Album: Refuge Denied

Artist: Sanctuary

Sanctuary is another casualty of the metal scene during the 1980's. So many heavy metal groups were being created that some of the best like Sanctuary and Sacred Oath never got the time of the day from radio shows, MTV, or listeners. Warrel Dane's unique and powerful vocals are what will first grab your attention. He can be very high pitched and borderline screaming one minute just to be normal the next. It's definitely an aquired taste for some, it seems like people either love him or hate him. I personally love his voice and styl*e I think he's a breath of fresh air and genuinely skilled. The guitar and drum work is heavily mixed, so of it is pretty good with some cool ideas, while some of it can also be pretty average and even boring at times, but this is to be expected on most debut albums. You can hear a definite Helloween influence on this album rather than a Megadeth influence despite be produced by Dave Mustaine himself. Wether that's a good or bad thing is soley up to you. My favorite tracks on this album are "Sanctuary", "Ascension To Destiny", and "Veil of Disuise". The cover of "White Rabbit", originally by Jefferson Airplane, is surprisingly great as well and is by far the best cover of that song I've ever heard. The album is really great although a bit hard to find these days, and I highly recommend it.

Bottom Line: A good debut album for an underappreciated band, 4/5 :).