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A savage, chaotic and kind of messy debut for Sacrifice, Torment in Fire is not as approachable as most North American thrash of the day—at least compared to that of the better-known acts—as the band opted for a very raw and basic approach to their trade. This reminds me a lot of mid-80s German thrash, bands like Kreator, Sodom and Destruction that back then also released rather unpolished albums with their thrash raw to the core. I'm also reminded of early Slayer, though some passages on this are Slayeresque but sounding like Slayer did a few years later, so maybe by then Slayer were influenced a little by their Canadian counterpart?

The music is raw and brutal, kind of minimalistic, with vocals that are often quite hard to decipher and, while devoid of what I'd call "melody", the vocal lines sometimes sound so demented and in line with the hard-hitting thrash on offer that they end up being memorable and there's no way there wasn't some "screaming along" at live shows. Those screams had to freak out a few parents and neighbours back in the day, just like that little demonic intro that sounds a little silly today, but back then would have sent some people rushing for the door. The whole thing is pretty fast, guaranteeing some visits to the chiropractor if you try to headbang to this stuff. You just have to love the raw, razor-sharp guitar sound and the sheer heaviness coming out of this sucker, and that demonic vibe is so infectious that it's hard to resist playing this all day long. Thirty-five years later, this release has been done and outdone by many over the years, but Torment in Fire remains a solid album that has aged pretty well and can still smash your face and make you beg for more.