When Sanctuary/Nevermore vocalist Warrel Dane passed away last year at the age of 56, Sanctuary already had an extensive 2018 tour planned supporting Iced Earth. Instead of cancelling the tour, Sanctuary decided to move forward with the tour and dub it a Farewell Tour in Memory of Warrel Dane. The band recruited Witherfall vocalist Joseph Michael to step in and the result was mind blowing.
Fans all over who saw the shows got a stellar performance from Michael and even the rest of the band seemed to be fueled and energized. I saw it for myself and all I can say is that my love for Sanctuary was rekindled in a way that I never thought possible. I really hope things work out and the band is able to move forward.
In an interview with Metal Wani, main songwriter and guitarist Lenny Rutledge says Sanctuary might end up doing another album depending on how the demos with Michael on vocals turn out.
The album has been in the works since 2017 with Warrel Dane, and the name Dead Again was thrown around quite a bit (prior to Dane’s death).
“Joseph and I are talking about it. Joseph has some of the songs we were working on and we are going to see where we go from there. I hate to say this as I absolutely adored Warrel more than anyone will ever know. He’s been my music partner for a very long time. I never really thought about writing with someone else. But now in this situation, Joseph has breathed new life into the band.”
“I’m going to lay down demos for them based on what they have… we’ll see if it’s amazing. If it’s not, we’ll call it a day.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MOBiJGjxBY
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