23/10/2006 Sacred @ the Dublin Castle

Subject	Sacred @ the Dublin Castle
PostedDate	10/22/2006
	Another trip to the Dublin Castle, this time to see Sacred. I'd never seen them live before so wasn't sure exactly what to expect although I've got a few of their songs on my MP3 player. The setup is a bit like Planet Of Women - girl singers fronting a rock band. However, the music is very different from Planet Of Women's AC/DC and Led Zep inspired retro-rock. The influences here are more modern, with songs like 'Toys In The Attic' (not the Aerosmith song) having a strong Marilyn Manson sound. Also on a '(Shirley) Manson' theme, although the music is very commercial sounding - even poppy at times, it also has a dark and twisted edge to the lyrics. 'Test Of Faith' reminds me of Heart's 'Alone' and I am also reminded of Pat Benetar so there is still a retro influence as well though. The guys in the band are good players, although they don't really look the part and would look more at home in a grunge band. Virginia and Jemima are excellent singers and share lead vocals - an arrangment that seems to work very well. They have an album already recorded, and most the songs on it get an airing tonight.