SACRED OATH HAVE KEPT US WAITING FOR THIS
Now the full album finally has a release date.
Published: 27 Sep 26 • Author: Rock Metal Machine • Reading Time: 3 mins
Sacred Oath will release their 10th studio album, Don’t Be Afraid, on December 4, 2026 via SRGILS/Virgin Music. The band has spent 18 months building anticipation with regular singles and lyric videos, beginning with “Is It Time?” in November 2024, ahead of the CD and vinyl release.
RELEASE DETAILS
Artist:
Sacred Oath
Album:
Don't Be Afraid
Release Date:
4 December 2026
Record Label:
SRGILS/Virgin Music Pre Order:
Link Formats:
CD • Vinyl • Digital
Sacred Oath and Angel Thorne Music are excited to announce the December 4th 2026 release date for their 10th studio album Don’t Be Afraid (SRGILS/Virgin Music).
Singles have already been released on streaming services over an 18-month period to build anticipation for the CD and LP release, most notably as lyric videos featuring original artwork from the band’s drummer.The band released “Is It Time?” as the first single in November 2024 and continued to release singles every few months through March 2026 as part of an effort to picque interest in the new material, satisfy demands for new music, and build anticipation for the street date of both CD and vinyl formats.
🔥 FIREWORKS INSIGHT
Sacred Oath’s tenth studio album carries extra weight because the band’s history stretches back to the formative years of US power metal. Their 1988 debut, A Crystal Vision, arrived before the style had fully established itself and has since developed a strong cult following, while the band’s 2005 re-recording and 2007 comeback Darkness Visible underlined their determination to keep that history alive. Don’t Be Afraid is therefore less about nostalgia than another chapter in a remarkably persistent career. Its staggered release also reflects how established underground metal acts are adapting to streaming without abandoning the CD and vinyl audience that supported them for decades.
“The immediacy of streaming has really changed the rules,” according to singer and guitarist Rob Thorne, who also produces the band’s albums in his studio. “We decided to try something completely different in the making of this album. Instead of coming up with all the songs first and banging them out in condensed recording/mixing sessions, we wrote and produced songs individually, putting them out there as we finished them. It was a lot of fun for me personally, as I was able to really focus on each song separately. And it was great to get immediate feedback from our fans throughout the process of making the complete album. Definitely a new and unique experience!”
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▶ WATCH THE NEW SINGLE
Want to hear the first taste of Don't Be Afraid for yourself? Watch the official video below.
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Don’t Be Afraid marks a return to the classic four-piece lineup including Rob Thorne (vocals and guitar), Damiano Christian (guitar), Scott Waite (bass), and Kenny “Thundarr” Evans (drums). Thorne and Evans are original members since 1985 and both have appeared on every Sacred Oath album since, including two live albums.
It was a lot of fun for me personally, as I was able to really focus on each song separately.
Rob Thorne
Sacred Oath is best-known for releasing A Crystal Vision in 1988, an album recognized as an international cult-classic of the power-metal genre. It was followed by 8 more critically acclaimed studio albums, including World On Fire, Sacred Oath, Darkness Visible, Ravensong, Twelve Bells, Fallen, and Return Of The Dragon. The single “Counting Zeros” from their eponymous 2009 release was chosen as iTunes “Discovery Download of the Week”, and their first live album “Till Death Do Us Part” (2008) was listed as a Top Ten Metal Album of the year by Apple Music in its year of release. The band was featured on MTV2 Headbangers Ball in its last televised season with a featured interview.
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Tracklisting
Tea and Witch Cake
1986
Don’t Be Afraid
Is It Time?
Driven
Us & Them
Aeon Dancer
Total running time: 40:49
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Images courtesy of Sacred Oath
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