nevermore. I knew it was going to be good.

Zod proved me wrong in a way. This was a *very* good read.

 

[General Zod]

...ItMB, which IS a spiritual cousin of Dreaming Neon Black/

Interesting take. I never quite thought about it like that. To your point, ItMB has a similar vibe. It merely lacks the depth and shading (I know, lame reviewer word) of DNB. Of course, it would be unfair to expect Rutledge and Blosl to match Loomis and Calvert. And to my earlier point, Warrel was not just a different vocalist, but a different songwriter. Warrel dove to a level of darkness on DNB, that very have ever matched. Reviewers too often throw around words like "haunting", because it makes them sound insightful. However, if any disc was ever deserving of such a colorful word, it's DNB.

By the way, thanks for the kind words. It's definitely appreciated.

 

[VenomGA]

Quick Song Hitlist:
Such a list is necessary when a band has a massive catalog. As Sanctuary sports a mere two releases, I'd simply recommend checking out "Battle Angels", "White Rabbit" and the entire second disc.

Sorry Zod, you completely left off some really killer songs on Refuge Denied. Being a HUGE Sanctuary fan, let me correct that for you. Here are the tracks off the additional songs, people need to check out:
"Termination Force"
"Die For My Sins" (Best song on the album)
"Soldiers of Steel"
"The Third War"
"Veil of Disguise" (3rd best track on album behind Die for my Sins and Battle Angels)

 

[eppst1]

The seemingly obvious comparison for Sanctuary is Nevermore. However, I would argue comparing the two is akin to comparing apples and oranges.

Thank you! Couldn't agree more.

Nice write up BTW.

 

[eppst1]

Sorry Zod, you completely left off some really killer songs on Refuge Denied. Being a HUGE Sanctuary fan, let me correct that for you. Here are the tracks off the additional songs, people need to check out:
"Termination Force"
"Die For My Sins" (Best song on the album)
"Soldiers of Steel"
"The Third War"
"Veil of Disguise" (3rd best track on album behind Die for my Sins and Battle Angels)

I also agree with you. I'm a huge fan of RD (actually love the whole disc) - but ItMB was on a whole other level and one of my favorite discs period.

 

[General Zod]

Sorry Zod, you completely left off some really killer songs on Refuge Denied.

Well, keep in mind, it's a highlights list. And between what I had and what you have, I think we're only missing one song. That said, it's a disc that never really wowed me. So if you're a huge fan of it, I'm sure your list is more insightful than my own.

 

[KYF_Cincinnati]

I happen to like REFUSE DENIED much better than INTO THE MIRROR BLACK. I like the amount of high pitched vocals on R.D. and I think it's a masterpiece, (mostly because of the vocals). It's hard to explain but I felt I.T.M.B. was too dark and had a depressing feel to it... too serious maybe, (the beginning of the song FUTURE TENSE is a good example of this), thus the same reasons I never cared for NEVERMORE much.

So I guess I prefer SANCTUARY when they had LESS.... less maturity, less depth, and less shading. Nothing ruins pure un-adulterating METAL like depth & shading.

 

[J. Golden]

"Into the Mirror Black might have become a Metal classic, rather than a hidden gem." I have always known those albums to be metal classics among all the people I knew growing up who listened to metal and the ones I know now. That band and albums had a nit more attention that what I would think of as a "forgot gem" band. And those tours in the 80s left that name tagged on a lot of people's brains.
I seem to recall there was a period there before grudge had really started flowing that there was no word about Sanctuary. Them and Crimson the the two bands I was the most interested in keeping up with and there was bareky anything said. Then faint rumors of this Nevermore would come up and then disappear, reappear later. But it is hard to think of the label pushing grudge onto the band, it seems that there was not much to grudge at the time. But those years admittly do sometimes run together and I would like to forget what the 90s held. HAHA
The story of how Dave Mustane (who helped get them signed) got the demo from Dane is a fun one.
I first heard Sanctuary the summer between my 4th and 5th grade year in school while at summer camp. A councilor gave me a recorded tape of a band called Sanctuary. That same guy that summer gave me my first Maiden album too, 'Somewhere in Time'. So the Sanctuary I listen to so much, it was to battle my brothers Stryper until I found Mercyful Fate soon after. Don't know what happen to that tape it probably snapped. I would not re-dicover them until year later when I was 15 by a guy who sang in the thrash band of older dudes in town. One day I go to his house before a gig and not only did he introduce me to crimson Glory that day a band I had alway wondered about, but I asked him of Sanctuary and he pulled the two CDs. It was the first time I think I actually saw the album covers and probably even heard the second album.
Jump up years later and I aquired demos of Sanctuary songs never released. It is pretty good stuff, about three tracks I think.

 

[J. Golden]

I don't think I have ever heard one person over all these years say they like the second album over the first and I have met a lot of Sanctuary fans, surprisingly more than I would have thought.
But I do chuckle think back to sporting a Sanctuary 'Refuge' tour shirt at Progpower many years ago and it never got attention, in conversation with people the mention of the band would slip right over their heads and now Sanctuary will be on that stage. HAHA
Um, it was the same exact reaction with Crimson Glory oddly enough.
I have always enjoyed progpower despite the line ups would be a lower percentage to my appeal each year. Still I never would have thought this fest would give me the chance two see two of my favorite metal bands of all time.
Ok Glenn make Queensryche good again and a Grim Reaper reunion and I'll join at the altar. Still Sir you are the man for this, I cannot express how it hit me when I was told Sanctuary. And even watching Crimson Glory (despite that singer clusterf@#k) I was somewhat choked up then too.

 

[Cheiron]

Sanctuary and Nevermore are the same band. The link is there musically and per band members. Jeff Loomis was in Sanctuary, but never recorded under the name Sanctuary.

DNB is so distant from the other Nevermore albums, as to not be a good comparison with the Santuary material. Particularly since that album was greatly assisted by Tim Calvert's great abilities. Still, I think that the early Nevermore material is in line with Sanctuary (since some of the songs on the S/T album were songs written as Sanctuary), though Warrel tamed down the high notes. However, if you think that his vocal melodies really changed much, especially compared to the later-era Nevermore material, I think you are wrong. Warrel's base-tone has not changed much over the years, only that he was a bit more manic on some of the Sanctuary material. The band left that behind as that style of vocals was going out of style anyhow. As music changed, so did Nevermore. But there's also no doubt that Loomis joining changed the sound of the band as well.

So why the return to playing as Sanctuary? Did the name rights finally go back to Warrel and co? Were there lineup issues and they decided to just invite some of the old folks back? Did Warrel want to go to a bit more of a manic style? It will be interesting to hear what comes out of the interviews on this.

Still, this will be an excellent show, and I expect that they'll play mostly Sanctuary material, for now, and add a few songs from their Nevermore discography, unless they end up playing as Nevermore on Thursday night.

 

[TwizstedJesus]

I don't think I have ever heard one person over all these years say they like the second album over the first and I have met a lot of Sanctuary fans, surprisingly more than I would have thought.
But I do chuckle think back to sporting a Sanctuary 'Refuge' tour shirt at Progpower many years ago and it never got attention, in conversation with people the mention of the band would slip right over their heads and now Sanctuary will be on that stage. HAHA

Into the Mirror Black was one of the 1st 20 or 30 cd's I owned and still gets rotation in my player from time to time. Refuge Denied was a great debut, but never even came close to "...Mirror Black". I've rarely met people in my circle who say Refuge Denied is better. They all agree that both discs are great, but the 2nd one was more mature and hard hitting to them

 

[Creeps]

I don't think I have ever heard one person over all these years say they like the second album over the first and I have met a lot of Sanctuary fans, surprisingly more than I would have thought.

Do a search on the forum here, especially in the announcement thread and you will see quite a few people who have stated they prefer Mirror over Refuge. I don't get it either -lol

 

[Claus / Intromental]

Interesting how different people have different takes on this band. Considering it's a band with such a short history, you would have thought that people only had ONE uniform opinion, right?

I'm wondering how many actually listened to the band back in the day?

I for one LOVED "Refuge Denied" when it came out; what a great speed metal (yeah, we didn't call it "thrash" metal or "power" metal back then) album with plenty of influences from the classic heavy metal genre! If my financial situation at the time hadn't prevented me from going, I would have been in Germany for the Megadeth/Testament/Flots&Jets/Sanctuary tour. Oh well, at least I've been watching the bootleg video from the tour a couple of hundred times before my old VHS tape gave in, haha.

But, when "Into The Mirror Black" came out, it was an entirely different ballgame. Here the band became a one-of-a-kind act with a very unique dark atmosphere, that made them sound like noone else. Some nostalgic people believe "RD" to be the better album, but they are just messed up individuals, haha (just kidding). To me, "ITMB" was it!

c.

 

[General Zod]

For those who disagree with my opinion, please note the section is called "Personal Take" not "Absolute Truth". If you prefer the debut, that's fine. Whether people agree or disagree with my preferences are a matter of personal taste.

Ultimately this thread is for people who aren't familiar with Sanctuary. And for those people, ItMB is (IMO) the more accessible disc. Which I would also suspect is the reason Glenn recommended it as the disc people should start with.

 

[Creeps]

One thing we all can agree on is that Sanctuary was the shit.

I've been cursed to never see Warrel perform live. There was a big post I put out some years back when Nevermore was supposed to headline PP... curse... "supposed to headline"... please don't blame me.. blame Disturbed.

Way back in the time of speed metal my friends and I were stoked to see Megadeth & Warlock play live... who was this 3rd band Sanctuary? Also 3 bands? This didn't happen a lot in Florida, usually we got 2 bands through the eighties. Anywho.. we found a copy of Refuge on cassette and Camelot music (heheh dated myself) and were blown away. Too bad we were under 18 and couldn't get into the show.

 

[General Zod]

"Into the Mirror Black might have become a Metal classic, rather than a hidden gem." I have always known those albums to be metal classics among all the people I knew growing up who listened to metal and the ones I know now

When I think of Metal classics I think of Operation: Mindcrime, Piece of Mind and Last in Line... "household name" type of discs. While we can debate whether ItMB, from a pure quality perspective, deserves to keep company with those discs, it was not as well known as those discs. That said, similar to you and your friends, my friends and I all had both Sanctuary releases on cassette.