SACRIFICE: Decibel Magazine Streams Volume Six, The Incinerating New Album By Ontario Thrash Metal Outfit; Bandâs Acclaimed Sixth LP Out Friday On Cursed Blessings Records

photo by Kieran Palmerston

ââ¦a fast-paced, sharp slab of thrashâ¦â â Decibel Magazine

Decibel Magazine presents an early stream of Volume Six, the incinerating new album and first in over sixteen years from Scarborough, Ontario thrash metal veterans, SACRIFICE. The record will be released in North America through Cursed Blessings Records this Friday.

The sixth SACRIFICE album overall, and second since the bandâs reformation in 2006, Volume Six features ten new originals and a cover paying homage to the Toronto scene from which they originally emerged. The songs on Volume Six run the gamut from speedy, breakneck thrash (âComatose,â âExplode,â âWe Will Not Surviveâ) to more nuanced, layered, metallic compositions (âUnderneath Millenia,â âYour Hunger For Warâ). Two instrumental tracks on the album show yet another side of the bandâs songwriting while still clearly being SACRIFICE songs: âLunar Eclipseâ is a showcase for Rico and Urbinatiâs excellent twin guitar leads, while âBlack Hashishâ is SACRIFICE at their most psychedelic. The albumâs final track, âTrapped In A World,â is a cover of â80s Toronto hardcore band Direct Action, a group that had a massive influence on the members of SACRIFICE during their formative years. The song features guest vocals by Youth Youth Youth vocalist and Toronto music legend Brian Taylor, who operated the Diabolic Force label in the eighties and produced the bandâs first three albums, bringing everything full-circle three decades later with his appearance here.

Working once again with engineer Darius Szczepaniak â who was also at the helm for SACRIFICEâs 2009 effort The Ones I Condemn â Volume Six was recorded, mixed, and mastered at Phase One Studios. Tracked over a period of sessions between September 2023 and May 2024, the record was produced by vocalist/guitarist Rob Urbinati and features the bandâs original lineup, with lead guitarist Joe Rico, bassist Scott Watts, and drummer Gus Pynn as well as Urbinati. They are one of, if not the only, 1980s thrash band that still has its original lineup intact and playing together, and on Volume Six, the band hits it out of the park. The stunning front cover artwork for Volume Six was painted by Propagandhi bassist and lifelong SACRIFICE fan Todd Kowalski.

Rob Urbinati declares, “For months, we have been waiting for the day when everyone can finally hear our new SACRIFICE album Volume Six. That day is here at last; We hope you enjoy this record of Canadian thrash metal by the same four band members we started with.”

Decibel writes with their stream of the album, âFeaturing the bandâs original lineup, Volume Six is a fast-paced, sharp slab of thrashâ¦ loaded with the kind of fast-paced bangers one would expectâopener âComatose,â âAntidote Of Poison,â or âWe Will Not Surviveâ are all perfect examplesâbut SACRIFICE throw in a few curveballs. âLunar Eclipseâ is the first instrumental song on the record and puts a heavy emphasis of the dual-guitar approach from Rob Urbinati and Joe Rico, while âBlack Hashishâ sees Sacrifice detour into psychedelia and even doom territory.â

**Hit Decibel Magazine now to hear SACRIFICEâs entire Volume Six early at THIS LOCATION.**

Volume Six will be released this Friday, February 21st, digitally and on CD, MC, and LP in Blue, White, and Black variants. Find preorders at the Cursed Blessings Records webshop HERE. The record is available in Europe, Asia, and Australia through High Roller Records.

SACRIFICE will make a rare live appearance to headline Modified Ghost Festival in Vancouver, British Columbia May 17th with Repulsion, Anciients, Bewitcher, and more. The show will serve as the official release show for Volume Six. Additional live appearances from the band are to be expected later in the year.

SACRIFICE Live
5/17/2025 Modified Ghost Festival @ Rickshaw Theatre â Vancouver, BC [tickets]

“Of all Canada’s 1980s thrash bands, the one with the best quality-to-quantity ratio is, beyond the shadow of a doubt, SACRIFICE… Nestled comfortably between Testament, Death Angel, and Destruction, SACRIFICE‘s approach is simple yet very effective.” â Decibel Magazine

âOne of Canada’s Big Four of thrash, here to kick ass.â â Metal Injection

â5/5â â BangerTV

âReturn to form? Not really, that would mean SACRIFICE lost their grasp at some point, and listening to Volume Six that just does not seem possible. â PopMatters

âThe much heralded âBig Fourâ of thrash have largely dulled their dangerous edges over the years, to be thought of in the same light as classic rock bands, so an album like this one recaptures the excitement the classic chugs and gallops once invoked. If you want to recapture that magic, give this album a listen.â â No Clean Singing

âAs someone whoâs been with this band since the start, I can say with confidence: Volume Six stands tall alongside Forward to Termination and Soldiers Of Misfortune. SACRIFICE is still one of, if not the best thrash band to ever come out of Canada. This will be high on my list of top Metal Albums of 2025. 10/10â â The Metal Pit

âWith its themes of impending doom on songs like âYour Hunger for War,â âIncoming Mass Extinction,â and âWe Will Not Survive,â the heavy riffs, the bass leads and the battering drums, it’s a recording that we haven’t heard from anybody, in years. It easily rides alongside the band’s best work.â â LoudTO

âVolume Six is thrash metal at its best: fast, aggressive, but also melodic. The key elements are the guitars, which deliver class in the riffing and the solos. The vocals keep the sound perfectly together. The sound is versatile enough to keep the album fresh and dynamic. 9/10â â Metal Temple