Tonight, Glasgow’s Cathouse Rock Club plays host to Thrash Metal heavy weights, ‘Sacred Reich’. The band have left the warm climate of Phoenix Arizona to embark upon a 28-day European tour and are on the road to promote their new album ‘Awakening’.
The Cathouse is a staple in the musical diet of Glaswegians and as I queue up outside along with a growing chain of fans, I notice frontman Phil Rind making his way to the tour bus, stopping on the way, taking time to shake hands of fans. Rind is beaming and looks in good spirits, he smiles at me and says hi as he walks past. Straight away this sets the tone for this evening’s entertainment. Yeah, tonight was going to be fun!
First on the bill for tonight are ‘Catalysis’ who hail from Dundee, Scotland. Formed in late 2016, the band have been working on material for their first full length album. Tonight, is a great stage for them to play their music to a wide audience. The 4-piece played exceptionally well and I’m sure they would have picked up some new fans at the show. I was pleased to see the lighting was pretty good for the opening support. Unfortunately, the good lighting did not last and got worse with each band!
It was an exciting treat to see ‘Night Demon’ on the bill tonight. The three-piece from Ventura California harness the sound of good old-fashioned Heavy Metal. They dip their toes into various sub genres and don’t stick to just one. They play thrashy speed metal and can spin on their heels and knock out a slow ballad; always melodic and pitch perfect. The lighting dipped with minimal lights illuminating the band. The occasional colour flash from behind offered a silhouetted glimpse of them with only a few opportunities to see them illuminated from the front.
Now…the moment we had all been waiting for! Sacred Reich took to the stage and the crowd showed their love. Rindplayed up to the fans and offered much in the way of witty banter. These four dudes did what they do best, they knocked out some old classics and also played new songs from ‘The Awakening’. It’s refreshing to report that the new songs are every bit as good as their old ones. The future of ‘REAL’Thrash Metal is safe and in the hands of Sacred Reich. These guys have not deviated from the soul of the music they love. They have stuck to the format of making and playing good music. Their performance was inspiring and invigorating. However, the lighting really failed here, and the band played mostly in darkness. I don’t know what the ideas was, but darkness does not create ambience! The insufficient lighting was disappointing and extremely hard to shoot photos in. The overall atmosphere however, helped to make this a truly memorable show.
Sacred Reich- Night Demon- Catalysis
Glasgow Cathouse Rock Club
30.11.19
Sacred Reich are on tour across Europe. Go check them out. Awakening is available to download now. Check out Metal Blade Records at www.metalblade.com
Review &photography by Steven Scouller
