SACRED REICH — Heal (review)

SACRED REICH — Heal album cover Album · 1996 · Groove Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
UMUR
"Heal" is the 4th full-length studio album by US, Arizona based thrash metal act Sacred Reich. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in February 1996. It´s the successor to "Independent" from 1993 and features the same four-piece lineup who recorded the predecessor. Drummer Dave McClain would leave the band in 1997 to join Machine Head, and although Sacred Reich remained active for a couple of years with a returning Greg Hall on the drums, they went into a hiatus from 2000-2006 and it wasn´t until 2019 that they would release a new studio album again.

"Independent (1993)" was quite the big change in sound from "The American Way (1990)", but there haven´t been a similar drastic change in sound between "Independent (1993)" and "Heal", as the latter pretty much continues the groove/heavy metal sound of the former. The songwriting has taken a dip in quality though, and there aren´t that many memorable tracks featured on the album. The fast-paced album opener "Blue Suit, Brown Shirt" is for example a completely forgettable track. To my ears the title track is one of the few tracks on "Heal" which reaches the quality of the songwriting on "Independent (1993)" (which was also a bit uneven in quality). "Heal" features a fairly well sounding production, which suits the material well.

Sacred Reich are as always a well playing act, and lead vocalist/bassist Phil Rind has a unique voice and vocal style (the Jeff Bridges of heavy metal). That fortunately saves a lot for Sacred Reich, because upon conclusion "Heal" isn´t the most interesting release by the band. They occasionally shine and they definitely have an easily recognisable sound (which is always a plus), but I can´t justify more than a 3 star (60%) rating.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Rot Stink Rip Death Metal
TOMBSTONER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Human Rosin Melodic Metalcore
HATE BREEDER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Through The Hell Hardcore Punk
ENEMY 906
Buy this album from MMA partners
Lightmatter: Rebirth Deathcore
EARTHGAZER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Eye Of Horus (Lightmatter EP Pt. 2) Deathcore
EARTHGAZER
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Agremorta - Adrocitas (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 5 days ago
Agremorta - Ploratus Umbra (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 5 days ago
Agremorta - Vertex Membrana (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 5 days ago
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR - The Temple Of Curved Space (Official Track Stream)
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR
adg211288· 5 days ago
In Sulfur - The Gate (OFFICIAL VIDEO) 2022
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 6 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed