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Sacred Steel - Biography


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Biography

For twelve years Sacred Steel have been offering the metalhead a deadly trend-free alternative to blown-up trigger drums, cheesy keyboards and boring cliché sounds which are hyped to be ?the next big thing in metal" year after year. Already with their debut album ?Reborn In Steel" (first ever German band being signed to Metal Blade Records in 1997) the band followed their path, never forgot their roots and emerged their sound! The 2nd album ?Wargods Of Metal" was recorded in 1998 with legendary producer Bill Metoyer (a.o. Slayer, Omen, Sacred Reich) and enjoys a cult status with the metal fans since then. In the year 2000, releasing their third strike "Bloodlust" the band proved its ability to write more matured songs and combining them in an epical concept story. In addition the band acclaimed a high number of fans by intensive touring through all of Europe playing with bands like Nevermore, Wardog, Lefay, Destiny..s End, Nocturnal Rites, Children of Bodom and Primal Fear.

The opener and title track of the following album "Slaughter Prophecy", a brutal metal slasher, could only have one meaning: a clear and definite statement against a whimpy power metal genre with many bands following cheesy keyboards, boring melody hooks, programmed computer drums and happy metal! Where other bands whimped out the sledgehammer still reigned at the Sacred Steel camp! They weren't even afraid to include death metal elements in their sound following some of their faves as Morbid Angel or Death.

The result was an ultra-heavy dark and raw piece of hate being released with great success by their new label Massacre Records. They followed this path, although a little more melodic on album no. 5 "Iron Blessings", which was released in 2004 and got the best reviews in the bands history. After five studio albums it was time to catch the raw intensity of the Sacred Steel live shows, so in early 2006 the Live DVD/double-CD "Live Blessings" proved yet again, that Sacred Steel are a band which does not fit into the usual conventions. No perfectly-set, art-directed performance but a raw, authentic beer and sweat driven show in their hometown Ludwigsburg where you can sometimes not see the band being covered by dozens of stagedivers - that's exactly the ?all for one - one for all" attitude which keeps the band and their fans that close together! The DVD shows the last gigs of the line up, which has not been changed on all albums.

Both founding members and guitarists Jörg M. Knittel and Oli Grosshans decided to leave the band. What first looked like the end of the band turned out into a triumphant rebirth of Sacred Steel. Bassist Jens changed to the guitar and new members Jonas Khalil as new guitarist and Kai Schindelar on bass could be added within a short time! The first result of the new line up "Hammer of Destruction" was released 2006 and is screaming to be worshipped! Following a vinyl-sound intro the infernal title track hammers down everything.

The massive and organic sound was done by nobody less than Harris Johns, who in the past recorded a lot of the bands.. favourites like Saint Vitus, Voivod, Kreator, early Helloween or Tankard and is know for his authentic 80's sound. The high-speed smasher "Maniacs of Speed" was chosen for the band's first ever video clip. Followed by several gigs all over Europe and another tour with their buddies from Morgana Lefay, in 2008 Sacred Steel finished songwriting and the recording for another piece of pure metallic madness to be unleashed in 2009.

(source: http://www.myspace.com/truesacredsteel)