Sacred Oath (Tamworth)

Sacred Oath were active between 1983 and 1985, and recorded the demo tape "The Power Of The Oath" in 1985. We had a chat with guitar player Muz Pickett, about these obscure band from Tamworth.

Q. - Hello Muz, tell us a bit about the origins of Sacred Oath, how and when did it all start? Who were the first members of the band? How did you get in touch with the other members?

Muz - Hi. Sacred Oath started in 1984, whilst myself, Paul Keeton (guitar, vocs) and Neil Concannon (bass) were still at school, where we first met. A little earlier in the year, the other two members had teamed up with vocalist Star Trek, who was from the local area. We met up for a jam at Paul's and the rest is history.

Q. - Who would you cite as your major influences at that time?

Muz - Our influences at that time were AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Status Quo and U2 amongst others.

Q. - What other bands did you play before Sacred Oath?

Muz - None. It was our first venture into the world of music.

Q. - How was like the Tamworth metal scene back in the day? Was it a united scene? How were your relations with other local bands?

Muz - The metal scene back then was in it's infancy. There weren't many Metal bands doing the rounds locally. It would change a few years after. Most local bands got on with each other. I don't remember much animosity.

Q. - Did you play regularly in the UK back then or was it hard for a heavy metal band to be booked at that time?

Muz - You  have  to remember that as a band are ages were 15-16 when we started, and by the time we morphed into The Judas Cradle, we were still only 17. So we played regularly in Tamworth but only got as far afield as Birmingham, some 15 miles away. Obviously we made plans to range further but none of us could drive, including all but one of our roadies. We never found any barriers to getting gigs back then, apart from that.

Q. - Do you remember the set list that you use to play with Sacred Oath?

Muz - Mostly. We used to start with an instrumental simply titled Sacred Oath, while the smoke and flashbombs would be happening. Magdellana was one of our better tunes in my opinion and would often follow the opener. Others were Honour & Glory, Love Kills (which made the demo, along with Lie With Me, Love With Me and On The Borderline) and Take Me To Your Leader which was one of the first songs we wrote as a band. Other titles were End Of The Road, Dedikated and One Day I'll Be King. A couple or three tunes which we played less frequently were Afraid Of The Dark, Fighter Pilot and Second Hand.

Q. - How did the idea of record the demo "The Power Of The Oath" came up?

Muz - Just a natural progression really. That was the path to get yourself heard and we heard of a local studio (Expresso Bongo) recently opened which fit the bill. So we went in and booked it for two days in the early Summer of '85 to record the three tracks. We decided we needed a demo to get gigs, attract an agent and to send to record companies. We achieved the first two!. I'm not sure if the demo was ever sent to any record companies. Probably not.

Q. - Did you get support in the media back then? Radio, magazines, fanzines?

Muz - Yes, to a degree. The local paper was the main source (Tamworth Herald) and the music editor was always a delight to work with as he was so enthusiastic about the local scene. Sam Holliday, take a bow... Their were a couple of local fanzines at the time, but nothing Metal-wise. We always believed in self-promotion and we would generally advertise the band as much as possible, albeit by word of mouth in those days of pre-internet.

Q. - After this demo, did you try to approach a label, to record an LP?

Muz - That would have been the original plan, but as I've said previously, it never actually made it to any companies. I think part of the problem was a couple of line-up changes and the band developing a new direction, which would evolve into an alternative rock edge around the Judas Cradle time. we were listening to bands like The Cult circa their Spiritwalker and Love albums and The Cure and Sisters Of Mercy. We did another demo a year later but by then the Metal was largely gone.

Q. - Do you have some other demo recordings, besides the 1985 demo?

Muz - Not of Sacred Oath, no. I have somewhere a cassette of our first gig at Tamworth Arts Centre supporting Scarab, who we supported around three times at the same venue. There is also a camcorder recording of our '85 appearance at Tamworth Rock Festival, but it's missing the cassette recording that makes it listenable. The sound currently on it is from the tiny microphone on the camcorder. Not great.

Q. - What do you think that went wrong at that time, so that Sacred Oath did not have continuity? When did you split exactly and for what reasons?

Muz - As above, with the change of direction and two line-up changes. We were growing up I suppose and tastes and ideas were changing. Bound to happen but it was fun while it lasted. Sacred Oath didn't actually split. We turned into the Judas Cradle then The Cradle and in six months we were history. That split was the usual musical differences and ego clashes that always goes on. In May '86.

Q. - Did you keep in touch with the former members all over the years?

Muz - Mostly yeah. I've played in bands since then with Jim who drummed for Sacred Oath (he could hardly play when he joined, but he turned into a great and versatile player of the tubs). Niz the bass player spends a lot of time in India but we catch up occasionally when he's back in Blighty. Paul went into business and I don't think he has any musical outpourings these days. Star Trek unfortunately is no longer with us. Quite a complex character, but a lovely fella and he evolved into a fine frontman with bands that followed the Sacred Oath days.

Q. - How do you see the heavy metal scene nowadays? Do you keep an eye on what's going on? Are you still a heavy metal fan?

Muz - Hmm. I've got to admit that I don't follow the Metal scene now. Classic metal a la Sabbath, yes and the NWOBHM stalwarts like early Maiden-first two albums-, Raven's Rock Until You Drop and Wiped Out. I still like Saxon's Wheel Of Steel and Strong Arm Of The Law and More's Warhead, too. To be honest, I probably wouldn't recognise a lot of what passes for the genre these days. I like bands that have metal leanings like Soundgarden and Rage Against The Machine. Probably the last album I bought that contained Metal in it's grooves would be Norway's Motorpsycho with their Heavy Metal Fruit album.

Q. - Have you ever think about doing a compilation on cd with the demos recorded by Sacred Oath?

Muz - No, because we only have them on cassette and I doubt the quality would suffice. They have been turned into mp3's in the past though.

Q. - And what do you think of this recent revival of the N.W.O.B.H.M., and all these bands reforming?

Muz - More power to them. Playing music is addictive and there's far worse things they could be doing. I've never been able to shake the bug of performing and these guys are the same. If any of them were as young as I was when I started, then they'll now be far better on their instrument than back then, too, so why not get out there and play.

Q. - Anything more you want to say, to end up this interview?

Muz - Only that I'm always surprised that Sacred Oath have attracted so much attention these past few years but I'm grateful for the interest and always happy to share some fond memories of the old days. Thanks all and keep on rocking!

Thank you for your time, and wish you all the best for the future!