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MYTHS & MONSTERS Sacred (independent) ****

Here is the sophomore E.P. for this modern rock collective out of Milwaukee.  Myths & Monsters is thick, dense gregarious and occasionally crunchy- perfect for cranking up and pounding the steering wheel to.

Myths & Monsters was recorded in Milwaukee by Kevin Ardnt at the Exchange Recording Complex and mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound. Those last 2 names, if you’re like me and enjoy reading the liner notes, will be familiar to you.  Sacred are catching some pretty important ears with Berlin Wall, the first single, being mixed by Tom Lord-Alge, who’s also worked with Shinedown, Blink 182, Fall Out Boy, Santana and Green Day; I’d say that’s some pretty decent company.

Myths & Monsters is hard rock yet quite melodic too, almost in a pop sort of way- the kind if stuff you hear on modern rock radio these days.  Yes there are some guitar solos, but not the huge heroic sort of things that are prevalent in classic rock.  When they bust out a solo it adds to the narrative of the song, not one of those “Hey, look how fast I can play” sort of deals.  The songs themselves are quite simple structurally but that’s what we want from rock & roll, even the modern rock stuff with a keen sense of drama like this.

Sacred on this disc are Vincent Black on vocals, Stelio K guitars, Dave Mauer bass, Steve Vorass drums, and Thea Vorass electric cello, and they tour mainly in the Wisconsin area, so living out east would be helpful if you want to catch them on stage when things get back to normal.  They’ve played festivals and they’ve also opened for national acts like Foghat, Red Sun Rising, Tony MacAlpine, Enuff-Z-Nuff and Peter DiStefano of Porno For Pyros.  After listening to this EP 4 or 5 times today, I can easily see Sacred holding their own in company like that.

Article // Podcast

Sacred are a modern alt rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

‘Berlin Wall’ is from their newest album ‘Myth & Monsters’ and it is a song about what divides us both internally and externally.

The lyrics make us sit up and think especially when paired up with the visuals and all this flows alongside electrifying instrumentals.

Boulent Mustafa is owner of OBs Music UK, supporting talented ‘under the radar’ artists that everyone should know about. Boulent lives in London, UK and is an avid and passionate supporter of Unsigned and Independent Musicians.

We use music as a means to make some sense of the world around us.

And as we traverse perhaps the most chaotic moments in a generation, a Wisconsin band was able to move quickly — though deftly — and encapsulate its power.

Milwaukee’s SACRED this week released their video for “Berlin Wall.” It’s the first video from their latest album, “Myths & Monsters.”

More than encapsulate, the band was able to impart some macro-level meaning to these strange and unsettling times through lyrics, a powerful sound and a stunning array of visuals that are in some places historic and in many others, painfully fresh.

It leaves viewers with the message that while unsettling, these times may not be so strange, after all.

“Berlin Wall” speaks to the walls that divide us as humankind, internally and externally. Its video, created with the help of Eric Dolister Films, shows the parallels of dividing walls historic and current.

Its visual storytelling earns deeper appreciation in knowing just how quickly it was produced.

It takes us from Vietnam to the Berlin Wall’s collapse to the streets of Minneapolis and the unrest that’s still unfolding in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police.

“Myths & Monsters” is SACRED’s second album and was released in June.

SACRED was selected as one of NEXT2ROCK 2018’s top 15 nationwide rock bands by Cumulus Media & Big Machine Records.

They received 2018-2020 nominations for “Best Alternative Rock Artists” by the Wisconsin Area Music Industry.SACRED tours regionally, plays larger festivals like Summerfest and opened for national touring acts.

SACRED’s music can be found on all major streaming services.

Hard rockers Sacred are out with a new EP. As the title suggests – there’s allegories of Gods, ghosts, darkness, and fantasy all over this thing. They rock out with immense imagination and cohesion to the point where you find yourself in another realm – one where guitars and drums are your sword and shield. Recorded at both The Exchange Recording Complex and Cherry Pit Studios, the band conjures something special here, reminding us that heavy rock music is alive and well in our scene. We hope to catch a show of theirs one day and see this energy live.

‘Myths & Monsters,’ SACRED

SACRED clearly worships at the altar of late ’90s post-grunge, but the group’s sophomore album is never stale. Singer Vincent Black has a commanding voice that never slips into melodramatics, cellist Thea Vorass adds elegance to “Maker” and “Misery,” and it’s clear to see why veteran rock engineer Tom Lord-Alge agreed to mix towering single “Berlin Wall.”

Alt Rock band Sacred return for deep and meaningful track ”Berlin Wall”. They reminisce about how times were back in the day when the Berlin Wall fell back in 1989 and the whole incredible moment. This was a huge day in the world and very significant in Germany of course. The band speak about the feeling of the locals on that big day and how it changed everything emotionally.

The band have a really good style about them and certainly sound tight as an outfit. This is high tempo Alt Rock that certainly pushes the volume up here. I like the sound of Sacred and they have a huge amount of potential. With a style that is very popular in the US and globally, I see no reason as to why they can’t be a huge name and pick up some incredible festival slots.

With a powerful energy and cutting lyrics, ”Berlin Wall” is a huge song by Sacred that is on a high level and deserves more love.

“Berlin Wall” the lead-off single from Sacred’s upcoming album Myths & Monsters is both progressive and aggressive. Vocalist Vincent Black sounds barely able to contain himself as guitarist Stelio Kalkounos’ ping-pong riff builds the tension before the band slams into the meat of the song. “I spent my time watching generations rise and fall,” Black sings, “I’ve seen a man take his hammer to the Berlin Wall.” Mixed by Tom Lord-Alge, the teaser track for the band’s sophomore album ‘Myths & Monsters,’ scheduled for release June 12.

Sacred’s vocalist Vincent Black had some classical voice training along the way and projects emotion with ferocious, nuanced power on the band’s self-titled debut album. The other members of this new Milwaukee band also bring diverse backgrounds to the project. Drummer Gabriel Sanchez comes from The Prince Experience, bassist Eric Madunic from Tweed Funk and guitarist Stelio Kalkounos from the Chicago band Brando’s Charm.

Sacred perform a melodic yet aggressive brand of metallic rock rooted in ’90s post-grunge. Asked to mention favorite bands, Black and Kalkounos answer without hesitation: Tool, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age. But they have gone beyond mere copying.

“We came together as friends to have fun playing music,” says Kalkounos. “We tried to find some songs by other artists that we all enjoyed, but we really didn’t get into covers very much.”

What happened instead was that Black and Kalkounos discovered each other as songwriters. Kalkounos describes “Paper Cups,” the album’s opener, as originating when he heard Black strumming one chord on acoustic guitar and humming a melody. “I built the song structure around that chord—and the hook came almost instantaneously.” Sanchez and Madunic build from the foundations laid by Black and Kalkounos. Most Sacred songs are credited to all four members.

Black praises Sanchez for shaping the band’s sound to a degree unusual for most rock percussionists. “He doesn’t play drums like a drummer,” Black explains. “His parts complement the melodies.” Kalkounos adds: “He complements the melodies through his fills on the toms—he syncopates the breath within each word.”

Sacred sees its agenda as “modernizing” the ’90s rock they grew up with. For Kalkounos, this involves the recording process. Their five-song debut was recorded at Milwaukee’s Exchange Studio, where 20th-century gear is wired to 21st-century microphones under the direction of producer-engineer Kevin Arndt. “He pushed us to do better musically,” Kalkounos says. “We would’ve been OK, but he’d say, ‘You can do better.’ He was like a coach who got the best performances out of us.” Additional sonic presence comes courtesy Ted Jensen, who mastered the disc at New York’s Sterling Sound. Jensen’s résumé includes everyone from The Eagles to Metallica. “We sent him our music and he chose to work with us,” Kalkounos says.

“The outside perspective we got when making the record was amazing,” Black adds. “It involves being honest with ourselves and taking tough criticism. We want to stay teachable—open to growing and developing.”

Sacred’s Thursday, Dec. 15 album release show at 7:30 p.m. at the Turner Hall Ballroom will include performances by The Cherrypops and Bellevue Suite. The first 200 people at the door will receive a special gift from the band—it’s a secret, but rest assured, it’s pretty cool.

Milwaukee, WI, June 28, 2017 –(PR.com)– Milwaukee’s Summerfest opens its 50th anniversary 4th of July celebration at 12 Noon at the Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard with Milwaukee’s own, SACRED.

SACRED is a progressive modern rock band consisting of Vincent Black on Vocals (Formerly of Everybody, Chandelier), managing partner Stelio Kalkounos of Milwaukee’s legendary Five O’Clock Steakhouse on Guitar (Formerly of Brando’s Charm), Gabriel Sanchez on Drums (Prince Experience, Yikes, Doc Hammer ) Eric Madunic on Bass Guitar (Tweed Funk, Orphans), and features Thea Vorass on Cello. Joining SACRED as their special guest for their Summerfest appearance will be Peter DiStefano, Guitarist from Perry Farrell’s Porno for Pyros.

SACRED was recorded by Kevin Arndt at the Exchange Recording Complex in Milwaukee, and mastered by the legendary Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in New York City. Their EP was released in October of 2016 to critical acclaim, and the band performed their debut concert in December of 2016 at the Historic Turner Hall Ballroom where the first 300 attendees received gift boxes stocked with limited addition walkmans pre-loaded with cassettes of the band’s debut EP and other gifts. The album can be downloaded through Apple Music at https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/sacred-ep/id1156648067 and all major online stores.

The songs “Death Note” and “Paper Cups” have been featured on commercial radio stations across the Midwest, including 102.9 the Hog, 102.1FM, 95.1 WIIL Rock, 94.1 WJJO, 96.9 The Fox, as well as non-commercial WMSE. In addition, SACRED has rotation on hundreds of Internet radio stations throughout the U.S. and U,K., and is scheduled for rotation soon on PANDORA.
Video for SACRED can be found on YouTube. Follow them on Twitter @SacredMusicBand or on Facebook at www.SACRED.band

Their set at Summerfest on July 4th at 12 Noon at the Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard is not to be missed and the band has some unique surprises in store for all attendees.