Sacrilege
Behind The Realms of Madness
2024 Radiation Reissues

Having played with the likes of influential movers and shakers on the anarcho-punk scene Antisect and Icons of Filth, on their first full-length LP, Birmingham's Sacrilege established themselves as a unique force to be reckoned with, wreaking havoc on what could be classified as sonic tropes belonging to a spectrum of subgenres dealing in the extremes: hardcore, doom, and thrash. Fronted by Lynda 'Tam' Simpson and her seizure-inducing spells injected with a fierce, sociopolitical-cum-mythopoeic banshee bite (but not wanting to understate the line-up of Damian Thompson on guillotine-quick/milkshake thick guitars) -- the six-track onslaught is every bit as crushing as the title suggests. From depraved dungeon synth-scapes on opener Lifeline to the planet-flattening funeral toll of "The Closing Irony," one question remains: One riff to rule them all? Yes.