Review by Ben for Sanctuary - Into the Mirror Black (1990)

I haven’t managed to listen to Sanctuary’s debut album Refuge Denied, so this is my first experience of the band. I guess the first thing that comes to mind is Nevermore! But that’s hardly surprising as the vocalist, bassist and lead guitarist all started up Nevermore after Sanctuary closed shop. I happen to be a massive fan of Nevermore’s later work and so this album fell comfortably upon my ears. I guess I expected the song writing to be of lesser quality than the Nevermore albums I love as it wasn’t until about 1998 that they really hit their straps. How wrong I was!

This album is amazing! Just about every song is of the highest quality. The musicianship may not be hugely technical, but it’s just so emotionally moving and memorable. It’s been ages since I heard an album just a couple of times, and then found myself humming the tunes and singing lyrics in my head for the rest of the day. I’ve just been listening to it repeatedly. Warrel Dane’s vocals are awesome as usual and Jeff Loomis’ guitar work is just as good. This album is more heavy and power metal than thrash metal and yet manages to contain that power of emotion and intensity that normally belongs to the more extreme genres.

Highlights for me are Taste of Revenge, Long Since Dark, The Mirror Black, Seasons of Destruction and closer Communion. But there are no bad tracks on Into the Mirror Black and I simply can’t give it anything less than top marks. An essential album for anyone into heavy music.