Amebix - No Sanctuary

AMEBIX – NO SANCTUARY

From the Spiderleg label came a 7 track, 12” EP by Amebix entitled No Sanctuary, that in a way was far more suited to the general mood of the time due to it being very dark and bleak. With this record Amebix were finally discovering and revealing their own unique sound and in hindsight were actually on their way to creating a whole new musical genre, combining Punk and Heavy Metal to create Crust – a slow but very powerful and heavy form of Punk Rock plumbing sub-Black Sabbath areas of gloom, outrage and horror.

Like a tortured and distorted Discharge on bad drugs, Amebix were emitting an almighty howl of rage from the innermost core of their beings; racked with pain and sick with the state of the world: “And in our ignorance we let them take control, and in their wisdom they decreed that we should bow. When we put our lives into their hands, we put our hands into their chains,” from the track Control, and “They lead you to your slaughter like they lead a horse to water. They can't force you to drink – but you do,” from the track Progress.

Not that Amebix were without humour, however, as shown in such lines as “Roses are red, sometimes violets are blue but we're always puking on cider and glue,” from the track Sunshine Ward. Interestingly, their sense of humour was reminiscent of Disorder's as in “Vomiting green- haired Punks standing on the dole. No money, no clothes, no place left to go,” from Today's World on the Complete Disorder EP. This made sense, however, due to Amebix and Disorder sharing the same squats (and the same drugs) in Bristol.

Disorder were by this time well on their way to being an influence upon squat Punk bands throughout the world whilst Amebix's time was still to come though their influence would eventually turn out to be far greater.