Even before the release of their debut album, Road to Bloodshed, Asheville, NC metal quartet Sanctity earned respect and recognition from two generations of heavy metal royalty. First, Trivium frontman Matthew K. Heafy saw Sanctity and was so blown-away that he helped get them a record deal. Then, Megadeth's Dave Mustaine caught Sanctity's performance during a show with DragonForce and immediately offered them a vaunted spot on the second outing of his Gigantour festival. "He came backstage and asked us personally to do the show," drummer Jeremy London recalls. "That was such a huge honor because we all love Megadeth and Dave has been one of our idols all of our lives." It's easy to see why the top names in metal are going to bat for Sanctity. Road to Bloodshed, the band's debut, is a blistering blend of technical thrash and old-school metal powered with plenty of attitude and grit. Filled with steely, staccato guitars, trampling beats and roaring vocals, the songs marry complex arrangements and musicianship with granite-heavy grooves and unforgettable hooks. "We all grew up listening to Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Pantera, and no one's really playing music in that classic thrash style anymore," London says. "But at the same time, we like to write songs that aren't dated and will stand the test of time."
In an increasingly lethargic music scene, Road to Bloodshed is a shot of adrenaline and a bold etching in the pages of metal history. Fan-favorites "Beneath The Machine" and "Zeppo" feature harsh, tuneful vocals backed by a fast, crunchy guitar rhythm, hammering beats and melodic leads. "Seconds" starts with singer Jared MacEachern crooning "Your life is ending seconds at a time" before launching into a violently surging medley of frantic drums and guitar. Then the band goes into "Billy Seals," which follows a symphonic intro with an electronic rhythm that has machine-gun ferocity and timeless thrash riffage. "Everything we do is a collaborative effort," London explains about how the diverse songs coalesce. "Usually [guitarist] Zeff [Childress] will come up with a riff, and then he and I will work the song out a bit. Then Jared will come in and help shape it and give it a dynamic voice."
"Most of the vocals require a real aggressive style, but we definitely have our melodic side, too," MacEachern adds. "I sang in church choir between the ages of 5 and 13, so I try to put some of that in there as well." One reason Sanctity sound so tight and in tune is because Childress and London have been friends since they met in their first grade class. Over the years, they jammed together, then started a band in the seventh grade. Individually, they bounced from band to band playing a variety of styles until they were sophomores in high school. They decided to play together again and make music they were actually proud of. "I was in this southern rock band I was really sick of, so Zeff and I decided to start playing metal," recalls London. "I was playing bass at the time, and he had me switch to drums." For the next two and a half years, Sanctity went through several vocalists and bassists and played numerous local shows. But the turning point came when MacEachern saw one of their gigs at his college.
"I was blown away instantly," he says. "They were really exciting to watch and I started really getting into it, so I jumped onstage and did "Creeping Death" by Metallica with them, and there was this instant connection. Right after the show they said, 'Hey, we need a singer. Wanna come by practice and try out?' So I dropped out of college and joined the band."
Sanctity wrote a batch of songs, self-released a pair of EPs and toured exhaustively, playing 190 shows in 2005 alone. At one of the concerts, they shared a bill with Trivium and Fear Factory, and before they went on, they asked the guys in Trivium to check them out for some constructive criticism. Fortunately there was little to criticize and Trivium were way more than constructive.
"We've really liked those guys since their first album, so their feedback meant a lot," London says. Heafy recommended us to Monte Conner at Roadrunner. Monte gave us a call and we sent him our two EPs and we put a live DVD together." Conner liked what he heard and asked Sanctity to write some new songs and record him a high-quality demo. London called Heafy, who turned them on to Trivium's producer Jason Suecof.
"We did a big benefit show to raise the money to record the demo," London says. "600 people showed up. For the other half of the money, we took a loan out, so we went in with Jason and did "Zeppo," "Seconds" and "Lost to Ego" and sent them back to Monte. "He really liked the songs, but he said he wanted to hear more to see where our music was going. We then went back to the studio with Jason to do four more songs." Those tracks, "Road to Bloodshed," "Once Again," "Brotherhood Of Destruction" and "Billy Seals" demonstrated real musical growth and proved Sanctity could continually deliver the goods. Seeing that, Conner flew out to see them live, then signed them to the label.
With a deal in hand, Sanctity returned to Suecof's studio in Sanford, Florida to finish writing their first full album. Along the way, they lost their bassist and re-hired Derek Anderson who had filled in previously, but that's not what locked the band's creative brakes for nearly a month. "We were just working so hard to write songs and were really working against ourselves because we were trying so hard," MacEachern says. "So we took a week off and relaxed and let the music do what it does on its own. And from there everything went really smoothly." With the songs for Road to Bloodshed finally written, Sanctity went back into the studio with Suecof in high spirits. "It was so easy and so much fun," London says. "Jason really brings out the best in everybody. He has a good ear and can hone in on the small things that might need to be changed. I tracked 14 songs in 12 hours and Derek did his bass parts in three hours. The guitars and vocals took a little longer, but in comparison to other bands, we worked really fast and had a great time." "It's our first record and I'm super excited about it," says McEachern. "But I'm looking ahead and I can't wait to do our second, third and fourth record. I look at this all as the beginning of an amazing process that I've been waiting for my whole life."
From the acrobatic beats and squealing guitar harmonics of "Road to Bloodshed" to the off-time riffing and abrupt bursts of "Brotherhood Of Destruction," Sanctity have tapped into something equally virulent, vibrant and relevant and created the kind of album that causes chills from the first to the 100th time you listen to it. Sanctity may consider bands like Megadeth, Slayer, and Metallica to be primary points of influence, but ten years from now, a new generation of bands could easily be getting the same type of inspiration from Road to Bloodshed and the many Sanctity offerings to follow.
12/02/2008 - TRIVIUM, SANCTITY & CALIBAN FEATURE ON KWARI GAME TRIVIUM, CALIBAN and SANCTITY all feature on new online shoot-em-up sensation KWARI! The free to download online shoot em up is a bit like playing ... 12/02/2008 - ROADRAGE 2007 - THE RETURN If you cast your maind back to last year, you will remember that we released another in the series of ROADRAGE DVD's, featuring a plethora ... 12/02/2008 - SANCTITY GET CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE When North Caroliner thrachers SANCTITY hit the UK at the tail end of last year, CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE caught up with guitarist ZEFF and ... 12/02/2008 - SANCTITY Gets 'Killed Off' By MarisTheGreat.com MarisTheGreat.com, the web site which publishes interviews with bands along with disturbing pictures of the musicians who, for all intents and purposes, appear dead, recently ... 12/02/2008 - ROBB FLYNN UPDATES DIARY Robb Flynn has updated the Machine Head diary, we've got the first half for you to read right here. "AwwwwwwwwwwwwwWWWW yeah! Well, well, well, my beer ... 12/02/2008 - WIN SIGNED SANCTITY PROMO SAMPLERS FROM ROCKOUND Rock-sound.net are running a competition to win 5 signed copies of 'Road To Bloodshed. Click here to enter. Make sure you check them out on tour ... 12/02/2008 - SANCTITY 'BELOVED KILLER' VIDEO Sanctity's killer video for "Beloved Killer" from their killer album Road to Bloodshed has been added to the website. Make sure you got to the video section ... 12/02/2008 - MACHINE HEAD LIVE VIDEO WITH REPLACEMENT BASSIST The first video footage has surfaced of MACHINE HEAD performing with temporary bassist Brandon Sigmund from fellow San Francisco Bay Area metal band HOSTILITY. A ... 12/02/2008 - MACHINE TURN AGAINST DISNEY Fan-filmed video footage of MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn's anti-Disney speech during the introduction to the song "Aesthetics of Hate" at Club Firestone in Orlando, ... 12/02/2008 - ROCKWORLD.TV RUNNING DOWNLOAD 2007 INTERVIEWS This coming friday Rockworld.tv are running unseen interviews with a host of Roadrunner bands. Read their press release below for more info: Coming this weekend ... 12/02/2008 - 10 MINUTE VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH MACHINE HEAD A 10-minute video interview with MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn conducted by VidDREAM during the band's spring 2007 tour with HEAVEN AND HELL can be ... 12/02/2008 - DISNEY FORCES MACHINE HEAD CANCELLATION In a stunning last-minute move, Walt Disney Properties have pressured promoter Live Nation into canceling Machine Head's performance tomorrow night at the House of Blues ... 12/02/2008 - SANCTITY TO HEADLINE The Sanctity guys have announced their first ever headlining string of tour dates in the U.K. Tickets for all shows are on sale now for ... 12/02/2008 - SANCTITY ON THE ROAD TO BLOODSHED North Carolina thrashers SANCTITY are thrilled to confirm their first UK headline tour for October. Last seen here creating circle pits as support to TRIVIUM, ... 12/02/2008 - NEW SANCTITY INTERVIEW Metal Mayhem UK has just put up their fascinating interview with Sanctity. Metal Mayhem's Darren Cowen asks the bands front man, Jared MacEachern, about the bands past, ... 12/02/2008 - ROADRAGE 2007 We are proud to announce the details of the forthcoming ROADRAGE 2007 DVD. The 33 track DVD will be available exclusively through play.com , and ... 12/02/2008 - SANCTITY GUESS THEIR ROOTS Whilst basking in the limelight of their monumental appearence at Download, Sanctity played a few games with Metal Hammer backstage... 12/02/2008 - SANCTITY LOWDOWN Zeff Childress, Sanctity guitarist has issued an update about their ‘awesome’ time at this years Download Festival: "I'm just so excited about SANCTITY's experience at ... 12/02/2008 - TRIVIUM PHOTOS POSTED ONLINE Trivium and Sanctity’s May show at Sala Apolo in Barcelona, Spain has been documented and you can see the photos online at the Metal Symphony ... 12/02/2008 - PLANET SHOUTING LOUD With the wealth of Roadrunner bands that have been touring the UK of late, we've had interviews pouring out of ears, and all just for ...
12/02/2008Gojira and Sanctity joining Trivium on their upcoming tour We are pleased to announce that French band Gojira & new Roadrunner signing Sanctity will be joining special guest Annihilator as support on Trivium's upcoming ... 12/02/2008SANCTITY INJECTION Blabbermouth reports that Jared MacEachern and Jeremy London of Sanctity have given an interview with Metal Injection, a video-on-demand site. In the interview the guys ... 12/02/200843 SHOW TREK Trivium’s Paolo checks in before the guys head off to Europe: Hey everyone!! It's finally almost here!!! Our forty three show trek across all of ... 12/02/2008TRACKS TO BLOODSHED North Carolina metal band Sanctity are THE hot band to watch out for this year as featured in Metal Hammer, Rocksound, and Total Guitar magazines ... 12/02/2008SANCTITY ON THE ROAD TO BLOODSHED North Carolina thrashers SANCTITY are thrilled to confirm their first UK headline tour for October. Last seen here creating circle pits as support to TRIVIUM, ... 12/02/2008BENEATH THE VIDEO In anticipation of their long-awaited debut album, classic metal quartet SANCTITY filmed a video this past weekend for the song 'Beneath the Machine' with director Ramon B. (who ... 12/02/2008TRIVIUM TRIVIUM TRIVIUM Trivium have been super-busy over the last few days. Paolo dropped in to let everyone know about their first headlining tour across Europe with labelmates ... 12/02/2008A NEW ALTAR Sanctity has taken the next step in anticipation of their new album, Road to Bloodshed. www.sanctityweb.com has been redesigned from the top down, with new ... 12/02/2008SANCTITY TO HEADLINE The Sanctity guys have announced their first ever headlining string of tour dates in the U.K. Tickets for all shows are on sale now for ... 12/02/2008NEW SANCTITY INTERVIEW Metal Mayhem UK has just put up their fascinating interview with Sanctity. Metal Mayhem's Darren Cowen asks the bands front man, Jared MacEachern, about the bands past, ... 12/02/2008WIN SIGNED SANCTITY PROMO SAMPLERS FROM ROCKOUND Rock-sound.net are running a competition to win 5 signed copies of 'Road To Bloodshed. Click here to enter. Make sure you check them out on tour ... 12/02/2008ROADRAGE 2007 - THE RETURN If you cast your maind back to last year, you will remember that we released another in the series of ROADRAGE DVD's, featuring a plethora ... 12/02/2008SANCTITY 'BELOVED KILLER' VIDEO Sanctity's killer video for "Beloved Killer" from their killer album Road to Bloodshed has been added to the website. Make sure you got to the video section ... 12/02/2008ROBB FLYNN UPDATES DIARY Robb Flynn has updated the Machine Head diary, we've got the first half for you to read right here. "AwwwwwwwwwwwwwWWWW yeah! Well, well, well, my beer ... 12/02/2008ROCKWORLD.TV RUNNING DOWNLOAD 2007 INTERVIEWS This coming friday Rockworld.tv are running unseen interviews with a host of Roadrunner bands. Read their press release below for more info: Coming this weekend ... 12/02/2008MACHINE TURN AGAINST DISNEY Fan-filmed video footage of MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn's anti-Disney speech during the introduction to the song "Aesthetics of Hate" at Club Firestone in Orlando, ... 12/02/2008SANCTITY IN BUS CRASH While touring the UK supporting Trivium, Sanctity was involved in an accident last night in Nottingham, England when a taxi hit the band's van, driving ... 12/02/2008YOU TOO CAN LOOK LIKE TRIVIUM Ninju over at the www.trivium.org has put together some great-looking and easy-to-use codes for all fans of Trivium to trick out their MySpace pages. You ... 12/02/2008BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE MACHINE PART II In Part II of "Behind the Scenes of the Machine," we get to meet the fine people who made Sanctity's video for "Beneath the Machine" ... 12/02/2008THE GAYS ARE IN THE VILLAGE SANCTITY ? A little bit gay?Well no one is saying the band is a little bit gay? or are they?And what would RR achieve by ...
Road to Bloodshed
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