Hey brutal bangers,
after reviewing "The Court of the Insane" by Sacrilege in full quarantine period, I asked to their manager Valeria Campagnale if I could interview them. Her answer was positive but, for some reasons, I found the time to prepare the interview only the last month, in August. As the saying goes: "it's better late than never"! And, anyway, it was even since Cripple Bastards that no interviews were featured on these putrid pages!
So, enjoy this interview to an historic (but unlucky at that time) NWOBHM band, that is now living an explosion of creativity since their reunion happened in 2012!
Hi. It’s good to meet you. This is Paul (Macnamara) – lead guitarist – I joined Sacrilege early last year (2019). I am also from Salem – another NWOBHM band.
As I’m fairly new to the band, I don’t know all the whole Sacrilege history – I’ve asked Bill to check the details. lol
You were born in 1982, so in full NWOBHM period but did you effectively be part of the movement? And what were your main influences?
Yes. Sacrilege was formed in 1982 – at the height of the NWOBHM movement, however I’m not sure if the band felt part of the movement.
Bill (Beadle) formed the band with his friends just to play the music they enjoyed ... in particular the great heavy rock bands from the 1970s like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest.
Sacrilege played gigs, appeared on TV, recorded music and had a number of potential opportunities in the 1980s – however, like many NWOBHM bands, these opportunities unfortunately didn’t always come to fruition and, in the end, success evaded Sacrilege.
As well as some demo recordings, the band did self-release the “Gates of Hell” album on cassette tape in 1984.
We still play, at our gigs, several songs from that album - including “No Respect”, “Rock and Roll with The Devil”, “In the Arena”, and “Ashes to Ashes” – and these always get a great reception by our supporters.
Many NWOBHM bands, also the most obscure ones, were reformed in these last years and you are no exceptions in this “trend”. But what were the reasons behind your reunion?
I don’t think that the reformation of Sacrilege was not influenced by any “trend”. I believe that Bill was invited to play a one-off gig of Sacrilege music so he put a band together especially for that show. This went very well so his enthusiasm was rekindling – and the rest is history!
Since your reunion in 2012, you released even 7 full-length albums, showing in this way an enviable prolificity. So, why are you so creative?
Yes. It’s great. Again, the band founder Bill has always been the songwriter. He told me that he still gets inspiration from the greats from the 70s.
Each album has a different lyrical theme and mood.
As I mentioned above, we play songs from all the albums. My particular favourites are the last few albums – and I think “The Court of the Insane” is genius.
I can be independent as it was recorded before I joined.
These last few albums have all featured Bill with Neil (Turnbull) on drums and Jeff (Rowland) on bass.
In comparison with your previous albums, what characterizes better “The Court of the Insane” from them?
I really love playing the music from this album at our gigs – it’s BIG and it’s EPIC.
It’s awesome!
(Again, I can be independent as it was recorded before I joined.)
The album is really various and allows to different listeners to choose their own favourite numbers. So, my favourite track is surely “Bring Out Your Dead”, whose ending is spectacular! But what’s yours?
I’m delighted that you like the album. “Bring Out Your Dead” is also one of my favourites – there’s so much energy, the melodies really grab you, and for me too the outro solo is really exciting!!
Other favourites for me include “Celestial City, “Lies”, “Depression”, “No Bequeath”, “The Prophet”, ”Unhinged Mind” and the title track “The Court of the Insane” – all of which we have played live to audiences in UK, Germany, Belgium and Netherlands ... we really hope to get to Italy soon.
Your lyrics are very dark. But, specifically, what are the main themes you faced in the album? Are there some literature references here and there?
Each album has its own lyrical theme. “The Court of the Insane” album considers mental health from various angles. I’m not sure about literature references.
"Six6six" had a doom feel to it and was a concept album. "The Wraith" was a soundtrack album that Bill based on the tv series Stargate Atlantis. The other albums were songs based on how Bill was feeling at the time.
Who played the keyboards in “The Court of the Insane”? I found no infos about this in any places.
Bill played keyboards on the album – and he plays the keyboards live too.
How was shooting the video made for the title track? There is need to say that the Castello Sannazzato, where the video was shot, is a very suggestive location!
It was a fabulous experience shooting the “The Court of the Insane” video in the awesome Castello Sannazzato. We met the Count and he showed us around the castle – he told us about the history, and about the ghost!
This was filmed last December (2019), and whilst the weather was bright it was freezing. In the movie, Bill looks like he quaking in fear although he is actually shivering with cold.
Whilst I believe that this band was first to use the name Sacrilege, there have been several other “Sacrilege” bands. There was a punk/thrash metal band with a girl singer that we sometimes get confused with – I don’t think they are active any more(?) [yes, man, in my question I was just referring to these Birminingham-based Sacrilege you already mentioned! - Flavio]
Your manager, Valeria Campagnale, is Italian like me. How was born this collaboration between Valeria and you?
Valeria has apparently been a big fan of Sacrilege for many years. She has been great for the band getting us airplay and gigs around Europe.
How is now the post-quarantine situation in your country?
Whilst the band is ok, it has been disappointing to have had to postpone so many gigs in UK and Europe because of the Government/Covid-19 restrictions.
We have used the time to share song ideas – and we are now making plans for rehearsals for gigs and to work up potential new songs.
Did you finally restart to play some live gigs? I imagine that you have a very strong will to play live after all these months of abstinence!
Yes. It has been very frustrating to have organised gigs/tours/festivals in UK and Europe this year, and then to have to postpone them all.
We are really excited about playing together again – to all audiences old and new.
Do you remember your last concert before the quarantine? How was it?
Yes. We played in London – The Cavern – the first time that Sacrilege had played there and I was very pleased that the venue was packed and we went down very well. We even had some fans from Italy at the gig.
We are already rehearsing to be gigging again as soon as possible, and working on new music for the next album.
From my own point of view, it’s great to be part of Sacrilege and I hope to be able to contribute to the continually developing sound/music-writing team.
Sacrilege has a strong and growing following – we are keen to get out to play to our audience.
Ok men, the interview is over, so feel free to end it as you want. Thank you for your answers and see ya!
Thanks very much. It’s been great talking with you.
We are really pleased that you like our music – especially the recent album – and we do hope to get to play in Italy very soon.
Official website: https://www.sacrilegenwobhm.com/
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/sacrilegerock
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