Wednesday, 24 December 2008

SACRED WARRIOR - REBELLION - 1988 / DISCOGRAPHY / BIOGRAPHY / REVIEW
















THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(14-TRACKS)
1-BLACK METAL
2-MAD,MAD WORLD
3-STAY AWAY FROM EVIL
4-HE DIED
5-CHIDREN OF THE LIGHT
6-REBELLION
7-DAY OF THE LORD
8-THE HEAVEN'S ARE CALLING
9-FAMINE
10-MASTER OF LIES
11-SWORD OF VICTORY
CREDIT:
Rey Parra - Vocals
Bruce Swift - Guitars
Steve Watkins - Bass
Tony Velasquez - Drums
Rick Macias - Keyboards
SACRED WARRIOR-MASTER'S COMMAND-1989
















THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(11-TRACKS)
1-MASTER'S COMMAND
2-BEYOUND THE MOUNTAIN
3-EVIL LURKS
4-BOUND IN CHAINS
5-UNFAILING LOVE
6-PARADISE
7-UNCONTROLLED
8-MANY WILL COME
9-ONWARD WARRIORS
10-THE FLOOD
11-HOLY,HOLY,HOLY
Rey Parra - Vocals
Bruce Swift - Guitars
Steve Watkins - Bass
Tony Velasquez - Drums
Rick Macias - Keyboards
Roger Martinez-Guest appearence(Vocals on "The Flood").
SACRED WARRIOR-WICKED GENERATION-1990
















THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(10-TRACKS)
1-NO HAPPY ENDINGS
2-LITTLE SECRETS
3-STANDING FREE
4-ARE YOU READY
5-MINISTER BY NIGHT
6-MISS LINDA
7-IN THE NIGHT
8-WARRIORS
9-WICKED GENERATION
10-WAR TORN HERO
Rey Parra - Vocals
Bruce Swift - Guitars
Steve Watkins - Bass
Tony Velasquez - Drums
Rick Macias - Keyboards.
SACRED WARRIOR-OBSESSIONS-1991
















THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(9-TRACKS)
1-WINGS OF A DREAM
2-SWEET MEMORIES
3-TURNING BACK
4-OBSESSIONS
5-KAMAKAZI
6-REMEMBER ME
7-FIRE FROM HEAVEN
8-TEMPLES OF FIRE
9-MAD MAN
CREDITS:
Rey Parra -Vocals
Tony Velazquez -Drums
Bruce Swift -Duitars
John Johnson -Guitars
Steve Watkins -Bass,Keyboards
SACRED WARRIOR-DEMO 2001
















THIS DEMO CONTAIN(5-TRACKS)
1-COME SAVE THE DAY
2-COME ON
3-DAY BY DAY
4-PRINCE OF PEACE
5-DRAW MW CLOSER













REVIEW FOR THE ALBUM REBELLION:Imagine: Guitars that blaze with no reserve, while at the same time keeping the good riffs alive. Drums that stay simple but never let up. Skillful, reverberated vocals that melt steel(e). That certain air about an album that makes the discerned listener think "80's!" and throw up the horns instinctively.... These things were part of a style of metal that's now considered stale, untalented, retro, and anything else of the like to many people, shamefully many who are serious fans of metal. The style is straight up meat-and-potatoes heavy metal with no frills and no apologies. A forgotten flag proudly carried in the past by bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Accept, Queensryche, Saint, W.A.S.P., Stormwitch, Fifth Angel....and Sacred Warrior. Make no mistake, Sacred Warrior's debut, Rebellion, is not black metal, death metal, technical progressive algebra metal, beach metal, astral techno Jupiter moon metal, carpenter metal, symphonic metal, core-metal, coffee mug metal, or anything else except guitar heavy, scream filled, in your face American traditional/power metal in the vein of the masters. In other words, this 1988 album serves as a great reminder of just why most metal fans got into metal in the first place. The songs here are simple, but extremely hooky, and always chock full of ultra great, over the top guitar playing and singing. There'll be no sheep heads flying off the stage, no deep nihilisticmisanthropic whitebread message, no 'artful' avante garde snobbiness, no crap at all to be found. What there will be is a lot of banging of head due to the solid songwriting to be found here and trying to sing along with vocalist Rey Parra, a criminally overlooked belter in the style of Geoff Tate and Michael Kiske who can easily hold his own with the giants. Although there is a bit of variation in the overall quality of the songs on Rebellion, there are no real weak ones at all. There is a silly moment or two, such as in the opener, Black Metal - which doesn't seem to have a single thing to do with black metal at all, but does have a good line or two denouncing conformity within metal ('You try so hard to be like everyone else'). A weak melody here and there is also present, but Rey Parra's signature vibrato-drenched screams at the end close it off on a good note. Aside from the B-grade opener every single song is a winner, with some more obvious highlights in some places. Roughly half the album can be classified in the latter group, starting with the third song, Mad, Mad World. This song is simply an unbelievable piece of hard rock influenced, galloping heavy metal. The vocal layering in the chorus is enough to make the song amazing on it's own, but there's also the shredding of guitarist Bruce Swift (easily one of the most underrated metal guitarists), the sledgehammer headbanging part after the second chorus, and some extra virtuosoic Vocal Work by Parra after the solo.. the man can almost be seen red-faced, singing so hard his vocal cords are sticking out of his throat. Even the lyrics (which speak out about the deceptive and superficial nature of society) are pretty great, which is a good thing. Not that the content itself of the album is bad - there are a lot of uplifting messages of encouragement (Children of the Light, title track), Warning (Master of Lies,And "Stay Away from Evil", and glorification of Jesus Christ (every song). The band's lyric writing ability is simply somewhat pedestrian on this album, so while there is always at least one good line to be found, overall the lyrics are almost too simple and minimalistic. Thankfully, however, they never get awkward or silly, except for a little bit in the aforementioned Black Metal, with the chorus sporting the line, 'Long hair, parted between the eyes/Silk pants, wrapped tight round your thighs/Each day goes by, you're living a dream'. Yes, there's no questioning that it was 1988...Going back to the rest of the songs, not each song is the best of them, but every song has at least one great defining moment in it (usually the chorus) that really helps make the song, which is why Rebellion is such a solid album. Then, some songs are just top quality, such as Mad, "Mad World" , "Stay Away From Evil", which is a shorter song but has some good riffwork and one of the more infectious choruses to be found, Famine, a mid paced song that harkens directly back to Number of the Beast/Piece of Mind era Iron Maiden and features Rey Parra doing his very best Geoff Tate impersonation, and The Heavens are Calling, another galloper with some fiery solos and more catchy vocal work. The interesting thing about the chorus vocals on this album - like on The Heavens are Calling - is that many times instead of singing different verses with a set melody, there will be only one or two actual lines in the chorus, but introduced by 'general' vocalizations, like a 'Whooaaa, ohh ohhh', which helps give Rebellion a refreshing flair. There is also Children of the Light and Master of Lies, both excellent speed metal songs with big chorus hooks carried by Parra's huge vocal range and Bruce Swift laying down riff after riff and solo after solo. On a small negative note, the drums sound a bit odd on the faster songs - that's not to say that Tony Velazquez does a bad job behind the drumkit, but the drums just seem to be more engineered for the more midpaced, anthemic songs, and so when there's double bass pounding, the drum triggers stick out like a sore thumb. Of course, it could just be chalked up as part of the album's charm depending on your opinion. The rest of the songs could be considered average, but not filler, which is important when an album has only 11 songs or under. Regardless, there's still something incredibly cool about each one, like the big riff/solo set in the closer, Sword of Victory. Rebellion is the kind of album everybody who enjoys metal should have at least a few of. There's nothing exactly like being refreshed with straight up well played heavy metal and that's what Sacred Warrior plays best. I've heard three of their four albums (not Wicked Generation, but heard the songs that made it on to Classics). Unlike most people, Rebellion is my Second favorite album, due to its sheer raw energy, freshness, spontaneity and passion. The band that I thought of when I first heard this cd in 1998 was Iron Maiden, as they both play progressive technical power metal. Both have shocking intensity, great musicianship, and fine melodies especially in the choruses. There is a huge variation on this disc, ranging from midpaced power anthems such as Mad Mad World (my favorite song on the album) to a power ballad about the sacrificial death of Jesus (He Died) to well-executed speed metal "Children of the Light". The vocalist Ray Parra has a strong voice with a great range. He reminds me of Bruce Dickinson of Maiden. His voice perfectly compliments the music. The guitar solos here, especially on the first two songs, Black Metal and Mad Mad World, are full of passion and they are really great. The guitar solos bring back memories of Dave Murray/ Adrian Smith's solos on those classic Maiden albums of the early 1980s. Absolutely beyond comparison. Until I heard this album, I thought I would never hear guitar solos like that again. The solos fit in perfectly with the mood of the songs here, and are not just a show-off exercise. They are about the best guitar solos I've heard in metal. All in all, a brilliant album. The lyrics are boldly and openly Christian, but they are not condescending or irritating, just heartfelt. This album is recommended for fans of melodic power metal, such as Iron Maiden, early Rainbow and Dio. The follow-up album Masters Command is also great, so its worth getting the 2-in-1 cd of Rebellion/ Masters Command re-released by KMG Records in 1998. To the band, thanks for your music and ministry. U guys rocked. U gutys blessed me. Thanks for ur dedication, commitment and professionalism as evident in four great albums that stood the test of time, and blessed a lot of people.













Sacred Warrior played melodic, slightly progressive Heavy Metal, often quite reminiscent of mid-period Queensryche, a comparison that the band considered a Compliment. They broke up some time around 1993, and then reformed at least temporarily in 2000. They recorded a retro-night with MS in 2001. There was alsotalk about a new album sometime in the future, but no clear plans are known today..Although I am a Stryper fan, I think this was the greatest Christian Metal CD ever!! Take Iron Maiden & mix it with Queensryche & you have Sacred Warrior. Even if you are not a Christian you will love this cd. They were truely the best musicians in Christian Metal. This cd is getting harder & harder to find so get it before it gone. Stand out songs are: Mad Man, Obsessions, Temples On Fire, Fire From Heaven & Wings Of A Dream,There was a period of a few years in the late 80's and early 90's when Christian Hard Rock and Heavy Metal finally got the production quality the message deserved. As a result bands that were talented, but sounded like garage bands because of "less than top notch" production finally got to explode on tape they way they always did live. Sacred Warrior was one of those bands. This isn't just a fantastic Christian Hard Rock album. It's just a plain old fantastic hard rock album. Of course, this came out right after Kurt Cobain arrived on the scene to effectively kill everything that came before him so this never got the chance it deserved. This belongs in every Christian headbanger's collection. Power riffs galore and a twin guitar attack this still sounds good. If these guys came back I think they would have a shot in the power metal world with modern production values added. In the Barren Cross/Maiden style with the singer being a higher tenor then those two bands, a very worthy addition to you collection. I am looking for someone age 32 to 42 to email about classic and new christian music. What it meant and means to you. styles with even one of the most beautiful ballads ever created in "Unfailing Love" with a good mix of "Jesus Praising" and issue oriented lyrics. The production is very clear but not really in your face sonically nor is it too low or muddied up like the majority of Christian metal releases either. Rey Parra truely sings his heart out on this one and doesn't sound forced unlike later releases. I would say more but this album still leaves me speechless after all these years.http://robertigno.webs.com/.








As ever, I always have this dilemma with hi-jacked music, which this heavy Christian metal unashamedly is. It's the same for me and my Christian friends who occasionally get together and successfully hi-jack, to murder,the uncoverable hits of Cochran, Holly and Perkins. And when we let our hair down, we're not even singing about Jesus. Is it perhaps that heavy metal is so overtly occult that we question the style of music more? Jean, one of the Ichthus' Church's wonderful office staff, was quite upset when I played just a few bars of straightforward rockablues on Graham Ken­drick's economy upright piano. If that was the devil's music, I wouldn't sent her 'Master's Command', by this highly accomplished Californian outfit. She'd not be blessed. Does it or does it not bring glory to the Father God? It will only be when Jesus returns that this will truly be revealed. If the Lord Jesus is the band's Executive Producer, as the boys claim He is,Everyone can sleep easy. For the uninitiated, Sacred Warrior is the Kingdom's answer to Marhlliasnake-DC. A rather exotic blend, harking back to some of the experiments of vintage Be Bop Deluxe. Musicianship and production are both excellent. Well, if Jesus is Exec. Producer, it could hardly be anything else. It was especially good to hear a standard of percussion exceed­ing the best we have over here - with the odd notable excep­tion. I've not heard paradiddles and flambs executed as well as Tony Velasquez manages them for many a long year. And he does them at three times the speed. All tracks standard H.M. sound and voice. The Kendrick "Holy, Holy, Holy", last track on the album, was the best for my money. The chords, phrasing and harmonies being superbly compatible with this band's style, even if Jean would throw a wobbly.Possibly my favourite metal band currently recording. This is another tough set full of declamatory vocals, ear-scorching axe licks that definitely take no prisoners, and lyrics that eschew rabid fundamentalist sloganeering in favour of thought provoking looks at the bitter reality of life without God. Here are songs about fortune tellers with crystal balls and no answers, spiritual warfare (of course) and a searing song "Little Secrets" which poignantly speaks of child abuse. One for every metal h.Their 'Wicked Generation' was, to these decibel-battered ears, a white metal classic and this doesn't quite match that album's punch and authority. Several of the songs focus on those distractions and sins that would separate us from fellowship with God. Ray Parra's voice roars and soars over crunching axes and though you've heard many of the licks before, this is still an album 'Metal Direct will be able to sell by the boxful. While Stryper got a lot of buzz -- and, grief -- as a Christian rock band, there were other groups out there. Sacred Warrior is one of those from the late '80's. Sounding like Iron Maiden, they thrash out good heavy metal tunes: Hooks, riffs, operatic vocals, and all! The lyrics are explicitly Christian with no apologies. The production is very clear and crisp. The lead singer's voice strains a tad on the higher notes of the scale, but only strains, never breaks. The guitar work is simply great as are the drums. They obviously put effort into their technique. Unfortunately, the band broke up after 4 releases. So, you're getting half the group's work with this 2-CD set. My only criticism would be that the liner notes are very sparse. A great intro to a little known band that could rock the house down for Jesus! .If you like Queensryche, Steve Vai, Stryper, or other melodic classic metel, you will love this cd. It's heavy with strong vocals, and fast grinding guitar are now finally being regarded as part of the history of Rock and Roll in the U.S. Sacred Warrior was one of the most under-rated of these, never truly rising to the popularity they should have, but with some of the best metel I've every heard. GETIT if your head still bangs at the rythem of two guitars whaling off each other likeMichael Sweet and Oz Fox, and the guys from Sacred Warrior do so well(http://www.holymetalrob.com/)

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