Sacred Oath

Sacred Oath is an American heavy metal band from Bethel, Connecticut.

History

Sacred Oath was originally formed in 1985 by Rob Thorne and Pete Altieri while the two were classmates at Bethel High School. The band recorded their first demo in 1985 and quickly sold hundreds of them through local stores like Record Broker and Phoenix Records, developing a loyal following referred to as the "Oathbangers." ^[2]

They signed a recording contract with the Mercenary Records label in 1986, shortly after recording their second demo Shadow Out Of Time. By then the band was becoming known internationally in an underground circuit. Members Rob Thorne, Pete Altieri, Glen Cruciani, and Kenny Evans recorded Sacred Oath's debut album A Crystal Vision in May 1987 at Presence Studios in East Haven CT, where Dave Obrizzo produced and Jon Russell engineered. The album was released in 1988 on vinyl, cassette, and CD and went on to garner cult-classic status as one of the pioneer efforts of the American power metal movement.

The band disbanded in December 1988 before the album had caught on, due to creative disagreements and frustration with their failing record label. Mercenary Records and its parent label Celluloid Records went bankrupt soon after.

Sentinel Steel Records reissued the debut album in 2001 through an exclusive agreement with the band. The band reformed and re-recorded the songs from that album, releasing them as A Crystal Revision in 2005. Rob and Kenny continued to record as Sacred Oath, issuing the critically acclaimed comeback album Darkness Visible in 2007 with all four original members.

In 2008 they released a live album 'Till Death Do Us Part recorded during their tour of Europe. This album featured a new guitarist (Billy Smith) and a new bass player (Scott Waite), and established the band as back and fully active in the current music world.

In 2009, the new lineup of Sacred Oath recorded their self-titled album, "Sacred Oath," featuring their first single, "Counting Zeros." Counting Zeros is BMI Work No. 10339363.^[3]

The music video has featured on MTV2's "Headbangers Ball" along with an interview.^[4] However, after recording the album, bassist Scott Waite parted ways before playing any shows. New bass player, Brendan Kelleher, has taken his place and will be playing with Sacred Oath on their world tour. For the week of April 7, 2009 Sacred Oath's Counting Zeros was the "Discovery Download Pick Of The Week" on iTunes.^[5][6]

In 2010, Sacred Oath Announced that they were coming out with a new album titled World On Fire. The Album was released on October 5, 2010^[7] after being recorded at Angel Thorne Music Company.^[8]

In 2013, the band released a throwback album, titled Fallen, featuring songs from past band members. New songs were added as well, including the title track, Fallen, which paid homage to the Sandy Hook Killings in December 2012.

Discography

• 1987: A Crystal Vision ^[9]
• 2005: A Crystal Revision ^[10]
• 2007: Darkness Visible ^[11]
• 2008: ...'Till Death Do Us Part ^[12]
• 2009: Sacred Oath ^[13][14][15]
• 2010: World on Fire ^[16][17]
• 2013: Fallen' ^[18]

Band members

• Rob Thorne – Lead vocals/Guitar (1985–present)
• Kenny Evans – Drums (1985–present)
• Bill Smith – Guitar (2008–present)
• Brendan Kelleher – Bass (2009–present)

References