Detritus
Mini-Issue #509.5
July 17, 2009
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*** CAST OF CHARACTERS ***
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Patrick Brower, Editor
patrickbrower@...

Sean P. Gahgan, Editor
spgahgan@...
http://www.lakeoffire.net/
http://www.myspace.com/visionlakeoffire

Tim Wadzinski, Owner
tsw512@...

Steve Shumake, Co-owner
vongoober@...
http://www.myspace.com/kdsteve

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*** LET IT BE KNOWN ***
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-As you'll see Neal conducted this interview a while back, but we held
it until now so that it'd coincide with the album's actual release.
It's out now in Europe and is due August 25 in North America. - Tim

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*** SPECIAL REPORT ***
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by Neal Woodall (MysticX9@...)

-Interview w/ Rob Thorne (Sacred Oath)
April 21, 2009

I always love those unexpected gems that seem to come out of nowhere,
so I was delighted when Sacred Oath's eponymous new album crossed my
desk for review. I somehow missed hearing these guys back in the mid
'80s when they started out, most likely because their presence on the
metal scene at the time was cut short due to the usual record company
mismanagement, followed by the traditional metal backlash of the '90s.
Now here we are over two decades later and the band has returned
stronger than ever, the new album unmistakably declaring a rebirth for
the talented outfit. Listening to the technically precise melodic
metal of SACRED OATH really whet my appetite for more information on
the band, so I sought out lead vocalist/guitarist Rob Thorne to fill
in the details...

DETRITUS: Hey Rob, thanks for calling -- how are you doing tonight?

ROB THORNE: Great! Hey, I saw your review on Detritus and I really
appreciate those kind words man! [Note: Neal gave the disc an "A" in
issue #494 back in March. - Tim]

D: Yeah, when I first got the album I was asked if I wanted to do an
interview, but I didn't know enough about Sacred Oath to do one. But
after I heard the album I said "These guys are awesome, I'm going to
have to talk to Rob!"

RT: Thank you man, that is so cool!

D: Are you hearing that kind of thing a lot from people who are
getting an advance copy of the album?

RT: You know, everybody loves the record!

D: It's excellent...

RT: I'm like "Wow, this is like -- king of the world!" (laughs) It's
really exciting, I mean we can't wait to get out there.

D: Can you give us a quick history of the band? Like I say, I was
unfamiliar with the band until just recently.

RT: We're very fortunate to be able to say that we formed in 1985...

D: Back in the day! Yeah, I remember it well...

RT: I was a Junior in high school and we had signed with Mercenary
Records then, before we even graduated and put out our first album in
'87, A CRYSTAL VISION. We broke up because the label went bankrupt and
there were lots of problems, and we were young and really couldn't
deal with the music industry giving us problems. It was a lot easier
to just quit. We've come to find out the album really kept a life of
its own and developed this whole kind of cult classic status, so that
labels had approached us about repressing the album in the late '90s.
When we finally went ahead with that it really gave us a great reason
to try and do this again, because we always had looked back and said
Sacred Oath -- even though we were in other bands -- Sacred Oath was
one of the best things we'd ever done. So we recorded DARKNESS VISIBLE
and released that in 2007, and the old "Oathbangers" who had been
really following us -- there was a small group of fans all around the
world -- they instantly latched on to the album and really supported
us. Then we did the European tour and the live album [...'TILL DEATH
DO US PART] in 2008 and that was when things really started to
snowball for us -- iTunes had chosen that album as the top live metal
album of the year and that put us up there with like UNLEASHED IN THE
EAST and LIVE AFTER DEATH and LIVE EVIL. We were just so flabbergasted
to be put in that kind of spotlight and then here we are with the new
record 2009.

D: Amazing! I was looking at your MySpace page and you list the
traditional metal influences like Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Iron
Maiden, Queensryche, etc... I hear elements of them in your music but
you have a unique style. When were you first aware you had something
original going on?

RT: You know, I think we've been fortunate that we've got people in
the band who are creators and not copycats, you know what I mean?
Because we started at a young age, I mean I've always had a vision of
what I wanted to do and [bassist] Pete Altieri and [drummer] Kenny
Evans -- the original band -- we always knew we had something that we
wanted to say. If we wanted to copy other bands entirely we would have
probably just done a tribute band but I think we appreciated elements
of Sabbath, Maiden, Priest and we were obviously getting very turned
on by what Mercyful Fate and Metallica were doing in the early to mid
'80s. We said we like all these different elements, we've got our own
thing as well, and it just happened to become Sacred Oath.

D: Are you starting to see more sales of A CRYSTAL VISION?

RT: Oh yeah, the demand for A CRYSTAL VISION has gone up. It's funny
because the album is just looked upon -- and it amazes me -- that
people look at this album as an undiscovered classic and everybody
wants to get their hands on it. When we made that record we were 17-
year-old punks that really had no clue what we were doing other than
having a great time, and to have something that you do like that as a
kid just having a good time take on a life of its own, you get older
and you look back on that and you're like "Wow, that's a real
privilege!"

D: I'm looking forward to hearing it, I've only heard bits and
pieces...

RT: You know what happened? The sales went up so quickly that as soon
as these advance copies went out and the iTunes thing launched,
everything that was in stock got bought out and the licensing deal had
expired with Sentinel Steel. And since we're in the middle of
organizing our new distribution for this album, A CRYSTAL VISION is at
this point currently out of print for the next four to six weeks, so
we're taking back orders! [Note: At press time, Sacred Oath's back
catalog is due to be reissued in North America by WorldSound on August
25. - Tim]

D: You touched on it a minute ago but you disbanded in 1988 and then
reformed in 2005 with the re-recording of A CRYSTAL VISION?

RT: Yeah, now the funny story behind that is that re-recording of A
CRYSTAL VISION happened in 1998, but it was never released because
Sentinel Steel Records had approached us in the mid '90s about
reprinting A CRYSTAL VISION, and they said what would be even better
is if on top of this deal we can give them a couple of bonus tracks,
reunite and record a couple of bonus tracks for the record. So we said
"Sure, what the hell;" we were spread out all over the country and
playing in other bands and we were busy but they made us a good offer
so we got together. We had so much fun just being back together again
after 10 years, it was just amazing how we instantly -- without even
practicing -- launched back into this material. It was so natural for
us, you know the things you do as a kid you can never get out of your
system. We had such a good time that we just played through the whole
damn record! So at the end of the day we were like "Wow, we just
recorded the whole album over!" Obviously they didn't want that, they
just wanted a few bonus tracks, so we took the tapes. We shelved them
and in 2005 when we got back together full-time me and Kenny sat down
and said, "Did you listen to those recordings we did back in '98
because they're pretty cool!" So we thought why don't we make them
available as like an official bootleg, and that's what we did. [Note:
As A CRYSTAL REVISION. - Tim] And that sort of set the plate for
DARKNESS VISIBLE being released in 2007 and sort of let people know
that we were alive and kicking and back for business.

D: What were you doing between '88 and '05. Were you in some other
bands?

RT: Yeah, you know when Sacred Oath first broke up I went and got my
B.A. in Music; I graduated in the early '90s and had actually majored
in Opera Performance. I was really into theatrical music at the time,
so I wrote and recorded a couple of rock operas that I still plan on
getting staged at some point in my life. Through that I started a prog
metal band called Soundscape, and we have an album coming out with
Soundscape this Summer as well. I don't play in that band anymore but
we did record another album and I'll put that out -- I mean it's a
great album but my heart is with Sacred Oath if you know what I mean.
So that's what I did all through the '90s, then I got married and
started having babies! (laughs)

D: That kind of takes you away from the touring and recording, doesn't
it?

RT: Big time!

D: DARKNESS VISIBLE was recorded with the original lineup, right?

RT: Yep, that was important to me that DARKNESS VISIBLE was going to
be the reunion album of the original members, and those were songs
that were written to be the follow-up album to A CRYSTAL VISION. So
those songs were written in '88, some even earlier, some of those
songs were even on the very first Sacred Oath demo, like "Battle Cry"
and "Prophecy," and Kenny and I said "We need to record those songs,"
because they're good songs and they are a logical progression from A
CRYSTAL VISION. So that's what we did and I was so happy with how it
turned out; you listen to that record and say "Wow, it's like that
band never ever took a break!"

D: Didn't Pete Altieri co-write a lot of the early material with you?

RT: He did co-write a lot of the early material with me and so
therefore a lot of the stuff on DARKNESS VISIBLE is his stuff as well;
this new album is the first album that he didn't have any creative...
(pauses) He's not on this new album at all.

D: What happened to the old guys, did they just not want to
participate or did they have other things going on?

RT: You know Pete is living in Illinois and that's one of the
situations... He's out in Illinois and busy with his band Low 12 and
he's just not able to tour or keep it going for us. We're still great
friends but it was just a mutual decision that we were going to move
on without him and we've got his blessing on that whole thing.
[Guitarist] Glen Cruciani is the same situation; I mean he lives very
close to us but he's got a new family and he really couldn't commit to
the touring or keeping up with the recording schedule, so again it was
a mutual decision to move on without them and we're all still good.

D: Where did you find the new guys? I understand Bill Smith was one of
your students?

RT: Yeah, I taught Bill Smith how to play the guitar.

D: He learned his lessons well!

RT: (laughs) You know, Bill was my top student. I started with him
when he was 13, he's 21 now, actually he just turned 22, and he's a
great player; what's awesome is that in a metal band like this,
intricate and rhythm oriented, and lead oriented, but more importantly
when you're playing this kind of stuff it's important to have your
chops match up when it comes to the rhythms...

D: Yeah, when you have a two guitar band...

RT: He plays identically, to the way I play when it comes to rhythm
guitar...

D: You've got to have it synchronized.

RT: Yeah we really synchronize very well, he can always anticipate
what I'm going to throw at him and we have a great relationship in
that sense; he's new in the band, but we've been working together
really for the last nine years. Scott [Waite] was the bass player in
my band Soundscape in the '90s, so we have a great relationship.
That's why when you hear this new album, the band is stronger than
ever. [Note: Waite has since been replaced by Brendan Kelleher. - Tim]

D: Tight...

RT: We're just all very tight.

D: Let's talk a bit about the new album -- I'm guessing you chose to
call it SACRED OATH as sort of a new start?

RT: Yeah, you know it's a rebirth of the band; I think you're seeing a
huge resurgence in melodic metal, traditional-styled metal...

D: Definitely.

RT: I really feel strongly that you've got a whole new generation of
kids that are coming up and they're like "You know, we want our own
thing." And for all these kids it's the melodic metal thing, they love
Priest, they love Maiden, they love Queensryche, but they also want
their own band -- and lucky for us, we have a record out this year!
(laughs)

D: Were some of the material songs you had from awhile back?

RT: Oh no, this is all new stuff!

D: All brand new stuff?

RT: Brand new, in fact, we didn't even have anything comin' off the
tour, we went into the studio in September and we just literally wrote
and recorded the entire album in a three month period.

D: Three months! That's quick...

RT: You know relatively quickly for today.

D: I was thinking it might have been stuff you had lying around for
awhile but that's incredible...

RT: No, this stuff is all new. It was funny recording it because our
drummer was nervous, he was like "Hey man, I've only played through
that song once, how does it go?" (laughs) I said "Kenny, you got the
groove, we've been working together so long, just... (pauses) The red
button is going, play!" (laughs)

D: The album is excellent. It's one of those that once I put it in I
have to listen to the whole thing and then listen to it over again,
it's that good!

RT: Oh, I love hearing that, that's awesome! You have a favorite
track?

D: Ahh, well you know what, "Voodoo Dolls" is one of the ones that hit
me first...

RT: Oh, I'm so glad to hear that! Did you like that middle section
where all hell breaks lose?

D: Most definitely! (laughs) "What The Dark Will Undo" is another one.

RT: That's another one I'm hearing a lot, a lot of people like that
song and I'm so glad because in today's day and age a song like that
is considered a risk and it's like "Come on!" I'm from the school
where metal bands have a broad range of dynamics, you know? You cannot
be afraid to -- for 30 seconds -- show your soft side.

D: Exactly, good contrast...

RT: It's important, I'm all about contrast and dynamics.

D: The production on it is so good. Was this recorded in your own
studio?

RT: Yeah, I produced the albums in my own studio and thanks for saying
so, I definitely think it's the best record we've made yet and I'm
really pleased with how it sounds.

D: What kind of equipment did you use to record it?

RT: Well we used Mac-based Pro Tools systems but we don't really do
any editing and you can hear that, we don't play with click tracks, we
don't edit. Sacred Oath is very much about the energy and not about
the perfection; I mean at this stage of the game I don't feel bad
saying that we're pretty good at what we do when it comes to playing
our instruments because we've been doing it for awhile. So it is what
it is and to us it's more about the energy and the expression and I
think people are hungry to connect with that. You hear a lot of the
metal that's been coming out for the past five years and it's just so
sterile, over-edited and sampled and we're definitely not about that.

D: Your vocals sound great, I guess you've kept up your chops over the
years...

RT: Well I never stopped singing, in college I majored in Opera and I
learned a lot, and in Soundscape it was the same kind of thing; I've
always done what I do, which is that high, dynamic, crazy melodic
vocal thing. It was never my thing to try and be Phil Anselmo, you
know?

D: Yeah, I can't take that. Speaking about the modern, downtuned
stuff, it sounds like you are tuned standard, is that right?

RT: We play in E flat.

D: Okay, that sounds good to me!

RT: When we're tuned to E flat. I feel like it makes the band sound a
little darker but we're not down in like C or something! (laughs) You
know if we were to start doing that a lot we would just sound like
everyone else.

D: That's what everybody is doing right now...

RT: Yeah, it was cool when bands were doing that in the early to mid
'90s when it was different, but I'm sorry, it's not new anymore.

D: I saw the video for "Counting Zeros" -- I understand that is your
favorite song on the album?

RT: (laughs) Well, people ask me that and it's so hard to answer
because it's like asking "Which kid of yours do you like best?" How
could you ask that? (laughs) I love the whole album, "Counting Zeros"
though is a special song for me because I really get to... (pauses)
It's a great vocal song. It's so much fun to sing, it's dynamic, it's
got the cleaner verses so I can really get expressive and not just
have to be getting volume wise above the band all the time. I love
playing the solo in that song, it's just got so many great things
happening in it and lyrically the content is so representative of the
whole tone of the record; the record can get political and
philosophical because we're living in a time where everybody is
thinking about this stuff, you know?

D: I was going to ask what the song is about...

RT: Yeah well you know, we just came out of a period where we were
uncovering all that corruption with the war, and all the lies that got
us into certain situations, and now here we are with this whole
economic downturn and all the corruption we're uncovering there --
it's really about greed. It's about greed and ambition and corruption
and how much that's tearing apart the American Dream, how we've really
become complacent to all that, we got lazy, and we let people get away
with a lot of crap! I'm ready to lead the charge and take it back.

D: Where do you get most of your inspiration for songs -- real life
things, books, movies?

RT: Definitely, I don't like writing lyrics unless I'm inspired and of
course I'm going to be inspired at what's happening around me. I don't
always write literally, a lot of times I like to write metaphorically
or make up a story. Sacred Oath has always been about this sort of
battle between good and evil which I've always been fascinated with
and I think works great in a metal band. It's what I'm obsessed with;
I just love watching that go on in the world around us. Everything can
sort of be looked at that way, not that it needs to be but I love the
drama of it...

D: The duality.

RT: Yeah, exactly, I'm into that whole thing. Right now I'm reading
"Angels And Demons" and I'm like "Wow, we've got to do a whole concept
album on the book!"

D: That would be awesome, a good idea for the next one!

RT: Yeah!

D: It looks like you have a fifth member in the video for "Counting
Zeros" -- who's the youngster in there?

RT: Oh yeah, he's one of my students!

D: I was thinking he was probably one of your students...

RT: Yeah, when I get too old he's going to take my spot! (laughs)

D: That is what's great, a new generation of metal fans...

RT: He's one of my top students right now, he's only 12 years old, a
great kid, and I really wanted to -- there's a few kids in that video
-- and I really wanted to show that idea that we all come out of
childhood into this world that is full of war and greed, and the idea
of being a hero when the reality of all that is death. So I said lets
get some of my students in there because they get it, they get the
song and they'll be able to play it and look like they know what
they're doing and Andrew was just amazing on camera. I'm so proud of
him, his footage worked out so well that a lot of it ended up in the
video.

D: I see plans are in the works for some live shows; how extensive
will your tour be?

RT: It's going to be very extensive, we found this out yesterday, it's
going to be a world tour which is going to include Asia -- Japan,
Korea, China -- and Europe, all of Europe, North and South America,
but I can't give you any other details than that right now, we'll make
the announcement in the next few weeks but you can bet we'll be
wherever you're at, it's going to be a big tour.

D: Excellent! Will you be able to record any of it for a DVD?

RT: No, people ask me that all the time and I have not thought of
that. I'm sure that we probably will because I know that live DVDs are
big business right now, but I haven't thought of it to be honest. We
never even thought of recording a live album -- I mean that literally
was a surprise. It was the first night of our European tour and it
turns out the sound man had a laptop hooked up to the mixing console
and told me he recorded the show!

D: Oh wow!

RT: I said "Can you send me the disc?" He said "Of course," and we got
it back when we were in the States and I was like "This is pretty
cool, let's put it out!" Which we did. You know I think that worked
out for the best for us because there was no self consciousness; when
you know you're recording a live album you probably don't put out for
the audience in the same way you would during a normal show because
you're really concerned that you are going to be making a mistake...

D: The energy is different...

RT: Your energy is different. So that live album, you're getting a
real, pure, live Sacred Oath feel. We were just like "First night of
the tour, we're in Germany with a bunch of drunk Germans, let's have a
great time!" (laughs)

D: We have nice metal festival up in Atlanta called ProgPower, I don't
know if you've ever heard of it...

RT: Oh, I know about ProgPower, I want to get on that so bad!

D: You guys need to play it...

RT: We really want to play it, it's in September, right?

D: September 11th and 12th.

RT: Who's headlining this year?

D: Fates Warning.

RT: That's right, Fates Warning, God, we should be there! We played
with Fates Warning all the time on AWAKEN THE GUARDIAN. That would be
fun, I'd love to do that.

D: Well Rob, anything you would like to add in closing?

RT: No man, we covered everything but thank you, we're looking forward
to seeing all the "Oathbangers" on tour this year!

Relevant links:

Sacred Oath
http://www.sacredoath.net/
http://www.myspace.com/sacredoath

WorldSound
http://www.worldsound.com/

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*** OUT ***
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