Like how jokes are subject to 'how ya tell 'em', generic metal can boil down to something similar. Not that we're suggesting Sanctorum warm up for Bill Bailey. What they do isn't particularly new or original; they take equal parts Metalcore and Thrash just like a lot of bands, but on Ashes Of Redemption they blend them into some truly blinding songs.

Opening with 'Carved In Stone' is an eye-opener, no other track on the record beats it, but with good reason, it utterly devastates; a SOAD-style build up followed by a city-levelling groove, powerful drumming and a ludicrously good solo. It's incendiary and urgent, but that's not all they have to offer. 'Sorrow Of Man' and the title track offer up rib-shattering riffs and though the whole album gets a tad samey across its eleven tracks, it's incredibly difficult not to keep turning the volume up. With a little more variation in songs and a more stand-out vocal performance, Sanctorum could make a very good name for themselves.

Rating: 4/5 by Phill May

Tracklisting

1. Carved In Stone
2. Sorrow Of Man
3. Against Us All
4. These Killing Hands
5. Hope Of Salvation
6. Ashes Of Redemption
7. The Reckoning
8. Call To Arms
9. Tales Of Horror
10. Fallen
11. Take It All

Further links

Sanctorum.co.uk

East Anglia's finest on the web.