As a reviewer I get a hundreds of CD's coming across my desk for review. Most of them I can't get through the first 30 seconds of a song without skipping to the next one. We get 250 CD's to review every month and I only approve about 10-15 for final review on the website. Even with that high a screening process we still review some material that is sub-par just to have something to fill our section.
Not the case this time. The new CD from Sacred Rite has me believing that an indie band can produce material in line (or better) then the major label acts. Not only in performance, but in studio production and packaging. The CD cover was professionally created by the legendary science fiction and fantasy artist Michael Whelan and makes a statement when you view it (simply click the CD cover below to see a larger viewing). Resurrection is the answer to the lost 80's rock/metal, only better! Taking a page from King's X, Deep Purple (the Steve Morse era), Gun's n Rose's and The Lynch Mob just to name a few.
Resurrection is the first new album from SACRED RITE in 20 years. Written, performed, and produced by the three original surviving members of SACRED RITE - Mark Kaleiwahea, Jim Caterine, and Peter Crane - with drum parts made from samples of sounds created by original drummer Kevin Lum, "Resurrection" is a return to the Classic Power Metal sound that made SACRED RITE popular in the '80s with albums like "THE RITUAL" and "IS NOTHING SACRED" except it raises the bar beyond anything I've heard in the last 20 years.
The CD has the same energy as "Appetite for Distruction" or anything Metalica. Yes, it's that good!
The guitar tandum of Mark Kaleiwahea and Jimmie Dee Caterine are near flawless as they trade licks and harmonize with each other in much the same way as the classic duos of the 80's. Mark's vocals are pure rock/metal magic as he shows his range and power with every song and Peter Crane is a solid bass player and the band allowed him to prove it. Check out "High Society" to make my point about Peters playing.
This CD is a real masterpiece of rock/metal and it will raise the bar beyond reach for many up and coming rockers. It took 20 years to make this CD and it was worth the wait. My hat is off to this band, they simply blow me away.
Conclusion: This was the finest rock CD I have listened to (including major label acts) in 20 years! The production was amazing and the individual performances where clearly a cut above the rest. Sacred Rite has done the impossible. They have come back from the grave and resurrected the rock genre! This is the most important rock/metal CD to come along in years. I dare any band to submit a better rock/metal CD!
Bill Carrera - EvO:R Reviewer
Hawaii�s preeminent metal band Sacred Rite has stepped back into the spotlight after a nearly 21-year absence. Vocalist Mark Kaleiwahea belts the bruised blooze that made this band, uh, famous on the boogie intensive �I Didn�t Mean To Do It� and �High Society,� two of the album�s best tracks. Guitarist Jimmy Caterine riffs and crunch chords his way through the whole album, calling to mind the glory days of early Van Halen as often as he brings a meaty, almost southern rock inflection to the fold. The band��rounded out by bassist Peter Crane and late drummer Kevin Lum who appears here via sampled drums��also manages to get its NWOBHM on with �Long Way Down� and gives up some Deep Purple on �Schizophrenia.� The two commercial appeals here���The Phoenix� and �Cry,� plus the workaday rocker �Resurrection���don�t have the requisite heft to catapult the comeback album into the stratosphere but one gets the sense that Sacred Rite has largely made this album to celebrate its legacy and, maybe, attract the attention of a few old fans.
Jedd Beaudoin - Sea Of Tranquility
Do you remember this Hawaiian heavy metal cult band? Two albums, �Sacred Rite� and �The Ritual�, were released independently before they were picked up by Boudisque in Holland and Restless in the US for the release of their third album, �Is Nothing Sacred�, in 1986. The beginning of the end came when the band was approached by PolyGram, that tried to direct them into a more commercial direction. The band split in 1990 and each band member went his own way, but never reached the same (cult) status as before. Five years ago Sentinel Steel Records re-released the band�s three albums on 2 CDs, called �Rites Of Passage Vol. I and II�. Amazed by the response from metal fans around the world, the band began discussing a possible reunion, but in November of that same year, drummer Kevin Lum lost his lifelong battle with diabetes. Other bands would have stopped at this point, but that was not the case with the surviving SR members, who decided to move forward with the reunion, at least in recorded form. They extracted samples of Lum�s drum tracks from the original SR albums and slowly but surely arranged them around new material written by the remaining three band members. The result of all that work, which is appropriately called �Resurrection�, brings us back to the glory days of this band with a total of 8 classic heavy metal tracks, heavily influenced by progressive rock, but with a modern day production. Provided with an album cover painted by fantasy artist Michael Whelan, this is not only a good reunion album, it�s also a fitting tribute album to drummer Kevin Lum (1964-2002). For sound samples go to the band�s MySpace website
4 1/2 of 6 stars
"Resurrection," the first album in over 20 years from the legendary Hawaiian band, seems as though they'd never stopped recording.
"Resurrection" is nine solid tracks of classic hard rock in the vein of Van Halen, Aerosmith and more recent incarnations of Deep Purple. The CD is full of irresistible riffs, soaring melodies and fiery leads, all buoyed with stunningly high levels of production. The band originally recorded three albums from 1984 - 1986 and the beauty of "Resurrection" is that it seems to pick up exactly where "Is Nothing Sacred?" left us twenty-one years ago.
Sadly, drummer Kevin Lum died of diabetic complications in 2002. But the band pays tribute to him here, using samples of drum sounds recorded by Lum prior to his death. It may sound hokey, but it works really well.
Fans of the band's previous work will find themselves right at home with "Resurrection" and those who prefer the classic sound of heavy metal will want this ... and previous albums and compiliatons by Sacred Rite ... in their collections as well.
R. Scott Bolton - Rough Edge