Let’s talk about this new old Sanctuary album and “Dream of the Incubus”
The Year the Sun Died was a very good album. One of the best records from 2014, actually. Sanctuary and Nevermore fans should be pleased to hear, then, that the band dug up some old “lost” masters and are offering you some sweet DLC via Inception. That’s great news(!), but we have to talk about lead track “Dream of the Incubus.”
The news of the new Sanctuary album, officially a “prequel” to 1988’s Refuge Denied, broke Monday on Blabbermouth. According to lead guitarist Lenny Rutledge, the “new” album features a bevy of unreleased tracks and demos for Refuge Denied that date all the way back to a series of recording sessions in 1986. The masters, which feature known songs like “Die for My Sins,” “White Rabbit,” and “Veil of Disguise” as well as newcomers “Death Rider/Third War” and “I Am Insane,” were apparently just sitting in a box on the second floor of a barn where Rutledge and co. recorded The Year the Sun Died.
Despite the exposure to poor weather and poorer storage conditions, Rutledge and production wizard Zeuss (Crowbar, Revocation, Suffocation, etc.) were able to resuscitate the old demos over a year of mixing and mastering. Based on the two preview tracks, “Dream of the Incubus,” and “Die for My Sins (Demo),” it’s safe to say the dynamic duo did a terrific job. As Blabbermouth reports, Zeuss’s goal was “that we wanted it to sound as good as possible without taking away from the original vibe and vision of what the band had back then.”
On that front, the pair knocked it out of the park. Although the songs certainly sound old, they don’t sound descrepit; these demos still deliver all the punch and bite of mid-80s speed metal but with an added, ever so slightly more modern clarity. Rutledge’s killer riffs and Warrel Dane’s King Diamond-esque caterwauls (sadly gone the way of the dinosaurs after the first couple of Nevermore records) sound both classic and contextual, offering us a welcome look into the genesis of a band whose members would have a profound impact on the metal scene at large.
Some of these lyrics, though. Cripes. Don’t believe me? Press play on “Dream of the Incubus” below.
“I come to you in dreams and drill you slowly.” is easily up there with all-time classic romantic seques like “Can I buy you a fish sandwich?” I thought incubi were supposed to be seductive (although I supposed I can’t really blame Sanctuary for this misunderstanding; incubi have long been relatively scarce in the fantasy/horror world in comparison to their female counterparts, the succubi, potentially due to tabletop gaming’s historic “boys club” mentality). I suppose I can’t fault a demon man for getting right to it, though, so let’s see how things progress from here.
“I give the gift of sacred sex to you.” That’s awfully generous, perhaps deceptively so since a few lines later Dane croons, “Nightmares in the dark can penetrate you.” Again, not much subtlety here.
“Copulation burning deep inside you.” This is like Dethklok’s “I Ejaculate Fire,” just without being intentionally comedic. So in a way it’s actually funny.
“I suck your mind you blow my head…” I guess Dane just discovered foreplay. “…I’m cumming.” Dangit. Just dangit.
Things continue on like this for the rest of the song, but I have to give one callout here. “Incubus. One fatal thrust. Will make you feel the fire in my grind.” LOLOLOLOLOLOL
It, uh, seems there could be a reason this song was ever only performed once. The solos and riffs absolutely slay, though, and Dane’s high-pitched vox are always welcome, so I can overlook the weird demon sex grunts and childish lyrics. Almost. I keep cracking up to myself when I think of “drill,” but I suppose that just means the song is catchy.
If you too want to feel like a skeeze while enjoying an almost literally buried treasure from metal’s history, you can pre-order Inception from Century Media. In the meantime, comment below and let me know what particularly tone-deaf innuendo is now lodged in your brain butt.
(h/t Blabbermouth)
