Sacred Heart – The Vision (C.D)

The 80s rock and new wave of British Heavy Metal explosion created a lot of successful bands on both sides of the pond be it Iron Maiden, Angelwitch, Def Leppard, Diamond Head etc in the UK or Bon Jovi, Great White, WASP, Skid Row etc in the US.  It also created even more great bands which for one reason or another did not make it.

Sacred Heart are one such band.

Having sadly split up in 1991 after releasing a three track tape called “The Vision” it is very surprising to suddenly find that some 21 years later a full cd would be released containing this classic, highly sort after, recording as well as rare tracks taken from a sampler album which was released by Auburn Records, a “lost” track and tracks from an un-released e.p from guitarist Bryon Nemeth.

Opening tracks “We’ll hold on till tomorrow”, “New Order” and “The Vision” are absolute underground classics easily on par with Angelwitch’s “Angelewitch”, Iron Maiden’s “Remember Tomorrow” or Judas Priest’s “Painkiller” for pure brilliance be it in the superb guitar playing, the great classic sounding vocals or the raw, pure unadulterated power of the track.   You can never go wrong by re-releasing classic missing in action tracks to an unsuspecting public.

“Time After Time” has a great dual guitar attack and reminds me of the “Somewhere In Time“ era Iron Maiden.

“Take Hold” and “Demons Wing” unfortunately takes a different route and feels slightly over produced with its heavy synthesizer sounds, and a more “conservative” almost aor  approach to the songs.

“Selfish” returns to a raw, almost guttural nwobhm feel with an opening riff that screams Lenny Kravitz “Are You Gona Go My Way”.

“The Game”, and “Dreamcatcer” feel strangely out of place with their slow, almost melodic pace and there aor radio friendly tones while “Whats Done is Done” reminds me of recently reformed cult band Salvation mixed with Robin George.

Overall this album is a must buy for all collectors of 80’s rock and nwobhm music and contains some superb tracks unfortunately I feel that the remastering lets them down slightly and leaves them feeling bassey in places.

Highlight of the e.p: “We’ll hold on till tomorrow”

8/10

Track Listing:

1. We’ll hold on till tomorrow;
2. New Order;
3. The Vision;
4. Time after Time;
5. Take Hold;
6. Demon’s Wing;
7. Selfish;
8. The Game;
9. Dreamcatcher;
10. What’s done is done;
11. Slip of the Tongue;

Members:
Byron Nemeth – Guitar
Ed Edwards – Bass
Brian McIntyre – Drums
Keith Van Tassel – Vocals
Mark Herholtz – Guitar

Links:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SacredHeart2012
Web: http://www.byronnemeth.com