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intothewellsabyss
Nov 19, 20224 min read

Sanctuary - Refuge Denied (1987)

FROM THE CRYPTS - CELEBRATING PAST ALBUM RELEASES in the HISTORY of HARD ROCK & HEAVY METAL…



In November 1987, Sanctuary released their debut full-length studio album Refuge Denied in the UK and Europe via Epic Records (1988 in the North America).


The album art was created by famed artist Ed Repka. Repka is noteworthy for creating covers for albums such as Death’s Scream Bloody Gore, Leprosy, and Spiritual Healing, the Atheist album Piece of Time, and many of Megadeth's early releases, including Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?. Repka's portfolio also includes Dark Angel's logo and model designs for the Hellraiser films.



Background:

After having recorded their first demo, guitarist Lenny Rutledge managed to establish contact with and introduced himself to Dave Mustaine after a Megadeth show and played Sanctuary's demo. Intrigued, Mustaine expressed an interest in not only introducing the band to his management, but also producing the album!


With the majority of the songs already written, the band signed with Mustaine's manager, Keith Rawls (who financed the recording) and headed into the studio to record. In need of an extra song to pad the album length and song list, the band added the classic song White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane.


Talks to a number of record labels led to Sanctuary signing with Epic Records. Sanctuary then released Refuge Denied in Europe in late 1987 and early 1988 in the US. The band subsequently toured worldwide in support of the album, playing with bands such as Megadeth, Warlock, Savatage, Testament, Nuclear Assault, Flotsam and Jetsam, Vio-lence, Fates Warning, Meliah Rage and Forced Entry.



Release:

The album initially sold 7,000 copies on vinyl. By June 2011, the album had sold over 200,000 copies.


The album was re-released in 2010 together with successor album Into the Mirror Black as double CD by reissue label IronBird via Cherry Red.


The song Battle Angels was used in the 2009 video game Brütal Legend.


The song Battle Angels was also featured in the fourth episode of the first season of the Netflix series, The OA, Away.



Refuge Denied Tour 2019:

In 2019 Sanctuary performed its 1988 debut album, Refuge Denied, in its entirety on the band's North American tour. The trek kicked off on July 11 in Atlanta and concluded on August 17 in Seattle. Support on the tour came from Ghost Ship Octavius, the band featuring former Nevermore drummer Van Williams. The tour was the second to feature vocalist Joseph Michael (Witherfall), who first came in to fill the vocal slot on the bands 2018 North American tour, which was a tribute to the musical legacy of singer Warrel Dane (who passed away in December 2017). Along with the return of Joseph Michael (who was there only as a guest in 2017), guitarist Joey Concepcion also returned for this tour.


About the tour, Lenny Rutledge stated;

"It is with great pleasure that we can finally announce that Sanctuary are officially continuing on."
"This small string of U.S. dates will serve as the starting point of many more things to come.
"To celebrate the deep history of the band and the connection the fans have with us, we will perform Refuge Denied in its entirety, along with other popular songs. Along for this journey, Ghost Ship Octavius will be joining us.
"2019 will be an exciting year."

Lenny Rutledge also told Metal Wani about the band's new lineup:

"Joseph, in my opinion, has been nailing it every night, which for me, was kind of a concern, and for him as well, I'm sure. I had a really great time, and I feel like we're really kind of getting into our groove. We're coming into our stride… We wanted to make it feel right. If we couldn't, we weren't going to go any further. Once I started working with Joseph, I felt confident that we could do it justice, and I think he did as well. I think we are doing it justice. You never really know until you're out there, and from the crowd reaction and what people to say to us when we're done, they really feel like it's a good representation and we've done Warrel respect. I think we did it right. I think a lot of people agree."

Lenny went on to say that Joseph has "breathed new life into" Sanctuary. "We've been able to play some songs that we don't normally play with Warrel," he said.


Lenny then concluded;

"In Warrel's later years, he had some things going on with his voice and his health. Although he was still an amazing vocalist and writer and everything, there was just some things that we shied away from doing, and now that Joseph's in the band, he has kind of a different range that's available to him, so we've been trying some other stuff. It's kind of breathed a new energy into the band, so that's been really cool for us. We're moving forward."

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