The American thrash-metallers, Living Sacrifice need no introduction. The band has been on and off the scene and saw multiple line-up changes throughout its 32 years since formation. Having a solid 8 studio albums to their name, the band was set to release their documentary “30 years of Sacrifice” last year which saw interruptions due to the Covid Pandemic. As I understand, the current album is a re-release of its Self-titled debut album to celebrate the bands 30th Anniversary, which is due to release on the 23rd of April 2021.

Living Sacrifice has been known over the years to be quite experimental of their styles, be it the thrash metal days right at its formation, or to the death metal or the Metalcore sound the band adopted later on. The band’s self-titled debut album often was compared to Slayer, but the band’s third album “Inhabit” received critical acclaim and has been known as the bands heaviest. A number of bands, such as the likes of As I lay dying, Demon Hunter, Saving grace have listed being influenced by Living Sacrifice.

Now that I have my hands on their first album (again), I’d be lucky to relive through their sound and take a course down the memory lane. Often a band’s debut album gives immense insight to what the future holds for the band and helps define their fanbase at the same time. Well, without further ado, let me spin out the first track, “Violence” which starts off with blitzing riff blazing its way through glory. The song captures the true essence of thrash metal genre, with its incessant guitar riffs married to blast beats and the staccato-ish vocals that march on and just gets you to the zone.

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