Video: SANCTUARY Plays First Show With WITHERFALL Singer JOSEPH MICHAEL

February 23, 2018

Seattle metal legends SANCTUARY kicked off their North American tour with ICED EARTH last night (Thursday, February 22) at Old National Centre in Indianapolis, Indiana.

These shows are acting as a tribute to the musical legacy of SANCTUARY singer Warrel Dane, who passed away last December. Guest vocals for SANCTUARY on the trek are being provided by Joseph Michael (WITHERFALL). Also joining the band on the road is second guitarist Joey Concepcion (ARMAGEDDON, THE ABSENCE).

Prior to the start of the ICED EARTH tour, SANCTUARY guitarist Lenny Rutledge said that the band "decided to continue on" with the shows "to pay tribute to our brother Warrel Dane." He added that the set would "consist of many old and some newer songs performed with the utmost respect and quality to honor our friend" and invited fans to "join us in this farewell as we celebrate Warrel's musical legacy with SANCTUARY."

A year ago, SANCTUARY released the official prequel to 1988's classic debut "Refuge Denied", "Inception", which showcased several previously lost recordings from their 1986 studio session that have now been restored, remixed and remastered by Chris "Zeus" Harris (QUEENSRŸCHE).

Formed in 1985, the band was signed to Epic Records with the help of MEGADETH guitarist Dave Mustaine and released two records, "Refuge Denied" (1988) and "Into The Mirror Black" (1989),which saw them perform with the likes of MEGADETH, FATES WARNING, WARLOCK and DEATH ANGEL. The band disbanded in 1992 as members Dane and Jim Sheppard (bass) went on to form the highly successful metal act NEVERMORE with acclaimed guitarist Jeff Loomis. SANCTUARY reunited nearly 25 years later in 2010 and appeared at several festivals worldwide before returning to the studio to record their acclaimed full-length comeback album, "The Year The Sun Died", for Century Media Records in 2014.

Dane tragically passed away on December 13, 2017 due to a heart attack while recording his second solo album in São Paulo, Brazil.

Find more on Warrel dane
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).