Customer Reviews

Independent

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Independent is the best of the releases Sacred Reich made, i really enjoy Surf Nicaragua and The American Way because this albums are also awesome but with independent they reached a level of improvement and technique really amazing, for instance "product" is marked by a constant riff perhaps a little mechanical but exciting, "pressure" is a little more trashy, "independent" have a lot of speed metal and theres also some great Sabbath tunes with slow riffs and drumming in the rest of the tracks, saddly this Arizona ensamble is not active anymore but their place in Metal history is secure.
HM

I got this disc about the time I was finishing high school. I saw the video for "Independent" on MTV's Headbanger's Ball and was hooked. I don't remember the video, but I'll never forget the tune. The title track is a great song as are "Supremacy", "If Only", and "Crawling". I also enjoyed the dystopian cover art-interesting. Definitely one of the better metal discs of the 90's and worth checking out. Too bad these guys never made more waves, they were quite good.

Yes, the often mentioned "under appreciated" SR with a brilliant follow up to 1990's American Way. To say this is a great thrash album alone does not do it justice. This is an all time classic Heavy Metal album in league with the great disc's of metal years prior and since. whether You like Proto metal like Sabbath, Proto speed metal like Accept, NWOBHM or Thrash, this disc deserves a place in any complete and respected CD collection.

Sacred Reich plays that old school metal, lots of power chords and fast lyrics. No hardcore rap on this album ie..KoRn..Limp Bizkit. Album came out in 1993 and the single "Independent" was played in the college football movie "The Program". The majority of the songs are just power chords and the lead singer doesn't do the death metal growl which can get annoyning quick. SR has their own sound but reminds me of a cross between old Megadeth and Metallica's "Kill Em' All". I don't know what the statis of the band is right now but what I do know is these guys just rule! Excellent album, an all out metal fest!

It's a shame that SR didn't make it any bigger than they did. I think they acheived Godlike status among thrash metal fans, but they never really crossed that "commercial" line that would've catapaulted them into the dark and heavy world of Metal Money. In a way that's a good thing. SR always was the best "garage metal band" around. This CD is an intelligent mix of political speak with heavy, HEAVY chords and speedy licks, although they to tend to branch out in to the more melodic, slow side of thrash on a few tracks. (...) However, when diving into the slower stuff I notice that he sounds really strained for hitting the "higher" notes. No bother...it still rocks.

The CD starts off with "Independent", which (in my mind) is the best track on the CD. This kind of causes the rest of the album to lose a little steam as the rest of the tunes are not as powerful. Not bad, just not as fist pumping and heart grinding. However, "If Only" is a nice little RUSH/Led Zepplinesque guitar/bass instrumental which shifts the mood so greatly that the rest of the CD seems to kick up 10 notches. Luck? Maybe brilliant organization...whatever. Regardless of any downfalls this might have, Sacred Reich is one of the pioneers of HEAVY music. (...) A must have for any fan of a great past.

Well along with Sepultura's Chaos AD. This is an overlooked gem, it is Heavy! Bang thy head.

This album is heavy. The songs have varying velocities, a must buy for any true thrash fan.

Phoenix Arizona's Sacred Reich released their third full-length studio album in 1993, entitled Independent. The album followed up the classic The American Way record and musically saw the band incorporate a few new ideas into their overall sound.

The band were never the biggest Thrash band out there, but their solid crossover style is influential to many of the new millennium's Thrash Bands. The band have a punky hardcore influenced feel on some tracks in a similar fashion to many of the East Coast Thrash bands, with whom they share more musical similarities than with the German, Canadian or Bay Area Thrash artists.

Independent saw the band play with more slow and mid tempo elements than on previous releases, incorporating some groove metal influences as happened with much of the 1990s output by Thrash Metal bands. It is a little underrated as an album, as fans were quick to abandon ship at the first sight of slow guitars but is actually quite a good album when given a fair chance. If you are willing to keep an open mind there is a lot to enjoy on this record.

Highlights on Independent include the beyond catchy Title Track which is an absolute classic and highlight of any concert, as well as `Supremacy,' `Free,' and the almost eight minute long `I Never Said Goodbye.'

This was their first full length Drummer Dave McClain, who would of course go on to join Machine Head and puts down a characteristically strong performance on this album, with his unusual and distinctive style of fills and approach to the double kicks.

The production from Dave Jerden (famous for Alice In Chain's The Dirt and Anthrax's Sound Of White Noise) is solid with a good mix and general sound. The lyrics too are strong, and of course are socially aware and politically motivated as usual from Sacred Reich. Overall all the individual aspects of the album are good, the only real thing holding it off of a classic album status is the indefinable x factor that makes some albums amazing but can't be quantified or often, even replicated.

In summary, Independent is a good album and Sacred Reich fans should find a lot to enjoy on it should the be willing to keep an open mind.

After 1990's The American Way, Phil Rind and his cohorts seemed all set to finally conquer the upper echelons of success they justly deserved. Alas, almost three years would go by before anything was heard from them again, and by the time they finally returned in late 1992 with Independent, their momentum was lost and thrash metal in general was pretty much finished commercially.
Fortunately, the band didn't seem to get the message, since the two first tracks on this album are arguably the best from their catalogue: the title track is a sarcastic and punishing onslaught while "Free" delivers both headbanging riffs and ironic social commentary.
Sadly, the songwriting nosedives after this strong opening, meandering too much with pedestrian, mid-tempo thrashers, and despite delivering an epic, uncharacteristic power ballad with "I Never Said Goodbye", the truth is the band seems to have completely run out of ideas, to the point of using the same riff on the album twice: just listen to "Open Book" after listening to the title track and you'll know what I'm talking about.
This may not be an essential release, but Sacred Reich fanatics will still find it worthwhile.

Sacred Riech is a band from my home town of Phoenix, they are hard and heavy and I get a rush every time I listen to them.
If you like it hard Sacred Riech is a band to hear.