Sacred Oath-World on fire

Angel Thorne
201/2012

Even though Sacred Oath have recorded more album since their reunion than they did in their first run in the 80's it seems like their debut is the point that I measure all of their other work by. That's because their debut really was that good. However "World on fire" is certainly my favorite album after the debut. The style isn't that far off from any of their other albums. They still like Maiden, early Queensyrche, 80's Crimson Glory and others. However they have expanded their writing a bit and tried to open up their playing even more. The production is slick, but not so much that it robs them of any heaviness. Many of the songs here manage to incoporate more pace changes than they have in the past. That is the main reason why this album stands out above some of their others. The standout tracks for me were "Sweet Agony", "Front Line" and "Drums of war". Sacred Oath are  band that for me have never missed on an album and that's considering the almost two decade gap between the first two albums and several line-up changes. Definitely a band that others could take some lessons from.