Band: Sacred Legacy
Title: Undying Heart
Label: Rock’n’Growl
Distribution: Rock’n’Growl / Hard’n’Heavy Promotion
Release date: March 31st 2011
Review: CD (re-release)

Metal from the Maldives? Are you kidding? The Maldivian Islands are extremely regressive and old fashioned (read: traditional and therefore a little intolerable) when it comes to religion – if it weren’t a rich tourists’ attraction, I bet it could be a somewhat fanatic and totalitarian republic, probably.
Well, as a matter of fact, there are a handful of acts on these islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean, and especially the Thrash-scene is rather ‘popular’ out there (evidently mainly on the capital island / city of Malé) – think bands like Dittorehead, Serenity Dies, Locura or Tormenta. The latter recently released the mini-album Tormented Souls, reviewed with pleasure and professionalism by colleague Tony and posted on April 24th.
An upcoming name is Sacred Legacy. As a matter of fact, the band is named after the first solo-album by Ahmed Shahyd aka Legacy. After he left Syn, Shahyd started experimenting with many musical genres, inspired by Progressive, Classical and Thrash Metal in general, and influenced as well by Japanese Anime-soundtracks. His first solo-album, The Sacred Legacy, was released in 2006, followed soon after by the recording / release of two albums under the moniker Sacred Legacy (and in collaboration with permanent members, not just guest and session musicians): Apocalypse (2007) and Undying Heart (2008). The near future will see two new recordings: a new Sacred Legacy-album (The Legacy Begins, to be released in a just a couple of months, if things work out; the main part has been recorded in mean time) and a new solo-effort (Nostalgia, probably available as from autumn 2011).
Undying Heart was, as mentioned before, the second Sacred Legacy-album, which gets re-released right now on worldwide base through promotion and management-provider Rock’n’Growl (think: Tormenta – see above). The first album brought a melodic and slightly progressive form of Thrash Metal, and this second full length sort of continues that path, yet less progressive, and written / recorded with some new elements, like a wider range on vocals (screams, grunts, yells, and additional clean male and female vocals in the title song), more changes in tempo and melody, and heavier guitar riffs. Because of the brutal riffs and the vocals, which are more aggressive in general, the band often leans over more closely towards a Death / Thrash Metal-foundation. Yet this sonic violence interchanges with lots of classical additions. The solos, for example, are rather neo-classically performed (think Vai / Malmsteen / Moore); many riffs and rhythms sound rather ‘traditional’ (Bay Area and Gothenburg come to mind more than once); the use of piano and acoustic guitars comes at the right time (evidence all right).
Classical melodic Thrash from the Maldives, rather ‘simple’ and lacking of surprises, yet conceived with the best intentions…

[note: apparently the upcoming album will be less thrashing and more melodic - FYI]

--/100

Ivan Tibos.