Sharpened animal instincts and a true metal heart are all you need to appreciate this album and its unquestionable value of pure, solid gold.
Does this opening line shows enthusiasm? Damned well it does and with a reason!
After the 1990’s, there are but a handful of albums out there that can claim to carry US Power Metal undying spirit so worthily, with such a flawless, authentic way. Although originating from Paraguay, SACRO play heavy/power metal with every characteristic of the north-American traditional sound: speed and melody, technicality and complexity, blasting energy and mighty, sky-reaching vocals.
There’s no doubt that Deny Yoon’s voice is the first thing that leaves the listener absolutely astonished. It reminded me of Mario Linhares’ hearty shrills of DARK AVENGER but it also pays homage to the powerful drama found in the performance of Midnight (CRIMSON GLORY), Tony Moore (RIOT), and their likes.
Still, as expected with such a good album, every member of the band is doing a GREAT job. SACRO sound really tight, there’s not a moment of faltering during the amazing double-guitar interplay (Alan Yoon & Ramon Sosa) and the rhythm-section (Jorge Benitez & Juan Pablo Zaracho) is an unstoppable, pounding driving force.
The compositions may not reach the intricacy of progressive structures but there’s enough pluralism throughout the tracklist and also within the tracks themselves. Although following the path of the great ones (first era of HELSTAR and HEIR APPARENT, to name a couple), SACRO play their own stuff and when you listen to them, you DO listen to THEM and not a band that simply sounds like some other one.
In the end, they deliver the very definition of all killer/no filler album, made of unyielding steel; full of thunderous power, mind-blowing riffs and solos, and soul-piercing vocals.
Stricken by three songs’ bombardment, it’s in the middle of the fourth track, “Heroes After Death“, when you first listen some aery melody, only to be followed by MANOWAR-inspired mid-tempo closure with an excellent, classical guitar solo (there’s also a Spanish-version of the song, “Héroes“, as the closing track).
Three more songs hit you, fast and furious, and the time has finally come for the powerful ballad of the album, titled “Another Day, Another Life“.
Any doubt of the album’s excellency totally disappears with the last two songs before “Héroes“; “Chance of Life” is a pure gem of melodic power and “Ancestral Race” is an epic IRON MAIDEN-influenced song without denying the USPM style; you may hear the keen staccato, the bass line leading to the melody and the galloping chorus that bring the British master-craftsmen to mind.
All in all, this is an ideal album of reference to hear top-notch, uncompromising heavy/power metal music. I didn’t really believe that I could hear something like this in 2023. And yet, I did; SACRO, you MADE IT and we owe you a debt of gratitude for it!
We had to wait for sixteen years since SACRO released their debut, Memories, and it’s been ten whole years that we had no news of them, after their “In Front of You” EP.
“The End” was released on September 16th, on SACRO’s 22nd anniversary as a band. It’s their second full-length album and it was recorded some years ago but the band decided to celebrate its release on this very special day.
They are in great shape and I really hope that this is not The End for SACRO and their music.
My last sentence concerns the record companies: if THIS album doesn’t deserve a physical format release, then there’s something seriously amiss with your modern standards of selection, because THIS is a classic already.
Chech the discussion about the album in our forum pages.
