The number 13 may be considered unlucky in our culture, which makes Sacred 13 the perfect moniker for the Northwestern Pennsylvania-based hard rock / metal band launched by lead vocalist/guitarist Josh Karickhoff and bassist/vocalist Gus Ward; the revamped, reincarnation of their original 2002 group Blue Fire. Simply stated, the two don’t believe in luck, only the hard work and perseverance that has taken them though many line-up changes, management changes, and from the blues pop sound they forged as early teens, to the more edgy and aggressive—but still highly melodic sound that has earned them the respect of many industry professionals, national acts, and also their loyal fan base.
Joined by drum guru Sam Edwards, they follow Remanence (2007), Tattered Memories (2009), and Jagged Regrets (2010), with the 13-track metal masterpiece Black Days Behind Us; their most accomplished and fulfilling album to date. With their ultimate goal to be the “Metallica” of their generation, it has led Sacred 13 to tour from New York City to San Francisco and perform at many festivals in all areas in between, such as Nashville, Cleveland, Columbus, and Buffalo as well as dominating the band’s home town, Erie Pennsylvania; headlining popular festivals such as Eight Great Tuesdays, and Celebrate Erie. After being discovered by JNP Concerts, the band was given the opportunity to perform Erie’s legendary Warner Theatre with rock icon, Alice Cooper. This performance was professionally shot for a live Sacred 13 concert DVD [S13 Live]. The band was then personally asked to perform again with Alice Cooper July 13th 2010 at the Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville Indiana, and July 18th 2010 at the Fraze Pavilion in Dayton Ohio. Sacred 13 has also performed with many other national acts as well throughout the years, including Bad Company, Symphony X, Kings X, Joe Bonamassa, Bobaflex, Local H, Steven Pearcy (of RATT), Mushroomhead, Ventana, The Godz, Britny Fox, Joe Stump, Rob Balducci, Psychostick, STEMM and many others.
As founding members of the band, Karickhoff and Ward have won numerous awards over the span of their 10+ year career, including Best Teen Band at the New York International Music Festival, Best New Video at the Great Lakes Film Festival and Best Live Performance by All Biz Entertainment. When Karickhoff was 15, he was not only victorious in many regional guitar competitions, but was already nationally recognized and was considered a top ten finalist worldwide in Guitar Player Magazine's Guitar Hero competition judged by Joe Satriani, Steve Lukather, Richy Cotzen and Shredmistress Renada. Sacred 13’s music receives air play on 88.9 WFSE in Edinboro Pennsylvania and also on numerous online stations such as FatCat Radio, Livin Rocks Radio, Rocking Angels Metal Sanctuary, Local Licks Radio, Infernal Rock Radio, etc. In addition, the band has also appeared on a few TV shows as well, including CATV's City Music which aired on VH1 Classic.
“When we further developed our sound and evolved into Sacred 13, fans of Blue Fire followed, but we also picked up many harder rock/metal fans along the way as well,” says Karickhoff. “Our album Remanence was a great way to open the door, and by the time we did the slightly darker Tattered Memories, we were combining strong hooks, our signature melodies and driving aggressive riffs to create a heavy but highly melodic sound. Our tracks are musician friendly but are also coupled with diverse contrasts. While that album helped us expand our regional fan-base, we’ve dug even deeper into our rich, emotional life experiences to write the songs on Jagged Regrets. And even since then, our sound has really solidified even more so. With the new record [Black Days Behind Us], we were able to really dig deep and be more creative both musically and conceptually, more diverse, and more emotional than ever before! It's our best instrumentally, lyrically, the production is mind-blowing, and the songwriting I feel has matured immensely! I feel this album truly is a masterpiece."
Black Days Behind Us is said to have a strong thematic base as well. "This album has very strong theme. It (of course) has 13 tracks, and basically each song is like a chapter in the course of events on this record. The album basically is about the struggle to overcome; putting the 'black days' behind you and moving forward positively. Each track after the two main openers [Twilight Falls Pt.1 / Black Days], takes the listener through a different sort of struggle, a different situation, before finally going full circle and wrapping up with the 3-parter, “The End Is Calling”. The part that makes this record for me, is the fact that the music really fits the mood of the lyrics the whole way through. For example, “Scars And Bruises” is like a fighting sort of song- it's up tempo and energetic. “The Path For Me” was written when Gus and I lost our Grandfather (and later losing our Great Uncle as well), it's a sad song and is slower with symphonies and emotion, but regains power when the lyrics become inspired and positive. “Down This Road” talks about living with the consequences of the lifestyle you choose to live, and losing loved ones along the way. It has a more country-rock type sound. Overall, I'm extremely proud of this album and I'm proud that we could make something like this that we feel is not only very powerful musically, but also conceptually as well."
Karickhoff also elaborates on the joy and excitement the band feels on stage:
“While I feel all our records have a certain uniqueness and energy to them, our favorite part of being musicians is the live performances,” says Karickhoff, “because at heart, we are not only musicians but also performers. We love to express ourselves to crowds of all sizes; whether it’s 50 people or 5,000 people, we still get that ‘charge’ when we’re up on stage. It’s great writing and recording an album, and being able to pour your heart and soul into a piece of work, but ultimately we cannot physically see how people respond to us when they listen to a CD. At our shows however, we get the opportunity to feel their energy, and we put a lot of effort into our shows; including a unique visual component. People who see us live are left with the unmistakable impression that we are a live band. It’s exciting and addictive to be up there, playing our songs for loud and passionate fans, and in the end I thoroughly believe it’s what has kept us going for the past ten years and what keeps us motivated to continue forward everyday...”
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