German “Refuge Denied” show planned while Sanctuary records new album!

Photo by Dirk Behlau

The vocalist of Sanctuary and Nevermore, Warrel Dane sadly passed away in 2017.  At that time, Sanctuary had already  announced a US tour and continued with Witherfall vocalist Joseph Michael. Performing the entire “Refuge Denied” album, they will appear tomorrow, August 8th, in Essen, Germany.

Right after playing at this year’s Headbangers Open Air in Germany, which marked the group’s European live debut with new vocalist Joseph Michael, Sanctuary have also encamped themselves in a studio in Germany between select live dates to work on songs for the yet untitled new album.

Sanctuary’s fourth studio album will be released in the second half of 2020 and include songs such as ‘We are the Fallen’, ‘Not of the Living’ and ‘Blind’. The songs are neither a throwback nor a stark departure from the classic Sanctuary sound.

Vocalist Joseph Michael comments: “Lenny and I have taken our time getting to know each other as songwriters before really digging in and starting to write the record. Warrel and Lenny were such a magic combination and though there is no way to get that back, we have stumbled upon something quite unique yet still will be familiar to die hard fans. What we are striving for is to meld our musical pallets in a way that gives fans something new without messing with the DNA that makes the band stand out among its peers.”

But before a new era in the history of Sanctuary begins, the band invites you to see them live at a special club show at Turock in Essen, Germany where the group performs the classic “Refuge Denied” album in its entirety.

Furthermore, you can check out raw fan-filmed footage from “Headbangers Open Air 2019” seeing Sanctuary perform the classic ‘Die For My Sins’ here:

After recently completing an US tour with Ghost Ship Octavius in July, Sanctuary will be finishing their visit to Europe at Alcatraz Festival in Kortrijk, Belgium on August 9th.

Sanctuary’s line-up (the same that performed on the “Warrel Dane Tribute Tour” with Iced Earth) consists of Joseph Michael – vocals, Lenny Rutledge – guitar, Dave Budbill – drums, George Hernandez – bass and Joey Concepcion – guitar.

SANCTUARY live:

August 8, 2019 – Essen (Germany) @ Turock
August 9, 2019 – Kortrijk (Belgium) @ Alcatraz Festival
August 16, 2019 – Portland (USA) @ Bossanova Ballroom
August 17, 2019 – Seattle (USA) @ El Corazon