Hiatus withstanding, Living Sacrifice remain one of the longest running Christian metal outfits to have made an impact with secular headbangers. It’s a distinction fittingly earned when considering the caliber of their decade spanning output. From their death metal roots to the percussive crunch of the late 90’s/early 2000’s and the leaner pummeling found on 2010’s “The Infinite Order“; the band have continued to evolve and adapt while forging ahead at their own pace.
With “Ghost Thief” they continue to settle into their role as a member of the old guard. Not in the sense that their material is dated—rather that it feels wiser and dignified, especially with the big nods they make to those that came before them. Indeed the band aptly honor genre titans such as Slayer and Pantera on this release, but they do so with their own inherently vicious metalcore slant.
Living Sacrifice have largely been an outfit that live and die by the density of their rhythm section and this album is expectedly no different. Opening track “Screwtape” (featuring Demon Hunter‘s Ryan Clark) even has enough percussive thump to it to recall “The Hammering Process“. But as militant as their cadence can be there’s equally as many thrashy riffs and unified onslaughts to keep the balance of power fluid.
The vocals roar and bellow with fervor and intensity. Barbed riffs tug and gnaw at the war machine like charge of the unrelenting drums as the heft and tone of the meaty bass encompasses every note like a fresh coat of tar. It’s a menacing display of musicianship, even if it can be a bit too familiar. To that end songs like “American Made” and “Despair“—the latter featuring Throwdown‘s Dave Peters—lean in disturbingly close on Slayer‘s heyday.
Other tracks reach an admirable level of post “Supercharger” Machine Head-like grandeur. While others get down and dirty like the darkest hate fueled moments from the back catalogue of Texas’ favorite ‘Cowboys From Hell’. At no point do you get a carbon copy, but there are some pretty big tips of the hat which can be distracting.
Even so, where Living Sacrifice pave their way is not via their influences nor their inexorable vigor. The bands key strength is a persistent ebb and flow that finds them dividing only to later unite. Slight tangents are embarked on by the various members, but the creative wandering only serves to camouflage their true intent. That being to ultimately tighten ranks for an annihilating moment of cohesion.
It’s a tactic they repeatedly use with grace, successfully keeping the listener on their toes while providing innumerable headbang worthy payoffs. With a career that began in the late 80’s, Living Sacrifice have surely endured countless trends and hardships.
But rather than break them down or make them malleable it has only tempered them into the resolute destructive force you find on display here. They may opt to utilize the same weaponry as some of the greats, but thankfully they are also able to employ most of the same cunning.
