Sacred Blade worship !!

The Sentinel · Post by **The Sentinel** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 7:31 pm

The OTHYRWORLD CD is 10/10 for me as is the Sacred Blade LP. Timeless masterpieces, really. When you're planning to go to Europe I'll be definitely there.

Black Axe · Post by **Black Axe** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 9:40 pm

Europe yes. But not just the big metal fests in Germany or some other worthlessly available place.

Korgüll · Post by **Korgüll** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 1:53 am

Thanx to this forum SACRED BLADE & OTHYRWORLD = GODLIKE!

anthares · Post by **anthares** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 12:33 pm

These bands are fantastic! Would be a dream come true to see Othyrworld someday! There is something that reminds of old Megadeth on the first album. In a good way!! Canadas finest!

ION BRITTON · Post by **ION BRITTON** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 1:19 pm

anthares wrote:There is something that reminds of old Megadeth on the first album

Correct, listen to "Fieldz The Sunshrine", Megadeth "Peace sells" era undoubtedly!

Jeff Ulmer · Post by **Jeff Ulmer** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 4:45 pm

ION BRITTON wrote:Correct, listen to "Fieldz The Sunshrine", Megadeth "Peace sells" era undoubtedly!

The Megadeth comparison is interesting, I'll need to check that out some time.

Fieldz was written after I fell asleep in computer science class in high school in April 1983, and first demoed shortly thereafter. It was part of the live set over the summer.

We began recording the Sacred Blade album in September of 1984, so it was well into production before Megadeth began recording their first album, although they would have their second album out before Of the Sun + Moon was actually released in October 1986 (I think we had a delivery date for the audio in June, but the covers took a few months to complete).

Man, that was a long time ago.

Helm · Post by **Helm** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 5:22 pm

If I may ask a question, did you know you were making something absolutely special at the time, or were you making 'heavy metal music' without much self-congratulatory feeling, you know? Because for me, the Sacred Blade lp is absolutely timeless. I'm just wondering if you could feel it at the time that you had something so potent in your hands.

ION BRITTON · Post by **ION BRITTON** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 6:20 pm

Jeff Ulmer wrote:
ION BRITTON wrote:Correct, listen to "Fieldz The Sunshrine", Megadeth "Peace sells" era undoubtedly!
The Megadeth comparison is interesting, I'll need to check that out some time.

Fieldz was written after I fell asleep in computer science class in high school in April 1983, and first demoed shortly thereafter. It was part of the live set over the summer.

We began recording the Sacred Blade album in September of 1984, so it was well into production before Megadeth began recording their first album, although they would have their second album out before Of the Sun + Moon was actually released in October 1986 (I think we had a delivery date for the audio in June, but the covers took a few months to complete).

Man, that was a long time ago.

Maybe it's just a coincidence however the vocal lines + some riffs of that particular song are very similar to Megadeth's stuff! Same influences maybe?

Jeff Ulmer · Post by **Jeff Ulmer** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:36 pm

I would have to be mutual influences - I know I didn't get that from Megadeth (who didn't exist when it was written) and I'm sure Dave didn't get it from us. I think Heart is a more likely reference point.

I can recall one review of the OTS+M album citing Metal Church as an influence when it came to The Enlightenment/Master of the Sun which also wasn't true (again, the song existed long before we even heard of MC) - I wouldn't be surprised if the influence being suggested was actually Rush.

Getting to Helm's question, prior to recording I had aspirations of creating the next Dark Side of the Moon, which was of course completely ridiculous and naive, but I don't believe in doing anything that isn't at least attempting to be the best it can be. Up until we started production things had gone pretty smoothly - the demos weren't work at all, and things just fell into place.

That album project was a whole new situation, nothing went as planned, and we ran into one problem after another - if anything I felt I was ruining the achievement it should have been, but there were so many things that I needed to learn during that period that I hadn't ever foreseen.

It is hard for me to have perspective on this music being so close to it, but my purpose is to transform the sounds in my head into something tangible, and in the case of the OTS+M album, I felt that the execution didn't live up to its potential. There were many good reasons and excuses for this, and I'm still not exactly sure how I managed to complete that record, but it fell vastly short of my original ideal, which is why I spent more than 10 years redoing the album for what eventually became the Othyrworld album.

It is rewarding to know that others can see beyond all the flaws I can find, so thank you. I can only hope that the next album goes a little more smoothly.

Helm · Post by **Helm** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 11:16 pm

Heh, goes to show, influences and results. I don't like Dark Side of the Moon, I like earlier Floyd and that not terribly lots, though not comparable music, I'd take of the sun and moon with me to a desert island in the place of dark side if I were to pick one.

Thank you for your answers.

Korgüll · Post by **Korgüll** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 11:31 pm

Jeff, do you know how many were printed on vinyl & how many you sold?? What was Black Dragon like to deal with at the time??

Jeff Ulmer · Post by **Jeff Ulmer** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:45 pm

Korgüll wrote:Jeff, do you know how many were printed on vinyl & how many you sold??

Yes.

We don't publish our sales numbers, but were the label's 2nd highest selling debut album at the time, which wasn't bad given the lack of promotion or touring. There are vastly fewer copies of the Of the Sun + Moon CD available.

What was Black Dragon like to deal with at the time??

They were good - they were the only label that would let me do the gatefold cover I insisted on (how many bands get a gatefold on their debut album?). However, like any smaller label, they didn't have the resources to commit to a major promotional campaign. By the time the album was finally released, they had already had a bad experience (financially) providing tour support for another act, so they wouldn't bring us over to support the release. They were always pleasant to deal with.

Sorry for the delayed reply.

Post by **DaN** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 9:18 pm

The creator of one of the greatest Heavy Metal albums of all time joins my forum and I'm this bloody late to say HELLCOME!

Very cool to have you here Jeff. I'm thinking in the future we should make a proper interview page on the main Corroseum-site with some of these scribblings. Hope you're up for it.