Customer Reviews

American Way

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Good Metallica-influenced '90's trash metal. This was their third effort. Serious topics are covered on this record of self-destruction and horror stories of how people were badly treated in South Africa. It's been umpteen years since I'd seen Sacred Reich play in a small club of maybe 200. Tracks that make this disc worthwhile are the title cut "American Way", the boot-stomper "Crimes Against Humanity", "Who's To Blame" and the semi-rap like "31 Flavors". Line-up: Phil Rind-bass&vocals, Greg Hall and Wiley Arnett-guitars, Jason Rainy-rhythm guitar and Dave McClain-drums. Might appeal to fans of Anthrax, Corrosion Of Conformity, Death Angel and Heathen.

Ignorance is their 1`st album, to correct the above reviewer. This is their 3rd recording including Surf Nicaruaga ep. They rocked then, and still do!

This album was out of print for the past 10 years. There was a time when I was hunting on ebay for a copy. The ebay price was usually more than $35.
Finally Amazon has this import version which sounds great and has almost double the songs of the original album. They included the album version and also pre-release versions of the songs. Also included with the CD is a Sacred Reich patch.
My only complaint is that this is a Digipack style case and I preffer jewel cases but although is twice the price of a regular CD (since it is an import) you will not go wrong with this....

Johnny can you hear me ?
Turn that music down......

Certainly one of the best metal albums. It comes head to head with Justice, Rust in Peace and so forth. Great lyrics, great music (final song has a nice twist). Enjoy

This is one of the best Thrash CDs that I've ever bought. It has lyrics promoting peace, inclusion, and understanding while putting their message across with the most aggressive sound imaginable. Punk lyrics with metal sounds. Too bad this band never hit it big. If you like "old" Metallica (before the black album) or the lyrics of Rage Against the Machine, then you'll probably like this. It's a great buy!

TRACK LISTING:

1. Love...Hate
2. The American Way
3. The Way It Is
4. Crimes Against Humanity
5. State Of Emergency
6. Who's To Blame
7. I Don't Know
8. 31 Flavors

I was working at Camelot Music when this disc came out. We had a video screen in the store and a video of "American Way" ocassionally played. I had never heard of SR before, but I was really into metal (Testament, Sepultura, Overkill, Slayer, Flotsam & Jetsam, etc.). In the video they were playing with a white background behind them - like it was lit up - and they just threw down. I couldn't get the song out of my head and it soon became my first cd (having had a cassette collection up until then) and now SR is in my top 3 of metal bands - includes Testament & Sepultura. It's still one of my favorite metal songs & albums. Phil (vocals/bass) has excellent delivery/cadence & intelligent, thoughtful lyrics (one of the reasons I love good metal - and Sacred Reich) - great guitar & drum work too. The rest of the album is awesome also. 31 Flavors is a kick. BUY IT!! & Buy All other SR albums too - they're all great - seriously!

This album has attitude, fast rich guitars, and his vocals are unheard of in today's form of metal. The music is heavy and fast, yet at the same time very groovey. When Metallica left the building with the black album, Sacred Reich still pounded out great music.

This CD in my mind was by far SR's best. This CD is right along side Master of Puppets, Reign in Blood, Practice what you Preach, Thrash Zone, Lights, Camera...Revolution, etc etc. It's simply a must have.

Yes, they slowed down their pace on this CD, but honestly...that's why this is so good. It has so much groove it reminds me of Lights, Camera, Revolution by Suicidal Tendencies. Song after song just hook you in with ultra catchy riffs, and vocals that you will be singing along to in no time. Pretty much every song is awesome...and when it's all in the same CD, you just have to buy it.

American Way has the same riff repeated over and over, but it never gets old - like Pantera's "walk". Plus it's still heavy as hell.

Anyway...if you check out my reviews, I don't give out 5 stars a lot, but this one deserves it and then some. My only complaint is that SR abandoned this sound to go for more speed in the future. Why?????

After their show stopping appearance on the 1989 Dynamo Open Air Festival, Sacred Reich faced the daunting task of living up to the high fan expectations created by their earlier work.
Far from falling to the dreaded sophomore slump, the band evolves on their second full length into a somewhat more accessible thrash metal sound yet becoming even more compelling lyrically.
This time, the band explores topics such as apartheid (State of Emergency), environmental destruction (Crimes Against Humanity) and 80s moral panics (Who's to Blame). While contemporary listeners might find most of these lyrics dated, the music still holds up pretty well, with one glaring exception: the funk infused 31 Flavors.
When this album was recorded, funk metal was considered the next big thing, thanks in no small part to Faith No More's success. This track, which features a full horn section, urges metalheads to widen their limited musical tastes and check out some hip-hop and funk. While I can completely agree with the song's intended message, I find it a crassly executed mess that sticks out like a sore thumb due to its out of character light heartedness, slightly ruining what could a been a flawless thrash metal masterpiece.
This reissue includes six pre production demos for this album as bonus tracks, making it a great purchase for 80s thrash metal fans.