A hard-hitting metal quartet from Bethel, Connecticut, Sacred Oath draw from a deep well of metal tradition, offering up a compelling amalgam of thrash, NWOBHM, and power metal. Formed in 1985 by Rob Thorne and Pete Altieri, both of whom were in high school, the group wasted little time in getting its music into the hands of potential fans, recording a pair of well-received demos in 1985 and 1986. The following year saw Sacred Oath, which at this time featured the talents of Thorne, Altieri, Glen Cruciani, and Kenny Evans, lay down tracks for their much anticipated debut studio long-player. The resulting Crystal Vision, released in 1988, would go on to become an American power metal cult classic, but creative disagreements with Mercenary Records and its parent label Celluloid, the latter of which eventually went bankrupt, led to the bandmembers going their separate ways shortly after its release. In 2001 the LP was reissued via Sentinel Records, and in 2005 Sacred Oath released a re-recorded version of Crystal Vision called Crystal Revision. Rejuvenated and operating at full strength, the band issued another new album, Darkness Visible, in 2007, followed by the live concert album 'Til Death Do Us Part in 2008, the eponymous Sacred Oath in 2009, World on Fire in 2010, Fallen in 2013, Ravensong in 2015, and Twelve Bells in 2017. ~ James Christopher Monger