Human Sacrifice is the first studio album by the Christian death and thrash metal band Vengeance Rising. It is the first full length Christian thrash metal album as it was released in 1988. Though controversial, Human Sacrifice and the following album, Once Dead (1990) were huge successes in the world of Christian metal, making Vengeance Rising one of the few bands in the genre to cross over into the secular music scene.

Human Sacrifice is said to be one of the more extreme Christian metal albums that was available in the 1980s.

The lyrics of Human Sacrifice retell several major points of Christ’s ministry: His incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and Second Coming. The band compares the form to that of an opera, with a dramatic beginning, middle, and ending.

Human Sacrifice was recorded in 1988, and released on Intense Records the same year with 1,000 copies. Soon a Dutch band called Vengeance demanded the group to change its name. After renaming itself as “Vengeance Rising”, the band re-released Human Sacrifice with the word “rising” under the logo on cover picture. Causing further issues for the band, some Christians, noting the unusual vocal and musical style, labeled the release as demonic. These issues, along with the cover image which featured the pierced hand of (pastor) Bob Beeman (founder of Sanctuary International) caused the album to be pulled from the shelves of some Christian bookstores.

Roxx Records recently announced a 35th Anniversary release of the classic “Human Sacrifice” album. So stay tuned for more information.

Line-up

Roger Martinez – vocals
Larry Farkas – lead guitar
Doug Thieme – rhythm guitar
Roger Dale Martin – bass
Glenn Mancaruso – drums