Time Signature Wild is the wind...

Genre: thrash/speed/traditional metal

Canada's Sanktuary are back with their second full-length album in the form of "Winter's Doom". Balancing between traditional metal, speed metal, US power metal and thrash metal, they are often considered a power-thrash metal act, and those elements definitely also crop up on this album.

The first two tracks - 'Space Race' and 'Wild Is the Wind' - primarily explore traditional metal, which the band's inner speed metal beast is let loose in 'Vermin Lord', and 'Winter's Doom', 'Open Your Eyes', 'Corpse Blockade', and 'Maximum Authority' take a more thrash-informed route.

Sanktuary seamlessy go back and forth between thrash, speed, and traditional metal elements on this album, such that a thrashy section and an NWoBHM-inspired melodic section can appear next to each other without it seeming forced, and such that a chomping mid-paced US power metal section can be followed by a old school hard rocking metal guitar solo, making it sound like the most natural thing in the world. A good example of this is the combination of thrashy riffage in the verse of 'Corpse Blockade' and a NWBoHM-esque melodic verse. To me the thrashy aspect of this album is dominant though, and the listener is definitely treated to several deliciously thrashy riffs.

The production is not at all polished, but far from lo-fi as well. It has just the right amount of crunch and fuzz to go with this kind of music. The vocals, which are best described as slightly punky yelling may be an acquired taste, but, if you're into this type of vocals, it should mesh nicely with the music and the production. Sanktuary are obviously skilled metal songsmiths as witnessed by their focused use of elements from the handful of genres they explore, and the musicianship is solid.

Fans of old school thrash metal, who don't mind a dose of melody and traditional metal, should check out this album.

Time Signature Deadly prey...

Genre: trad metal / speed metal / thrash metal

Canadian metal outfit Sanktuary are labeled a power-thrash band, which is not an entirely unfitting classification, but, as their debut album "Something Fierce" reflects, there is more to their music than just power-thrash. In fact, they draw on a number of influences from various more traditional type of metal.

The main forte of the album is Sanktuary's use of simple, and catchy, guitar melodies accompanied by galloping guitars and a driving bass. If this sounds more like a description of traditional heavy metal than power metal or thrash metal, then it is because there are actually is a considerable influence from NWoBHM on the album - just check out tracks like 'Heat Lightning', 'Hail the Villain', and 'Midnite Mass'. Such elements appear side-by-side with fierce thrashers like 'Thrill of the Kill' which combines old school thrash riffage with speed metal tempos (and even contains some blastbeats to boot). More in the vein of early speed/power metal, 'Screeching for Vengeance' is a nice and simple and uptempo barrage of chucking guitars and rumbling double bass drums. There's a touch of early Artillery in the breakneck 'Fire in the Sky' which also contains references to Teutonic thrash and, drawing on NYC hardcore/crossover also features riot backing vocals. The listener is also treated to the mellos semi-acoustic instrumental 'Beyond the Wall'.

Drawing on elements from traditional metal and early thrash-, speed-, and power metal, Sanktuary's music is quite melodic and considerably easy to listen to and take in. There are plenty of all out rock 'n' metal guitar histrionic, and the mildly Geddy Lee-ish vocals actually fit nicely into the picture. The production is not polished at all, but has an organic feel to it, which I am sure many people will like.

Capturing the best of thrash as it was in its nascent era, Sanktuary's "Something Fierce" should appeal to fans of thrash, speed, and traditional metal alike.

J-Man Tundrastruck is a three-way split EP featuring some of Canada's most promising young metal acts. Metalian, Sanktuary, and Black Moor each deliver one track of high-quality heavy metal music on this rather short CD, and fans of classic heavy metal and thrash metal should be sure to check out this split. This is one of those rare cases where all three acts manage to impress (no single band steals the show here), and the styles of the bands are consistent enough to allow Tundrastruck to sound like a very coherent release. While not flawless, this EP is a very good preview of what thrash metal is like up in Canada these days.

All three of the bands here ride the border between traditional heavy metal, speed metal, and thrash metal. Metalian is the most traditional-sounding metal band, whereas Sanktuary delivers a retro speed/thrash style, and Black Moor is easily the thrashiest of the three bands. "Airborne Assassins" is a very catchy tune from Metalian (probably my favorite of the three songs featured here), "Raise the Flag" by Sanktuary is a catchy and upbeat speed metal track, and "Awaken the Dead" is a very thrashy and complex offering from Black Moor. All three songs sound like they're from the eighties, so don't expect much in the way of originality on this split EP. Tundrastruck is really just about delivering old school heavy metal done right - and, in that sense, this release is an accurate representation of kick-ass Canadian thrash metal. The EP is over in under fourteen minutes, but after all quality should be put before quantity. Even though a few additional tunes may have helped make this a more complete package, all of the songs here are good enough to justify a purchase anyway.

Tundrastruck's biggest setback is the demo-quality production that plagues all three sections of the split, but it's not problematic enough to keep me from having one hell of a time with this EP. After getting a taste of this excellent sampler, I'll definitely be sure to check out all of these bands and their previous works; this release really spiked my interest. If you like classic thrash/heavy metal and are wondering what's going on in Canada at the moment, this release is a very good purchase. I'd say 3.5 stars are well-deserved for this solid split EP.