Sacrilege is one of those bands from the mid-80’s that I recall somewhat fondly from my distant youth. I do remember the band having a female singer called Lynda Simpson who lacked a lot of technical proficiency in her vocals, but had a pretty hardcore thrash/punk style that seemed to fit the bill. The band wasn’t overly impressive as a whole, but for the type of stripped-down thrash they were going for it worked out decently. Reaping the Demo(n)s collects the band’s demo work and has some live tracks and rehearsals thrown in for good measure.

The usual cash-grab with a CD like this is evident if you’re Van Halen or Pantera; milk it for all it's worth. However, for a band like Sacrilege, they get a slight pass in that the overall collective of the output remains largely unnoticed by the mass milieu of fans. For those in the know, that remember Sacrilege from way back and down under, these demos provide a look into the process of making such albums as Within the Prophecy or Turn Back Trilobite. What also sets these demos apart is the much higher sound quality than I anticipated for a batch of demos some 25 years old. The rawness of Sacrilege is still as vital now as it was back in the day and the demo versions of some of these songs are actually equal to, if not better than some of the released studio tracks. “Spirit Cry” from the Demo 4 is just as blistering a version as “Insurrection”, which kicks off the Demo 3 offering. Simpson’s vocals have an edge that crosses her somewhere between Terry O’Leary of Leather Angel and Leather Leone of Chastain fame, though much punkier in style. She won’t give Doro Pesch any runs for her money, but the balance of melody definitely gives her the edge of the aforementioned O’Leary. There's some great ‘lost’ music on these two CDs and any fan of this era of thrash metal would most likely get a kick out of hearing a well above-average Great Britain band shred some tunes.      

Upon listening to these demos, some of which I’ve heard many years back by benefit of underground tape trading, there’s still a freshness to the music that time hasn’t erased. I like Simpson’s voice, despite its lack of polish or total originality, and it causes enough of a stir to be memorable enough to include her in the small, yet vital underground of female metal vocalists. As the CDs go on the quality lessens a bit, but not enough to kill the overall feel and importance of an otherwise historical document. The live tracks are pretty decent soundboards from Leeds on March 5, 1986 and at Rich Bitch Studios in September of ’87; they capture the essence of Sacrilege in the live setting and showcase Simpson’s not-so-subdued delivery taken up a few notches. For the fan of the good ol’ days, this is a set to seek out.

TRACK LISTING

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*Comments:

Release Date: February 18, 2010
Label: Xtreem Music

Sacrilege - Reaping the Demo(n)s

Reviewer: Chris

April 7, 2011

DISC 1:
1.  Search Eternal
2.  The Fear Within
3.  Winds of Vengeance
4.  Spirit Cry
5.  Insurrection
6.  Flight of the Nazgul
7.  Sight of the Wise
8.  The Captive
9.  A Violation of Something
     Sacred (Dub Mix)
10.  Stark Reality
11.  Bloodrun
12.  A Violation of Something
       Sacred
13.  Out of Sight, Out of Mind
14.  Apartheid
15.  Bloodlust
16.  Dig your Own Grave
17.  Blind Acceptance

DISC 2:
1.  Sight of the Wise
2.  The Closing Irony
3.  A Violation of Something Sacred
4.  Flight of the Nazgul
5.  Out of Sight, Out of Mind
6.  At Death's Door
7.  The Captive
8.  Lifeline
9.  Bloodrun
10.  Shadow from Mordor
11.  The Captive
12.  Winds of Vengeance
13.  Spirit Cry
14.  Key to Nirvana
15.  Out of Sight, Out of Mind
16.  Awaken

Total playing time:  02:31:47