
-- Sacrilege gets shredded --
16/10/2019
Stijn Daneels

Review
written and conducted by Stijn “Metal Shredder” Daneels.
In late
2018, through the power of social media, I was contacted by Bill Beadle,
founding member of the NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) band Sacrilege
to promote his then-upcoming album “Court of the Insane.” An enjoyable release
warmly recommend to fans of old-school metal tunes from the likes of Black
Sabbath and Judas Priest. Bill and I kept in touch with each other and
eventually arranged to do a Skype shred on Tuesday September 17, 2019.
Bill and I
talked about Sacrilege’s return to form in 2012, the production of their new
“Court of the Insane” album, Bill’s love for Black Sabbath (and the countless
times he has seen them live between 1973 and 2016), the confusion caused
between his band Sacrilege and the thrash/doom metal band Sacrilege from
Birmingham and finally how they did their very first live gig on a popular
British TV show, sharing the stage with none other than the Stranglers and U2.
BMS: Hello Bill! When I was doing research about Sacrilege, I saw that your band started in the early 1980s and were part of the NWOBHM movement. Then Sacrilege went inactive for about 20 years until you revived the band in 2012. What were your primary motivations to become sacrilegious again?
Bill: After
Sacrilege’s initial run had stopped, I did many other things in my life and I initially
had no plans to become an active musician once more. However, one faithful day in
2007 I was bored and so I went out to buy myself a new guitar, play some
vintage Sacrilege tunes and record them once more. This time with modern
technology and nowadays it’s more than possible to buy some good-quality
portable recording equipment at affordable prices. I had my little home studio
setup in no time and then things escalated quickly and positively.
Before I
knew it, I had about 4 brand new Sacrilege songs written and then I came into
contact with Finnish lead guitarist Pekka Loikkenan who did the guitar solos on
those first new Sacrilege tunes. His riffs were awesome and it motivated me to
write even more material. Eventually I got into contact with a local cover band
from my home region. Those guys were huge Sacrilege fans and they asked me if
we could do a gig together. After much consideration, I’ve said yes and the gig
was a mind blowing experience! The place was packed and everybody went crazy
when we were playing those classic Sacrilege songs. It was just like the old
days, complete with smoke, lasers and pyro.
BMS: You know, I’ve noticed such longtime loyalty towards a metal act isn’t unusual. For instance, in my country we’ve got Acid, a band that retired about 30 years ago but who still have a large cult following today! Same thing goes for other vintage Belgian bands like Ostrogoth, Killer and Scavenger, all three of those bands started and split-up in the 1980s but they all have returned into action in the past 6 years and still draw solid crowds.
Bill: Yeah,
it’s strange but amazing! And I’m very grateful that I’m back in the shredding
game!

BMS: Tell me, Bill, how different is your Sacrilege work ethic today compared to how it was during Sacrilege’s first career run?
Bill: Aside
from the obvious social media (dis)advantages, I now have the opportunity to
pretty much record all parts of a Sacrilege song here at my self-made home
studio. I can track drums, guitars, bass and vocals all on my own, make a solid
mix out of it and then email it to my Sacrilege colleagues for feedback and
additional ideas. Back in the early years I had to physically meet up with my
band mates and play my freshly written tunes right then and there and hope they
would memorize it. In other words, the recording and production aspects have
become much more convenient today compared to the vintage period.
BMS: I see. How did you meet your current fellow Sacrilege band members?
Bill: I’ve
got to know Neil, our drummer, from his work with the now defunct heavy metal
band Dervish. Paul, our second guitarist, has obtained plenty of guitar
shredding experience with hard rock band Salem. Our bassist, Jeff, mainly did
cover bands but his bass work has always been very crisp.
BMS: Interesting. Now, let’s talk about your latest album, “Court of the Insane.”
Bill: I
wrote the material for “Court of the Insane” two years ago, however, we had a
huge setback when our lead guitarist at the time, Tony Vanner, retired from the
music scene. He was a highly talented guitarist with whom we recorded the
earlier album “Six6Six” in 2015. While looking for a worthy successor for Tony,
we recorded the entire “Court of the Insane” album expect for the lead guitar
parts. Eventually Paul came in and did a tremendous job on lead.
As for the
songwriting, I wanted to do something different compared to “Six6Six,” which
was heavier and more doom metal inspired compared to “Court of the Insane.” The
latter is more classic heavy metal inspired such legendary bands like Black
Sabbath and Judas Priest while retaining that typically dark Sacrilege feel.
And finally
there’s the artwork, just like those iconic metal albums from the past I wanted
our album to stand out visually with artwork that’s colorful and intriguing. During
my youth I often visited record stores and scrolled through the vinyl cases and
when I saw a release with good-looking artwork, I would take a shot at this
unknown band. After all, the internet didn’t exist back then so it wasn’t
possible to look up a band before you bought material from them or a ticket to
one of their shows.

BMS: That’s exactly how it would describe “Court of the Insane.” A sound inspired by the metal classics of the 1980s. A dark, melodic sound backed by sharp riffs, eerie vocals and mid-to-fast paced rhythms. And speaking of Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, I’ve read that you’re a huge Sabbath Priest fan!
Bill:
Indeed! I love Judas Priest’s fast and powerful guitar riffs and Black
Sabbath’s dark, moody tunes so with Sacrilege I’ve always aimed for a sound
that blends both worlds. And I’ve grown up listening to those 1970s Black
Sabbath songs countless times and I’ve seen them live numerous times over all
those years.
BMS: I had the pleasure to witness Black Sabbath’s final Benelux show at Graspop Metal Meeting 2016. It was a truly memorable experience! But tell me Bill, did you witness Sabbath with all their iconic frontmen? Specifically Ozzy Osbourne, Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillian, Glenn Hughes and Tony Martin?
Bill: My
first time seeing Sabbath was in 1973. I’ve seen Sabbath the most times with
Ozzy on vocals as well as a couple of times with Dio. I’ve also seen one-time
gigs with Gillian, Hughes and Martin.
BMS: I admit that I’m pretty jealous! I would’ve loved to see a Sabbath gig with Dio or Martin. In particular the Black Sabbath album “Headless Cross” (with Martin on vocals) is a huge favorite of mine.
Bill:
Indeed, I love that release too. It’s amazing to see how varied but always
impressive Sabbath was throughout their enormous 5-decade career. When you
compare a release like “Paranoid” with “Heaven & Hell” or the
aforementioned “Headless Cross,” they sound so different yet so familiar. Tony
Iommi is a real genius!
BMS: Yes, he certainly is! It’s time for a pretty awkward question. I read online that there exists another British band called Sacrilege, a thrash/doom metal act from Birmingham. Does your band often get confused with them?
Bill: (face
palm) All the time, my friend. You know, that other Sacrilege band was formed
in 1987 while my band was founded in 1982 so yeah, we came first. The other
Sacrilege wasn’t aware of our band’s existence but at the time I didn’t mind
because I had retired and had no plans to return as an active musician. Now, of
course, things have changed and I’ve always had to make it clear to bookers,
promoters and venue owners that we’re not Sacrilege, the thrash/doom metal act
from Birmingham, but rather Sacrilege, the old-school heavy metal band from
Gillingham (located in the Kent county, southern England). But ever so often
they refuse to book us for classic metal or doom metal events because they
don’t want thrash metal on their lineups. But we don’t give up, they will learn
the difference eventually!

BMS: In fact, I’ve heard of your Sacrilege before I’ve heard of the other Sacrilege, so you’ve come first indeed, at least in my Shredder book. So, this October you’re playing in the Ragnarok in Bree. Have you already played in Belgium before?
Bill: Oh
yeah, many times! For instance, we did two consecutive gigs in the Rocking Bull
venue in Antwerp (during which we played two different sets), we also played in
the Negasonic bar in Aalst and other places. I love your little country, it’s
full of friendly people and enthusiastic metal lovers. And I have a great
appetite for your Hoegaarden beer!
BMS: Thanks for those kind words! And yeah, I like Hoegaarden as well. Now, what are your future plans for Sacrilege?
Bill: We
recently appointed a new manager, her name is Valeria Campagnale and she’s from
Como, Italy. And speaking of Italy, we’re heading there this December to record
a music video for the “Court of the Insane” title song. We’ll also be heading
to Malta next March as well as a German tour later in 2020. We have huge plans
for 2020, so keep in touch with us!
BMS: We sure will! Time for one of my traditional questions, what other activities do you do aside from Sacrilege?
Bill: Aside
from guitar I also play keyboards, I don’t play live, but I love to learn and
play some tunes that I hear. I also watch plenty of football and I frequently
play badminton to keep my body in shape.
BMS I also
love doing sports, particularly athletics. One of my favorite activities is
running through my local countryside.
Bill: I
used to live in London until I moved to the southern England countryside about
30 years ago. In fact, during Sacrilege’s early years the South London press
loved us. Speaking about the media, I’ve got an interesting Sacrilege fact that
I wish to share with you all!
BMS: Please tell us!
Bill: Our
debut gig was in 1982, during an episode of the popular David Jensen music show,
where we shared the stage with the Stranglers and U2! That particular episode
was dedicated to heavy rock music and we were selected to appear on the show
out of the 4000 tapes they received!
BMS: HOLY MOLY! That’s beyond impressive, Bill! That would be like me getting the chance to shred someone like Tom Araya, Corey Taylor or Doro Pesch on my very first interview.
Bill: Yeah,
and to top it all off, I wasn’t even aware of Sacrilege’s participation! My dad
had secretly sent the tape to the show’s hosts and when I got that phone call
from the David Jensen Show crew saying that we were invited to play on his show
I believed that someone pulled a prank on me! It was unbelievable!
BMS: You’ve got one hell of an awesome dad, Bill!
Bill: Thank
you, I’m very proud of him! In addition, we were also scheduled to have one of
our tracks (which would’ve been “Rat Race”) featured on an independent NWOBHM compilation
album by John Glover along with material from Iron Maiden, Saxon, Def Leppard
and others. We had hired a producer, contracted a record label and had the song
recorded, but at the last minute Go West, a pop rock band that Glover managed,
had scored two major hits (which were “We Close Our Eyes” and “Call Me”) and
suddenly Glover pulled away from his intended metal compilation project and put
all his money and efforts into Go West’s sudden mainstream success.
BMS: Go West for them, go South for you. Too bad, but you still did one hell of a debut show where most rock bands can only dream of!
Bill:
Indeed. I’m still very thankful for that miraculous opportunity! And it was an
equally awesome opportunity to talk to you tonight!
BMS: The pleasure’s all mine, Bill! Have a good one, friend!
