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Sunday Old School: Sacrifice

Thrash metal was truly a phenomenon. Not only did it create legendary scenes in the United States and Germany and give us some of the most beloved metal bands in history, but it spread worldwide, spawning movements in Great Britain, Brazil and of course, Canada. The great white north has brought the world some well respected thrash over the years, including today's featured band, Sacrifice from Toronto.

Sacrifice began when two friends, Rob Urbinati and Joe Rico, both guitar players, decided to form a band, initially playing covers of some of their favourite bands, bringing in bassist, Scott Watts soon afterwards. After bringing in drummer, Craig Boyle and his friend, singer John Baldy, the quintet recorded two demo tapes, which mostly consisted of covers of bands such as Metallica and Judas Priest, with the one original coming in the form of, "Turn in Your Grave." As time went on, Sacrifice developed a heavier sound, with Urbitani taking over the vocalist position as well as seeing a slew of drummers coming through the ranks, before the group settled on Gus Pynn.

Not long after Pynn's recruitment, local record store owner, Brian Taylor approached the band, as well as Slaughter, another popular metal band from Toronto, with the offer that he would finance the recording of new demos for them both, if they agreed that he could keep the profits he made from selling the tapes in his shop. Both agreed and Sacrifice's fan base grew even more, earning them a support slot for thrash giants, Exodus, which the band claim was massively important for their development as a band, not least because it led to a record deal with Diabolic Force.

The resultant debut album, "Torment in Fire," was released in March of 1986, with distribution in the USA and Europe handled by Metal Blade and Roadrunner respectively. It's become a favourite of serious thrash metal fans and is considered one of the best Canadian metal records of the eighties. It opened plenty of doors for Sacrifice themselves too, with an opening slot for King Diamond and Megadeth being secured in Ontario, as well as an appearance at the No Speed Limit Festival in Montreal alongside such bands as Possessed, Agnostic Front and fellow Canadians, Voivod.

Following this success, the band returned to the studio to record their sophomore full length, "Forward to Termination," which received the same distribution deal as before, as well as recording a music video for the song, "Re-Animation." It was another well received album, and saw them touring with more metal favourites like Nuclear Assault, Death Angel and Motorhead, the latter of which was part of their first shows outside of Canada, taking place in Buffalo and Rochester, New York, while they performed other shows in Detroit and Chicago.

Once again, Sacrifice returned to the studio to record new material, which finally surfaced in 1991 under the title, "Soldiers of Misfortune." It spawned another music video for the song, "S.O.M." and saw them promote the album by touring Canada with compatriots, Razor, before trekking across the United States with British death metal outfit, Bolt Thrower and American thrashers, Believer. "Soldiers of Misfortune," also marked their last album with Gus Pynn, as he left following the tour with Razor. In his place came Mike Rosenthal, who was only able to record one album, "Apocalypse Inside," with the band before they decided to call it a day following a tour with Death.

Like many of the thrash bands of the eighties, Sacrifice were to return in the 2000s, reuniting in 2006 to perform at the Day of the Equinox festival in Toronto. They fulfilled the wishes of fans by recording a new album, "The Ones I Condemn," which received very positive feedback from fans and critics alike. Since then, the band has mostly been focusing their energy on live shows, including their first European show in 2011 in Germany, before heading to Japan the next year. Whether or not Sacrifice will ever record a new album remains to be seen, but they can be assured that they've cemented their place as one of Canada's most skilled metal bands and a true credit not only to their country, but to the thrash metal scene in general.

Sacrifice - "Turn in Your Grave"

Sacrifice - "Burned At the Stake"

Sacrifice - "Re-Animation"

Sacrifice - "Soldiers of Misfortune"

Sacrifice - "Apocalypse Inside"

Sacrifice - "Desolation Alive"