Dan Kelly, Sacred Reich original singer, and Paul Stottler, original artwork artist and basically 5th member of the band, went out on a road trip to California and they went into Hollywood. There was a gang there that was tagging, putting graffiti on the walls. They were SR-13. They did the equal sign with the SR, and then a jagged 13 below it. Well, Kelly and Stottler were young and impressionable, and the SR stuck with ‘em. So when they came back, they started using the equal sign, and this jagged SR, which is hauntingly similar to date to the way the logo Sacred Reich is used. It’s pretty much identical to what this gang was doing in Hollywood around ‘83-’84-’85. They really fell in love with SR, but they didn’t want to be called “SR.”, not SR-13, which derived from the gang's name 'Stoned Revolutionaries', with 13 being the 13th letter of the alphabet, standing for 'marijuana'. The Arizonan guys didn't like this association, so they started thinking of all kinds of things that SR could be the acronym of, and made a list with some pretty funny ones. Sacred Reich came up, and one of the first comments was, ‘well, look at this one --- I’ll tell you what, when someone reads that, they’re gonna know it’s not a fuckin' Country band.’ They started embracing it right then, and they also started thinking how to explain that choice. They really needed to put on their thinking cap and in the end they came up with [assuming oratory tone]: “Sacred Reich is a sarcastic over-exaggeration of what can happen when people become apathetic and let people like Hitler rise to power.”
That's in the spirit of where they were coming from and it was also an attention-getter. So they kept it, even if they actually had the opportunity to change it because they were still a local band doing cover tunes and just a small handful of original tracks.

The birth of Sacred Reich's mascot OD is as follows:
OD was created at the Coronado High School in Scottsdale, AZ by Paul Stottler, who was sketching it. He was then asked to draw a skull with a gas mask, and then a helmet on. After adding the colors to the black and white drawing, OD was ready to appear on a T-shirt.
Sacred Reich are still using OD as a profile picture and on recent T-shirts.
He got the name pretty naturally: the creators used to call him 'our dude' and put him on their T-shirts and flyers, until his nickname was definitively shortened to OD. He's Sacred Reich's post-apocalyptic mutant warrior dude.

There has been speculation about the meaning of the plane crash: some people say it's hauntigly similar to the 9/11 attack, some say it's a plane crash test, but I have another interpretation that is the only one that may have sense if we link the image and the meaning of ignorance: the plane is a metaphor for mankind and the planet directed fast towards self-destruction and ignoring what's happening (because of lack of information of interest to the topic).

The tracks on this full-length were composed by Phil Rind at 80% and a bit by Jason and Whiley.

Sacred Reich later achieved a fair dose of popularity when their video for the later song "The American Way" was used in the 1992 movie "Encino Man" as a soundtrack.

Jason Newsted, of Flotsam and Jetsam and Metallica fame, has always been a die-hard supporter for Sacred Reich, copying their demo and distributing it to fanzines. In return, Phil Rind helped Flotsam And Jetsam to cover bass duties when Newsted joined Metallica.

Jason Rainey, rhythm guitarist for Sacred Reich from 1985 till 2019, died in 2020 at 53 from an apparent heart attack.

Jeff Martinek, lead guitarist on the demo "Draining You of Life", died in 2018.

Wiley Arnett, guitarist from Sacred Reich, partly owns Rehab Burger Therapy, a restaurant placed in the band's birth city Scottsdale.
He has also been endorsing ESP guitars since 1988.

Greg Hall, drummer with Sacred Reich from 1985 until 2018 with few years of abscence, was almost assigned the chair for skinbeater in Slayer when Dave Lombardo briefly left, temporarily replaced by Tony Scaglione. After the audition, Kerry King then said the following words about him: "He looks like Barney Rubble, but damn, the man can JAM!!!"

When Phil Rind joined Sacred Reich, replacing former bassist Mike Andre and vocalist Dan Kelly, he was just 15.

When Sacred Reich was signed to Metal Blade after the recording of "Ignorance" for the compilation Metal Massacre VIII, the band became the first Thrash Metal act to be distributed thru Capitol Records.

Sacred Reich were among the first acts to blend Thrash Metal with Punk and Hardcore musically and lyricwise.

All the lyrics are composed by singer/bassist Phil Rind, and the vast majority deal with social themes trying to raise awareness on some big issues of politics and society with a touch of humor. They differed from most content dear to bands of the same period (Satan, death and serial killers), as Rind wanted to have the band 'stand out' without sounding too serious or boring. Here they are in detail as follows:

* a death squad killing the opponents of those who don't want a right-wing regime, thus pretending to be democratic people, even after murdering the communists who were previously in power.
* victims of a fuse too short, a deadly virus, mutants genes making DNA's cancerous, all agonizing.
I liked this genre of topics, as they curiously remind me of the 80's, as well as make me think of our times (Chernobyl, Coronavirus, the war in Ukraine).
* mankind's suicide by pollution, wars, lack of critical thinking that leaves politicians free to do anything because nobody controls their work, starvation, anger, dangerous inventions, hate and destruction.
* lack of faith in the Bible, God's existence and the other side.
Guitarist Wiley Arnette was a devout Christian and was convinced to play his duties for this track after a long work of convincement.
* a sadistic raper, torturer and killer who kills innocent people because of his hate for the human race.
* somebody come to really kill you while earlier on you thought it was just a nightmare.
* Hitler's Nazi army taking the world by surprise, then terminating millions of Jews, Russians and others.
* today's school system: fascist, conforming, apathy-incouraging, where knowledge is secundary, the institute's image and ranking are what actually matters, and students lack personality, obeying without thinking rationally.
* a vampire.
This is the only lyric distant from the other subjects. Taken from the demo "Draining You of Life", it reappeared officially on the EP "Surf Nicaragua".

Designated to start hostilities, "Death Squad" is opened in an instrumental manner by granitic dynamic riffs similar to the ones appeared 2 years later on Sodom's "Agent Orange" and to the ones in "Motorbreath" by Metallica. Wiley Arnett really shines with his barre chord acrobatics here. The bass lines elbow their way forward before double bass aggressions occasionally arrive. Later comes a Speed Metal acceleration between Anthrax and Nuclear Assault and the first vocals pop out. The axe solos turn out to be lengthy and meaningful, and were placed before the repetition of the initial riff, which is constantly held up by a lively and rapid bass work.

"Victim of Demise" commences quick instantly, and those who expect a track tight from beginning to end will be proven right. Blastbeats and cymbals slam in the vein of Slayer are played a couple of times, followed by a typically Thrash Metal time variation. The bass moves serpentine, while the guitar is busy preparing the listeners for the top 6-string solos of the record. After a pretty abrupt stop comes back the starting verse and then the chorus. This track really leaves no occasion to take a breath at all until a drum roll and a brutal conclusion is set in the last seconds. There are similarities to "Piece by Piece" by Slayer but the Arizona quartet is a tad more technical.

The grammatically incorrect and accidentally cool titled "Layed to Rest" is an instrumental which contains two guitars that duel arpeggioing with elegance. After that, the semi-acoustic guitarwork is made more interesting by a set of solos standing above that, functioning as a prelude to a brief tapping and an interloping riff.

The mid-tempo of the title track kicks off devoid of any kind of pause, sweeping everything away, so majestic and relentless, and using a guitar solo that leads to some Speed Metal riffing and next to a fast rhythm on which Rind's vocals stand out on the path of D.R.I.'s. Successively, a riff and a break with stopped parts, another guitar solo at the speed of light, a new verse and the refrain compose the main elements of the central frame. A Techno-Thrash Metal riff that stirs heavy slam-dancing goes on for a while, till the slaying riff returns, as well as the refrain, and a Slayerian guitar solo, only to be closed by a clean cut.
This track proves the proficiency of drummer Hall and the two guitar players. Well done, boys!

Bass lines open "No Believers", anticipating another proficient Thrash Metal riff, ensued by other similar ones. In between speed-ups between Thrash and Hardcore not too distant from the fastest S.O.D.. A riff never proposed before sets foot there recurring to Thrash backing vocals later on, repeated until the new axe solo once again Slayer-influenced proves to be more urticant than a medusa. The galloping riff is here again for the final run which ends up with a smash. One more time this way of truncating a song suddenly is used almost as a trademark by Sacred Reich.

A strutting about riff welcomes us before a short hatchet solo ending in squealing in the first part of "Violent Solutions" and a lightning riff for fans of D.R.I.. This alternation occurs afterwards a second time, preceding a Techno-Thrash repeated guitar tune climbing the highest peaks like only the finest Megadeth or Anacrusis used to do. A sharp variation made by a solitary Thrash Metal riff, later accompanied by blastbeating drums and bass and lastly a rain of skillful and vicious guitar solos. The last thing you'll listen on this track is the reappearance of the superfast riff heard after the first 50 seconds.

An imposing mid-tempo, drum rolls and then tribal drumming joined with a mischievous riff make up the early stages of "Rest in Peace". Next a long Thrashcore segment ensues, shadowed by a radical time change dominated by a riff that anticipates a normal guitar solo, then an uber-rapid guitar solo, until we get to the reproposal of a Thrash part that accompanies us until the end.

With "Sacred Reich" we witness a rather complicated and swift drumwork, a controlled guitar solo that proceeds more slowly than the drumming. All of a sudden we meet a fast riff, then one in mid tempo with vocalist Phil Rind articulating his words clearly and emphatically. Time for the fast structure to visit us again twice, and subsequently a rhythm variation takes us by hand to a rapid and scratching guitar solo in the last seconds, only to be followed by the said fast piece and mid-tempo riff, until an unexpected winding-up.

The curiously-named "Administrative Decisions" sets out with a slightly intricate riffing reminding me of Death Angel, which a guitar solo is laid upon, and it's certainly nice listening to this dicotomy. Seconds later, the Arizonan 4-piece takes us by storm quick with the aim of triggering some headbanging. The rhythm variates once again, a riff comes preceding the most elaborate axe solo of this full-length: long-drawn-out and finishing with a climax. The close of this composition is entrusted with a crushing riff, a typical Thrashcore speed-up, and finally a simultaneous stop by all musicians.

The first of the 5 bonus tracks is "Ignorance" in the version appeared on the Metal Massacre VIII compilation released by Metal Blade in 1986 and released in 1988 in the compilation "The Best of Metal Massacre". The number isn't only shorter than the one on the album, but it also makes use of a different mixing: for instance, the hi-hat is louder, whereas guitars and bass are lower, and in general the sounds are closer to a demo level; this is particularly true for the kick-drums, decidedly less sharp, while the cymbals are even more put central. The vocals, then, are more martial and the guitar solo isn't a chief protagonist unlike the final version.

The other 4 bonus tracks are from the legendary 1986 "Draining You of Life" demo.
The first is the title track, the only song that didn't make it to the debut album and appeared on the following "Surf Nicaragua" EP. It is, however, of the same style of "Ignorance" and shines thanks to all of its positive characteristics, including 2 biting Slayerian solos.

The Sacred Reich of the very beginning were a hybrid of Death and Thrash like many formations of the time and "Rest in Peace" in the demo version testifies this theory. At the start there are a couple of seconds including a demonic lament that you won't find anyplace else in a product dropped by the Scottsdale combo. And it's not the only example: take the guitar solo and enjoy it in all its violence, far more than the one recorded on the first album.

2 further pieces of evidence that support my opinion lie in "Sacred Reich": here the final vocals are more desperate and crazier than on the album, while the backing vocals sound more sinister and wicked.

"No Believers" is so evil to draw echoes of the first demo from Cannibal Corpse or "Endless Pain" by Kreator.

The reason why this is still one of the most sought-after underground tapes consists in the fact that there are early Death Metal hints added to a layer of pure Thrash Metal. Some of this Thrash is in the guise of Slayer's "Show No Mercy", some in the guise of the most rapacious Testament, others in the manner of Hallow's Eve's "Speed Freak", with the blessing of shredding guitar solos and vocals more vicious and extreme than the ones performed one year later on the debut album. All still holds up well today.

For the political, social, ecologist lyrics, the Crossover songwriting, for Sacred Reich leading the second wave of Thrash Metal in the late 80s, and the other reasons mentioned above, this is a digipack that costs an average price but has a high value for its contents, first of all the unfindable demo songs.