Sabbat "Mourning Has Broken (Japan, Victor Entertainment/Noise Records, VICP-5052)"

Mourning Has Broken is the third and final full-length album by the British thrash metal band, Sabbat, and the band's only album following the departure of singer and lyricist Martin Walkyier. The album is generally considered both a critical and commercial failure and the band split up soon after its release.

Speaking to Terrorizer magazine in 2006, Andy Sneap stated emphatically: ""I don't listen to this (Mourning Has Broken). There is some mad guitar playing on there, some of the shredding is ridiculous, but it sounds thrown together, which it was; it shouldn't have had the Sabbat name on it."

The denial of the album's legitimacy indicated by its exclusion from the discography included in the band's official website as well as its exclusion from the 2007 remastered CD re-issue of the band's other two albums, means that the album cannot presently be considered canon.

Track listing

1. "The Demise of History" – 7:52
2. "Theological Void" – 7:26
3. "Paint the World Black" – 5:25
4. "Dumbstruck" – 5:14
5. "The Voice of Time" – 6:45
6. "Dreamscape" – 8:47
7. "Without a Trace" – 7:24
8. "Mourning Has Broken" – 2:05

Recording information:

Recorded and mixed at Woodcray Studio, Berkshire, November/December 1990.

Mastered at The Townhouse, London.

Sabbat "Dreamweaver (Reflections of Our Yesterdays) (2007 Reissue Remastered, Noise Records)"

Dreamweaver (Reflections of Our Yesterdays) is the second full-length album by the British thrash metal band Sabbat, released in 1989

Dreamweaver is a concept album based on the 1983 book by British psychologist Brian Bates - The Way of Wyrd: Tales of an Anglo-Saxon Sorcerer. The album demonstrated singer and lyricist Martin Walkyier's deep held beliefs in Wyrdism, Anglo-Saxon spirituality, Celtic mysticism and paganism. Musically the album reflected composer Andy Sneap's predilection at that time for increasingly lengthy and progressively technical thrash metal songs. Shortly before the album was recorded, former Holosade guitarist Simon Jones was recruited into the band as an additional lead and rhythm guitarist.

The album has come to be regarded as a classic of the thrash metal genre, described variously upon its re-release in 2007 as "essential listening" (Rock Sound), a "staggering work of total excellence" (Kerrang!), a "seminal chapter in the evolution of British metal" and one of the "finest metal albums ever made" (Metal Hammer).

At the time of the album's release, lyricist Martin Walkyier spoke to the metal press about the story behind the concept album, including the magazines Kerrang! (No. 240, 27 May 1989) and Metal Forces (No. 39, May 1989).

"The Clerical Conspiracy"

"The Clerical Conspiracy" sets the scene for the story and themes to come, introducing us to Wat Brand, the Christian missionary from northern England who, a thousand years ago, is sent down to southern England to learn about the pagan ways of the southern Anglo-Saxons and in doing so determine the best way in which they can be converted to Christianity. Speaking to Kerrang!, Walkyier explained that in "The Clerical Conspiracy", "the monks are talking in an abbey in the north of England, discussing the best way of converting Pagans in the south to Christianity."

"Advent of Insanity"

Having accepted the quest, Wat Brand sets sail for the south of England, via the coast, and according to Martin Walkyier, "Advent of Insanity" depicts his thoughts during the journey, thinking about what he left behind and the perils that face him in the future… Did he do the right thing?"

"Do Dark Horses Dream of Nightmares?"

In "Do Dark Horses Dream of Nightmares?", Wat Brand has arrived at the South, and whilst waiting for his pre-arranged guide to arrive, falls asleep, during which he falls prey to nightmares during which the pagan spirits make first contact with him. According to Walkyier (speaking to Metal Forces), the spirits using this contact to "try to work out whether he is trying to destroy the old Gods… to impose the new religion upon them." Explaining the title of the song, Walkyier told Kerrang! that "one of the spirits he meets is a black horse's head on a totem pole in a clearing in the forest."

"The Best of Enemies"

In "The Best of Enemies", the morning after his nightmare, Brand finally meets his guide, Wulf, who tells him of the pagan ways and starts to rebuke his Christian ideas. Walkyier told Metal Forces magazine that Wulf tells Brand that "if he really wants to learn then he can't just tell him about the spirits and the spirit world, he has to encounter that for himself and has to meet the spirits face to face. He says that the spirits will give him all the knowledge he wants, but only if he has the conviction to go through with it. He has to actually risk his own death in meeting the spirits." Walkyier told Kerrang! that "Brand thinks that he [Wulf] is going to show him around. But Wulf is actually a Shaman priest."

"How Have the Mighty Fallen?"

Told from the perspective of the spirits, "How Have the Mighty Fallen?" describes Brand’s first real meeting with the spirits and makes plain their intention to fight for their survival notwithstanding the threat of their imminent replacement by Christianity. In his interview with Metal Forces, Walkyier said that "having been told of the preparations he must undergo before meeting the spirits, Brand deviates from this with the result that the spirits come too soon." Walkyier explained to Kerrang! that "at the end of the song they steal Brand's soul and he has to prepare himself for a journey into the spirit world to reclaim it." To Metal Forces, Walkyier stated that “He [Brand] has two days in which to recover his soul or his lifeforce will ebb out."

"Wildfire"

In "Wildfire", Brand journeys into the spirit world. Walkyier told Kerrang! that the title is a reference to Brand’s naked dance between two fires called 'Wildfires'.

"Mythistory"

In "Mythistory", as described by Walkyier to Metal Forces, Brand "encounters his own soul which is a woman. He doesn't know that he has met his own soul and tells the woman he has come to learn the way of the Wyrd and the power of nature. She tells him to look no further for she is his soul and on returning to the material world he will know anything he wanted to know." To Kerrang!, Walkyier elaborated that his soul "explains the way of Wyrd to him, everything that he wanted to know." Thus his mission to convert the Pagans has become instead "a voyage of self-discovery."

Track listing

All lyrics by Martin Walkyier, music as indicated.

1. "The Beginning of the End (Intro)" (Andy Sneap) – 0:36
2. "The Clerical Conspiracy" (Sneap) – 5:38
3. "Advent of Insanity" (Sneap) – 2:27
4. "Do Dark Horses Dream of Nightmares?" (Sneap) – 6:24
5. "The Best of Enemies" (Sneap, Simon Jones) – 8:14
6. "How Have the Mighty Fallen?" (Sneap, Jones) – 8:18
7. "Wildfire" (Sneap) – 4:39
8. "Mythistory" (Sneap, Jones) – 6:47
9. "Happy Never After (Outro)" (Sneap) – 1:02

2007 re-release

On 19 February 2007 Dreamweaver was re-released by Sanctuary Records. The new edition features an expanded booket with extra photos and liner notes, remastered sound (undertaken by the band's own Andy Sneap), and three bonus live tracks, recorded in East Berlin in 1990:

1. "The Clerical Conspiracy" (live) – 6:04
2. "Do Dark Horses Dream of Nightmares?" (live) - 6:17
3. "The Best of Enemies" (live) – 8:05

Concept album based on Brian Bates' book "The Way of Wyrd".

Recording information:

Bonus tracks recorded in East Berlin, 4th of March 1990.

Roy M. Rowland – producer, engineer, mixing at Hansa Tonstudio, Berlin

Moses Meister – mixing assistant

Tim Beer – artwork

Karl-Ulrich Walterbach – executive producer

Sabbat "History Of A Time To Come (2007 Reissue Remastered, Noise Records)"

History of a Time to Come is the debut full-length album by the British thrash metal band Sabbat.

In May 1986, Sabbat recorded a four-track demo tape entitled Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, recorded at a cost of £10 in a converted farmhouse near Ripley, Derbyshire. During the second half of 1986, guitarist Andy Sneap distributed the demo tape to magazines and several heavy metal record labels, including Berlin-based recording company Noise Records. After hearing it, Noise Records expressed interest in the band and asked to hear more material. The demo tape was also sent to Tommy Vance of BBC Radio 1's Friday Rock Show, to see if he would review it in his column for Metal Hammer magazine. Vance was so impressed he offered the band a recording session for his radio show.

On 6 February 1987, the band recorded three songs live in the studio at the BBC's Maida Vale Studios, London, for the Friday Rock Show, which was broadcast on 27 February 1987.

Prompted by Noise Records's request to hear more material, a copy of the BBC session was duly provided to the record company. Shortly afterwards, in March 1987, the German label offered the band a recording contract, which the band accepted, albeit the contract could not be signed until Sneap (the youngest member of the band) turned 18 years old in July 1987. Immediately plans were put in place to record the band's debut LP at Horus Sound Studio in Hannover, Germany, in September 1987.

Before heading to Germany, the band was contacted by John Blanche, art director for White Dwarf magazine, who proposed that the band record a song for release as a free flexi disc to accompany the magazine. The band agreed, and the song "Blood for the Blood God" was recorded in August 1987 and released as intended with the magazine in November 1987.

Speaking to Metal Forces magazine before the recording of the album, Sneap set out the band's plans for their debut LP, stating:

"All the tracks from the 'Fragments of a Faith Forgotten' demo will be on it and also 'The 13th Disciple' from the Friday Rock Show session, plus other tracks such as 'A Church Bizarre', 'I for an Eye', 'Behind the Crooked Cross' and the instrumental 'A Dead Man's Robe'".

"A Cautionary Tale"

One of the band's oldest songs, "A Cautionary Tale" was recorded for the demo tape Fragments of a Faith Forgotten in May 1986 and was also recorded by the band for its BBC radio session in February 1987. The song is based on the classic German tale of the scholar Faust who makes a bargain with the devil's representative Mephistopheles which permits Faust to enjoy the devil's powers but ultimately in an exchange for Faust's soul which sees Faust eternally damned.

"Hosanna in Excelsis"

This is another early Sabbat song which was first recorded for the demo tape Fragments of a Faith Forgotten in May 1986. Speaking to Metal Hammer magazine after the recording of the album, lyricist Martin Walkyier explained that "Hosanna in Excelsis" describes "the last fight between Heaven and Hell and is based on the bible", referring to the subject matter of the Book of Revelation. The title of the song is a reference to part of the Sanctus hymn which traditionally forms the fourth part of a mass in classical music.

"Behind the Crooked Cross"

One of the band's more recently composed songs at the time of the recording of the album, "Behind the Crooked Cross" is based upon themes raised in historian and biographer Gerald Suster’s book, Hitler and the Age of Horus. The book includes an exploration of Adolf Hitler’s mystical and occult influences, positing a connection between philosophies expounded by Aleister Crowley, namely, the rise of Nazism as evidence of the fulfillment of Crowley’s prophecy of the imminent Age of Horus. This exploration includes a consideration of Nazi symbolism, represented most potently by the Swastika, or 'crooked cross'. Speaking to Metal Forces magazine before the album’s recording, Walkyier stated that the song addresses "the question was Hitler a madman or a magician?... I think he was obviously a madman." The song also mentions the Russian occultist, philosopher, and author Helena Blavatsky.

"Horned Is the Hunter"

In February 1987, Sabbat's BBC session had included a song called "The 13th Disciple". For the album, the music for this song was given new lyrics, and entitled "Horned Is the Hunter". Reflective of Walkyier's burgeoning interest in paganism at that time, the song bemoans the fate of paganism, symbolically represented by the horned ruler Pan, following the arrival into Western Europe of Christianity.

"I for an Eye"

Another newer song at the time of recording, "I for an Eye" tells the biblical story of the fallen angel, Lucifer.

"For Those Who Died"

The third of the older songs which had first been recorded for the demo tape Fragments of a Faith Forgotten in May 1986, "For Those Who Died" had also been recorded by the band for its BBC radio session in February 1987. Speaking to Metal Hammer shortly after the recording of the album, Walkyier stated that "'For Those Who Died' is about the inquisition in the Middle Ages." In particular the song addresses the Catholic Church’s persecution during the Medieval Inquisition of those it considered guilty of heresy.

"The Church Bizarre"

Speaking to Kerrang! shortly before the album's release, bassist Frazer Craske explained that he and Walkyier had attended a sermon by evangelist Billy Graham. Craske described Graham "as an extremely dangerous American who makes his living spreading the word of God." Martin Walkyier stated that "I went with an open mind… but what put me off was all those millions of people watching him and he's standing there with a massive stage-show and loads of money. If that is what his religion's about, then I don't want anything to do with it. It was really centred on money." This disillusionment is apparent in the lyrics of "The Church Bizarre", a cynical story of evangelism and its pursuit of material gain.

The album was recorded at Horus Sound Studio commencing on 14 September 1987. It was subsequently mixed in Berlin by producer Roy M. Rowland and released in 1988, bearing artwork drawn by the band's White Dwarf contact, John Blanche, entitled 22Horned Is the Hunter

Track listing

All songs written by Andy Sneap and Martin Walkyier.

1. "Intro" – 2:00
2. "A Cautionary Tale" – 4:15
3. "Hosanna in Excelsis" – 4:00
4. "Behind the Crooked Cross" – 6:00
5. "Horned Is the Hunter" – 8:08
6. "I for an Eye" – 5:22
7. "For Those Who Died" – 6:25
8. "A Dead Man's Robe" – 4:48
9. "The Church Bizarre" – 5:07

2007 re-release bonus tracks

On February 19, 2007, History of a Time to Come was re-released. The new edition features an expanded booklet with extra photos and liner notes, a remastered sound (done by the band's own Andy Sneap), and five bonus live tracks, recorded in East Berlin in 1990:

1. "Hosanna in Excelsis" (live)
2. "Behind the Crooked Cross" (live)
3. "I for an Eye" (live)
4. "For Those Who Died" (live)
5. "The Church Bizarre" (live)

Recording information:

Recorded and mixed at Horus Sound Studio, Hannover, Germany in September 1987.

Bonus tracks recorded in East Berlin, March 4th, 1990.

Various Artists "Doomsday News III : Thrashing East Live"

"Doomsday News III : Thrashing East Live" is a split live album by Sabbat/Coroner/Kreator and Tankard, released October 9th, 1990 and recorded at Werner-Seelenbinder-Halle (now demolished, replaced by the Velodrom), East Berlin, in March 4, 1990.

Mixed at Trjxx Musik Produktion, Berlin & SkyTrak Studio, Berlin.

Various Artists "Doomsday News :The New Generation Of Heavy Metal"

Doomsday News :The New Generation Of Heavy Metal is a compilation album, released in 1988 by Noise International.