Reviewed by: Jeff de los Santos
25 years after their first album “Rebellion” was released and 22 years after their last album “Obsessions”, Sacred Warrior (SW) has returned with “Waiting in Darkness”.
Since their previous release, Rick Macias – SW’s original keyboardist – has gone home to the Lord and Rey Parra – SW’s lead vocalist – has gone to form Worldview with the alums of Recon. Nevertheless, Sacred Warrior’s Tony Velasquez (drums), Steve Watkins (bass), Bruce Swift (guitar), Joe Petit (keyboard) along with new vocalist Eli Prinsen (The Sacrificed) have put together an amazing album with nine new songs and two classic SW songs revamped.
One thing that you’ll first noticed about Waiting in Darkness is that while there are some underlying sounds from previous albums, the music is updated and fresh – bombastic at times. Another thing to notice is that Eli is using his lower register in some of the songs, like in the opening track “Desperately Wicked”. This adds a depth to the music that isn’t expected. In addition, some of Bruce’s guitar work is amazing, like the opening for the self-titled track “Waiting in Darkness” (video posted below). Tony also pulls off some great smashing and bashing on the drums, which gives the album the bombastic feel.
There are two slower songs “Fallen Hero” and “Jealous Love”, which have emotional depth and haunting melodies that are very similar to the classic SW tune “He Died” from their Rebellion album. The song “Long Live The King” really shows how tight the band has become and how well they all work together. The way the drums, bass, keys, guitar and vocals all work is simply magnificent.
Lastly, the revamped songs, “Day of the Lord” and “Temples on Fire”, are solid. The updated version of “Day of the Lord” is much beefier than the original and “Temples on Fire” is completely re-energized. This is a classic Sacred Warrior that has brought their sound while also keeping it fresh.
website// www.sacredwarrior.net/
facebook// www.facebook.com/sacred-warrior
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Sacred Warrior – Waiting In Darkness [Official Video]