Description
Black vinyl with lyric insert
The Obsessed, or at least Wino and side men (ever changing), return after a twenty three year hiatus from releasing albums. While Saint Vitus is not Winos band, so are discounted here, of all Wino’s bands- the ones he runs- The Obsessed enjoy the greatest reputation. The rep is deserved. Their self titled, “Lunar Womb” and “The Church Within” are all classics in their own right. To be fair, Spirit Caravan was a great band, The Hidden Hand was a great band, Wino’s solo electric and acoustic records… all great! “Sacred”, though, has something more. From the moment I pressed play, I was hooked. This is a record that I find very hard to fault. The production is great; thick guitar, lots of low end, punchy drums, great mix. The songs are even better. Kicking off with the re-recording of “Sodden Jackal” is a solid move; it sets out where the band is at these days and it also makes it clear that business as usual has resumed. It’s still a powerful and creepy track after all these years. Wino’s on great form vocally too. Henry Rollins once described The Obsessed as being the sound of someone getting really angry, really slowly. Indeed. The rest of the record simply thunders by and keeps song lengths taught and toned. Those who have looked out for advance tracks will know “Punk Crusher” already. It’s a great Motorhead-esque blast of rock ‘n’ roll. The title track is trippier in sound and scope than you might expect and nods back, as much of the album does, to 60’s/70’s psychedelic rock as well as Black Sabbath. The record has some crossover with Victor Griffin/Place of Skulls/Pentagram; it’s doom, but doom rock as opposed to metal a lot of the time. This sensibility makes “Sacred” a very listenable album indeed. It is never heavy for heavy’s sake. The song writing shines through. Quite simply, I can’t find anything on this album I don’t like. The best comeback of the year, without a doubt. This record will be turning up in many year end lists, without a doubt. It could even be the best album by The Obsessed, but only time will tell on that one. I can’t recommend this highly enough.
Track list:
1. Sodden Jackal
2. Punk Crusher
3. Sacred
4. Haywire
5. Perseverance Of Futility
6. It’s Only Money-Thin Lizzy cover
7. Cold Blood
8. Stranger Things
9. Razor Wire
10. My Daughter My Sons
11. Be The Night
12. Interlude