Sanctuary is best known as the group that predated Nevermore. Don't be blown away by my enthusiasm. With Nevermore in the can, most of Sanctuary's original members reconnected and produced "The Year the Sun Died" twenty-five years after the band released its second record in 1989. Sanctuary's legacy is solid, not renowned-there is a difference between the cults and the classics, you know. Well, "The Year the Sun Died" is ultimately a nontoxic, predictable product of metal geared to sound modern and comfortable in 2014. A staunch continuation of the Nevermore sound, this is a fairly underwhelming experience that adds just a smidge of relevancy to the Sanctuary brand, an album based more on a few prime moments than its actual songs. Sure, the Nevermore contrasts were inevitable. However, they take what should have been dribbles of Nevermore's influence and escalate it far beyond its acceptable perimeters. If we're looking at a representative song like, say, "Arise and Purify," it's easy to see Sanctuary is not fooling anyone by pretending to be beating around the bush. Mid-paced, mechanical-sounding riffs are stacked up like flapjacks and layered in place by plentiful guitar solos brought together under a squeaky-clean production job. Unfortunately, all these guitar parts go in one ear and out the other, unable to sound interesting or appealing. There is a degree of admirable sophistication in all the patterns and riffs, but since maybe one out of five actually sticks, "The Year the Sun Died" comes off sounding more miss than hit.
The curse of the mundane routine is everlasting: "Question Existence Fading" or "The World is Wired" is just as foreign to me after fifteen listens or so as it was after the first. Warrel Dane's low register and unique tone sound decent in the setting, but the sort of personality he added to the old Sanctuary and Nevermore albums is more of a gimmick than much-needed charisma. His lyrical exploits are downright goofy at times; the abstract bellyaching never throws in the towel. The whole process of FOLLOWING STUFF BLINDLY and WE'RE ALL SLAVES gets old fast, and it's obvious at this point that "The Year the Sun Died" fell on its face upon ignition and never bothered to turn itself over. Down and out before the first snap.
Some of the band's work here deserves credit, however. The eerie, apocalyptic semblance of the title track aligns Sanctuary's newfound musical traits in what can only be described as the record's single homerun-the potential and power organized perfectly in a well-executed package. "Exitium (Anthem of the Living)," too, is a solid piece of this course branching out to a more atmosphere-based direction that opens up the creativity and the options for Sanctuary to work with. Pretty dire situation barring the aforementioned tracks, and while the ideas are here, the ability to present profound material is not. Take "The Year the Sun Died" as a conduit for the Nevermore sound to continue, not the resurrection of a cult group.