
Legendary Canadian Thrash Metal band SACRIFICE is finally back with a new album more than 15 years after their last full-length “The Ones I Condemn”. “Volume Six” shows an inspired and hungry Metal band that has no trace of fatigue. Vocalist / guitarist Rob Urbinati called us from Toronto on a rainy Saturday afternoon.
The set you played at the Alcatraz festival in August was your only European concert this year. How did it feel to be there?
“Alcatraz was a really great experience. We had a great time over there. It was honestly one of the best run festivals we have ever done. Everybody in the band said that. We hadn’t played in Europe for quite a while before Alcatraz, so we were kind of excited to go back. We did quite a bit of rehearsals before we got on the plane and came over. The travelling was also kind of easy. We just flew to Iceland, and from there we were off to Belgium. The whole thing went pretty quick and very smooth.’’
I find it somewhat strange why there aren’t any more European festivals putting bands like SACRIFICE on the bill, instead of repeatedly booking the same bands every few years. Especially since SACRIFICE isn’t particularly that expensive to book.
“We love to play in Europe, we wish we could do it more often. We do get offers once and a while to go to festivals in Europe, but a lot of times they’re just not financially feasible for us to do. The guarantee that they offer is not enough to be able to do it. In a lot of cases, we would just be losing money if we would do the show. And so we kind of tend to stick in Canada and the US.”
Your new album “Volume Six” marks a return to the studio after several years. How was the recording process of this album compared to your earlier work?
“We didn’t work on the album as long as you might think. I write quite often when I’m at home. I think that the first track which ended up on the album was written in 2017. In the beginning, we had the plan to do an EP or a mini album. Then the pandemic hit and it became very difficult for us to rehearse. That threw everything off for a little while. When we got back to the rehearsal room and were able to concentrate on it, we just decided to do a full length album. We had enough song material and we were all really happy with the songs, so we just went for it. Sometimes I wondered if we still had any business at this stage of our career to release an album (laughs). I think that’s also because we’re not a touring band and we’re not doing this full time. We do SACRIFICE because we love to do it. I think when music is your profession and you’re out on the road all the time, it just becomes a job and you might lose a bit of the passion for it, I guess. All of us still love playing in this band. “Volume Six” also came out way better than we had hoped.”
The opening track ‘Comatose’ sounds a bit like EXODUS.
“I can relate to that (laughs). Our aim has always been not to have any fillers on an album. ‘Comatose’ is a good choice for the opening track. As a whole, “Volume Six” is an extremely aggressive album. If you’re a fan of SACRIFICE and our old albums and you’re worried that we might have gone in a different direction of whatever… we didn’t (laughs). “Volume Six” has the aggressive SACRIFICE songs which you expect from us. It’s full of aggression. However, at the same time, I don’t think it sounds like a typical album.”
‘Your Hunger For War’ has a striking title. Is that track inspired by specific events or figures?
“I wrote that song after I saw the remake of the movie “All Is Quiet On The Western Front”. It’s about how propaganda sells people on enlisting for causes they really shouldn’t be fighting for. In war, one country is always the aggressor. I kind of wished that in 2025, our society would have developed beyond the need for warfare. I’m really disappointed that our societies are still fighting all these wars. The song is relatable to a lot of conflicts all around the world these days.”
I read a lot of newspapers. However, when you read the headlines these days and you read nonstop about all these conflicts everywhere and see this endless stream of negativity, it’s difficult to keep having a positive outlook on things somehow.
“I totally agree with you. You live in Belgium, I live in Canada. We never really experienced war in our lifetime. When you turn on the television and see what regular people have to go through… Imagine that you have to leave your home and evacuate to a neighbouring country because your country’s at war. It’s pretty hard to imagine what that would be like. Many people are experiencing this nowadays. It’s very difficult to watch. I also feel that social media is not good for society. It feels like it’s more of a propaganda machine. When you read what’s going on there all the time, I don’t think it’s good for anybody.”
‘Incoming Mass Extinction’ has a strong ’80s Hardcore vibe. How did you manage to capture the energy in that track?
“I think we always kind of had that vibe with the band. When we started with SACRIFICE in the early ’80s, there weren’t a lot of bands to play with and so we played with a lot of Hardcore and Punk bands. Those were also the bands we went out to see. Thrash Metal wasn’t a thing yet. We kind of grew up in that scene to some respect. If you look back on our first album “Torment In Fire” and songs like ‘Decapitation’ and ‘Possession’, there’s some Hardcore kind of riffing in there. So that’s always been a part of the band in a way. We also love old ’80s Hardcore, so those influences come from a place we all know very well.”
The instrumental ‘Black Hashish’ has a strong Doom Metal vibe that totally reminds me of TROUBLE.
“Absolutely! I don’t think that many people realize how influential TROUBLE was. I mean, their influence is huge. I can’t remember which album they were supporting when I saw them live for the last time. However, the thing that blew me away at that show was the guitarwork. I mean, their guitarists Rick Wartell and Bruce Franklin were so good. I can’t describe how heavy TROUBLE was live. TROUBLE will always be a ‘top 10’ band for me, maybe even a ‘top 5’ band. Right from their first album, TROUBLE was a huge band for us. When I was writing it, I got to about maybe a quarter of the song when I really got into the hypnotic character of it. It’s also very heavy, and that’s the point where I knew that it was going to be an instrumental song.”
Brian Taylor – a well-known figure in the Canadian Punk and Metal scene – contributes to the Punk like ‘Trapped In A World’. How did that collaboration come about?
“We know Brian already from right from the beginning of the band. SACRIFICE wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without his help. He got us into the studio when we did our first demo and produced our first three albums. He worked at Record Peddler and did a radio show over here. Brian was also part of a Hardcore band named YOUTH YOUTH YOUTH. He was a big part of the early Canadian scene, everybody over here knew who he was. We have always been very close with him. We wanted to record a cover of ‘Trapped In A World – a song by the old Canadian Hardcore band DIRECT ACTION – and so I just called Brian to see if he was interested to do that one together with us. And luckily he agreed. DIRECT ACTION is a pretty obscure band but they’re one of the bands that really influenced me as a kid.”
There’s going to be an extra track included on the CD and on the cassette editions. What can you tell us about this track and why was it reserved for those formats? Is it a re-recording of an older track or maybe ‘World War V’ which has been released on the EP “World War V” two years ago?
“I wish I could tell you, but I’m not sure to be honest (laughs). It could just be ‘Trapped In A World, but I’m not 100% sure. I wish I could help you with that, but I can’t.”
The release of “Volume Six” is being handled by Cursed Blessings Records in the US and is licensed to High Roller Records for Europe. Cursed Blessings Records has released two live albums of SACRIFICE before, as well as the EP “World War V”. As far as I know, those releases are not distributed in Europe. I’d love to buy them but it’s rather impossible to get them over here.
“I assume that you can purchase those releases directly via the website of Cursed Blessings Records. If you reach out to them, I‘m sure that the people who run that website will be able to help you out.”
Sure, but I think the main problem is that those releases are just available in Canada. If you have to order them from Europe and if you have to add shipping and import costs, they cost a fortune.
“Right. We intended those releases to be small run albums. I don’t know if there are any distributors in Europe. I’m just not sure, so I’m afraid I can’t help you out with that to be honest.”
In what way would you say Todd Kowalski’s artwork contributed to the overall vision for “Volume Six”?
“He was the first person that came up when we were talking about the artwork of the album. He was the first person we asked, we just love his artwork. Todd also plays bass in the band PROPAGANDHI, a band that we also really love. I didn’t want to give Todd too much direction. We just sent him the songs and the lyrics and he could do with it whatever he nated. The album is pretty apocalyptic in spots and that also translated into his artwork, I guess.”
A few years ago, a very interesting book about the Canadian Metal scene in the ’80s was published, “Eve Of Darkness”. Looking back on the ’80s, Toronto had a very vibrant Metal scene at the time. There was a radio show that played new tracks from MERCYFUL FATE, EXCITER, TANK and VENOM every Saturday. There was a cool record store – Record Peddler – and a venue – Larry’s Hideaway – that served as a kind of meeting point.
“That’s right. Those were exciting times because everything was just new. We picked up all the underground bands which were coming out. The tape trading scene was still a big thing back then. Record Peddler had all the special records which were imported from Europe. Larry’s Hideaway was a very obscure club. I think we got to see MERCYFUL FATE there when they were touring for the album “Melissa” or “Don’t Break The Oath”. We saw SLAYER play there. We used to play there with SLAUGHTER and RAZOR.”
Would you say that as young teenagers, you had a lot of freedom? Were your parents all okay with the fact that you spent so much time on the band and music?
“I don’t know if our parents were okay with it (laughs). I can imagine that they were a bit worried about where we were hanging out and everything. I mean, a place like Larry’s Hideaway was notorious in Toronto back then. People viewed it as the most disgusting place in the city. However, they had a great sound system over there and all our favourite bands played there, so we didn’t care. We were well below the age limit when we first started going there. When we started to play our first shows with SACRIFICE, I think our parents were maybe proud of us in some way. They saw that we were really going for it.”
There are photos of SACRIFICE from 1986 in “Eve Of Darkness” where some of you are wearing DEATH shirts. Did you meet Chuck Schuldiner when he moved to Canada and played in SLAUGHTER for a while? Or had you already been in contact with him before that?
“I’m pretty sure that at least one of us in the band was already in touch with Chuck before. All of us were into tape trading, we all kind of knew each other. All of us were just trying to get the latest demo of a band like for example POSSESSED. Chuck Schuldiner lived here and was a part of SLAUGHTER for only about three weeks. His stay didn’t last that long because he went home after a while and got DEATH back together. However, we did hang out a bit together. From what I remember, it was in the middle of winter. Chuck was from Florida and I don’t think he was used to the winters we get up here (laughs).”
Did your contact with Chuck influence your perspective on Metal at the time?
“I wouldn’t say that. It’s hard to put you back in that period of time. However, we were all just fans of the music and what was going on at the time. There weren’t that many bands playing the kind of music that we wanted to hear back then. That’s also one of the reasons why we all founded our own bands. Chuck was just one of our friends. We got copies of the demos he recorded with DEATH and we liked it. Chuck also got the demos of SLAUGHTER and SACRIFICE, so that kind of influenced him as well. It was all more of a camaraderie back then.”
In the ’80s, SACRIFICE opened for bands like MEGADETH, KING DIAMOND, POSSESSED, VENOM and SLAYER. Is there a particularly cool story that comes to mind when you think about that time?
“It’s hard to pinpoint one particular thing. It was always cool back in the days to play with for example a band like EXODUS just when “Bonded By Blood” came out and play with KING DIAMOND, MEGADETH and SLAYER. However, one of my coolest memories was probably when we opened for MOTÖRHEAD. When we looked at other musicians, we just looked at them and regarded them as friends. However, MOTÖRHEAD was on a whole other level. They were an iconic band. When I walked past the dressing room of Lemmy, I was like ‘Wohoooow!’ (laughs). I mean, Lemmy was there. He definitely had an aura that none of those other musicians and bands had. He turned out to be a super nice guy as well. When our debut album “Torment In Fire” just came out, we did a festival in Montreal together with VOIVOD, DRI and POSSESSED. That was our first time playing in front of a large crowd. We were still kids, we were probably around 18 years old. I can still remember that we peeked through the curtains and you could see people right from the front up to the back. That feeling was just unforgettable.”
Your drummer Gus Pyn was approached in early 1987 to replace Dave Lombardo who had just left SLAYER at the time. If he had decided to join the band, the future of SACRIFICE would have turned out completely differently.
“Sure (laughs). I can’t remember what exactly happened back then. I think the management of SLAYER put out some feelers to a bunch of different drummers to see if they were interested. I can’t really remember what happened with that whole situation. SLAYER ended up with a few different drummers in the end. It worked out for them, and it worked out for us as well.”
I read in “Eve Of Darkness” that in the early days of SACRIFICE, you occasionally did SLAYER tribute nights where you only played SLAYER songs live. Wasn’t it very challenging to master how to play those songs at such a young age?
“Not really, because that’s how we learned how to play. We learned how to play by learning songs of METALLICA, JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN and SLAYER. You can find tons of tutorials on YouTube nowadays that show you how to play. We just put on an album, listened to a certain riff, learned how to play it and put it all together in the end. When we did those SLAYER tribute shows in the very beginning, that was the only way that we could get a club to let us play. There weren’t a lot of places where we could play. There was this one club which often had weeks where they would only put tribute bands on the bill. We knew a couple of SLAYER songs, and we said that we would do something like that. And so we played a couple of SLAYER songs, but we also added a whole bunch of our own. The people from the club didn’t notice anyway. So it was basically a SACRIFICE show with a few SLAYER songs thrown in between (laughs).”
As a Canadian, it almost seems mandatory to be a fan of the Canadian band RUSH. I assume you’re no exception.
“When you grew up in Canada, there was indeed not a chance that you could escape from RUSH, especially when you’re young. They were on the radio all the time. My older brothers had RUSH records, so I kind of grew up with them. SACRIFICE was influenced by SLAYER and METALLICA in the very beginning, but RUSH has always been there as well. I think there are even certain parts on the new album where you can hear their influence. RUSH kind of ended for me around the album “Signals”. I wasn’t that interested in the band anymore after that. I think some of the other band members saw RUSH on the tour for “Moving Pictures”, but I saw them live for the first time later on.”
Are you familiar with the Dutch Death / Thrash Metal band THANATOS? I’m asking this because they recorded an excellent cover version of the SACRIFICE classic ‘Re-Animation’ a few years ago.
“I know the band and I also heard their cover version. It’s really great. From what I remember that band also goes pretty far back. I’m pretty sure I had their demos back in the days. They’re a great band!”
In the summer of 1993, SACRIFICE did an extensive US tour together with DEATH and GOREFEST. That was the biggest tour the band ever did. What do you still remember about that?
“We travelled through the south of the US back then. I can still remember that it was very hot (laughs). The tour was good, but we also felt that the whole Metal scene was changing a lot, especially when it comes to Thrash Metal. We had done a tour before that together with BOLT THROWER, and I think that DEATH was a much better fit. There were more similarities in our music. GOREFEST was also an excellent band, I still listen to them nowadays. I have a lot of good memories seeing them play. They played every night as if it was their very first show. They were a very good and heavy band, and good people as well. When SACRIFICE and DEATH came out in the very beginning, there weren’t as many subgenres as there are today. I don’t think that the term Thrash Metal was even invented yet. When we did that tour with DEATH, it was the first time that we felt that the band wasn’t going up anymore. We felt that it was kind of the beginning of the end, I think. Extreme Death Metal was taking over from Thrash Metal. Bands like SACRIFICE were kind of left behind by these newer bands. Bands were seeing METALLICA becoming huge. Everybody wanted a piece of that pie and forgot why we were all doing this kind of music in the first place.”
When you listen to the old SACRIFICE albums, it’s striking how well they’ve stood the test of time and how unique their sound is. Those albums still sound as if they were just recently released.
“Thank you! You know, SACRIFICE was always described as the Canadian answer to SLAYER back then. That was okay, I guess, as there weren’t that many bands out there to compare us to. However, if you listen to our albums nowadays, they don’t sound that much as SLAYER (laughs).”
“Volume Six” will be released at the end of January 2025. What’s next on your agenda? Are there plans for a European or worldwide tour to promote the new album?
“No, I think we’ll just do some shows here and there. We’re not able to do a full scale worldwide tour. We’ll do some festivals and that kind of thing. For the past few years, we’ve only been doing like three or four shows per year. We might take that up a bit and do a few more shows in 2025. As much as we like to go on tour, we all have our own lives. SACRIFICE isn’t our job and we also don’t have any aspiration to turn the band into our job at this stage in our lives. However, like I said before, we do love doing it still. I think that the fact that we don’t do this full time is what keeps our hearts in the right place. I feel a bit uncomfortable when people call “Volume Six” our comeback album. We’ve been around for a long time and still do some shows here and there. However, we made “Volume Six” because we still love doing it. We had a bunch of songs we wanted the people to hear and that’s where we stand, I think.”
A European tour together with RAZOR, VOIVOD and EXCITER is still something like a dream for many fans in Europe.
“We would love to do something like that and we have talked to RAZOR about doing something like this quite often. Such a bill would be the ultimate for all of us, I think. Talk to the people who organise all the festivals in Europe and just see what could happen (laughs).”
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Live pics: Derek Carr / Visions in Pixels
Interview: Steven Willems