Sanctuary - Into the Mirror Black
CBS / Epic Records
Drifting farther away from Power Metal...
9 songs (46:57)
Release year: 1989
Reviewed by Brent
Archive review

Wow, what a great album to go out with. I am probably gonna catch some flak for this remark, but I like this one better than their debut. With this album, the band has much better production (sorry Dave), and really matured their sound into something that hasn't quite been matched since. For starters, this album is incredible, almost to the point where I wish there was never a breakup. But I can't necessarily say that and mean it, as one of my favorite bands came from this band's demise. Comparing it to the last album, I know I have said it already, but the production is much clearer. I really like it, as you can hear everything that is going on. I wonder where they would have gone with a next album, with the progression from Refuge Denied to this one. I can only guess heavier, but perhaps this is a discussion for the forums. I finally got my hands on this album, after asking Warrel Dane himself where I could aquire it. He suggested Ebay, so I bid on it there, and got it for a great price. Also, something else I wanted to add before I went any further. In my review of "Refuge Denied", I compared the band to a mix between Queensryche and Accept. Now with this album, the Queensryche comparison is much more valid, as they sound like them but MUCH heavier. As for the Accept reference, it isn't really apparent on this album.

"Future Tense" is the first song on the album, and just by listening to it, you can tell that this album will be much different. "Taste Revenge" is next, and it fits in with the vein of the album quite nicely. The next song is "Long Since Dark", which is only one of my favorite songs that Warrel Dane has ever been apart of. "Epitaph" is next, and I consider it one of this album's mini-epics, I don't know why, it just gives me that vibe. The next song is "Eden Lies Obscured", and I really like the driving riff in this song. "The Mirror Black" is next, and yet, something rings out "mini-epic", and once again, I don't know why. Up next is "Seasons of Destruction". The beginning of it sounds like something from a death metal album, haha, that riff just reminds me of something I would hear from a Deicide album or something. As for that Queensryche reference earlier, here is where it steps in and makes it's presence known. The opening riff of "One More Death" sounds like a mixture of Queensryche and dare I say Savatage. It is also my favorite song from this band. The last song on this album, "Communion" is awesome, and I really like where he goes with his vocals in this one.

After listening to this album once again, while writing this review, I come to realize these two things... One, Damn, Warrell really sounds like Ripper Owens, and vice versa. Two, this has got to be one of the best cds in my collection, and I have a lot of cds. If I were stuck on a desert island, this cd would be one of the ones that I would have to have with me.

Killing Songs :
Future Tense, Long Since Dark, Eden Lies Obscured, One More Death, Communion
Brent quoted 89 / 100
Other albums by Sanctuary that we have reviewed:
Sanctuary - Inception reviewed by Ben and quoted no quote
Sanctuary - The Year The Sun Died reviewed by Joel and quoted 90 / 100
Sanctuary - Refuge Denied reviewed by Brent and quoted 78 / 100
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