Immortal Sacrament  (2008-2016)
Filipino Journal, March 5-20,2017, Volume 31,Number 05
Ano'ng Masasabi Mo? (p.19)
Levy Abad

 One of the best Filipino -Canadian Metal bands in Manitoba, Immortal Sacrament, during its heyday in 2012, was comprised of Paul Magnaye (vocals),Marron Versoza (guitar) Niko Guilbang (bass ), Victor "Vic" Bautista (guitar), and Joseph David (drums). 

How did Immortal Sacrament start ?

Paul Magnaye provided the answer when I went to interview him in his house on February 10, 2017 about the history of the band. He told me that it started out as L.A.D. back in 2008. Joseph David told me the same information when I asked him what L.A.D stood for.  I asked Paul about the meaning of LAD and he jokingly said that it means “Leaving at Dads,” referring to adults who still live with their parents.

L.A.D's original members were the following: Paul Magnaye, Chris Pangan, Joseph David and Michael Borja. LAD, as a band moniker, was kind of a provisional name, since during that time, they were still thinking of a better name.  They were able to come up with something better by October 16, 2009. After performing as front act to the Winnipeg concert of the visiting Philippine Alternative Rock band PUPIL, they decided to adopt “Sacrament” as the new name of their band. They also started writing original music.   

Joseph David said that it was one of the judges at a local "Battle of the Bands" that they participated in who suggested to change their name. Apparently, Sacrament is a common word, they need something unique. If one would search "Sacrament" online, then the automatic hits would have referred to the religious meaning of the word. Besides, there is already a Metal band named Sacrament (an American band that was formed in 1989, in Pennsylvania, United States) Even the 90s forming American band, Lamb of God might get a hit; its fifth studio album is titled Sacrament. That was enough to convince the guys to add "Immortal" to their name, to make it more unique without sacrificing the name recall that their name Sacrament had already gained in the local scene.

Mid-2009, Chris Pangan and Michael Borja quit the band for personal reasons. Niko Guilbang replaced Borja; Vic Bautista and Marron Versoza became the 1st and 2^nd lead guitars respectively.The name Immortal Sacrament was legitimized in 2011,when they joined the competition  “My Band Rocks”  at the Dylan O’ Connors Irish Pub,winning three consecutive battles and eventually emerging  as the overall winner during  the finals, held this time at Henderson Draft House.

In Late 2011, Joseph David left, joining Pangan in another band named Ethnica. Bautista left too - who had to concentrate on his work and family. Magnaye said that afterwards, he and Versoza became the core of the group. By the ensuing year, Immortal Sacrament consisted of Magnaye,Versoza ,Ronnel Villamar on guitars ,and Jolo Mejia on drums. Magnaye also mentioned that the band wanted to acknowledge fellow Filipino musician Mandy Bustarde, for he was the one who introduced Immortal Sacrament to the Metal community and who convinced the organizer of the "My Band Rocks" to give Filipino bands a chance. 

David said that the major musical influences of Immortal Sacrament were “System of a Down (SOAD),” “Killswitch Engage,” and “Bullet for My Valentine”. This was reaffirmed by the journalist Alfie Vera Mella,who featured the band, in 2014, in his column "Sa Ugoy ng Musika" in the local community newspapaer Filipino Journal. Asked where they get the songs that they covered, Magnaye said, “We usually cover famous metal songs that  get regular airplay on Winnipeg's Rock station Power 97.” 

The awesome thing about this band is the fact that they write their own songs.  Magnaye and  David wrote the songs; and then Bautista started contributing too. I personally listened to some of their songs on their FB page and they really sounded great. It feels like a really wasted talent if  they really would not be able to emerge with their original music in the community at large.

On March 8, 2014, Immortal Sacrament performed in Brandon at the North Hill Inn.In addition to that, the band  got to perform also at bars and other events such as The Zoo,Ozzy’s (160 Osborne St.), Club3D at Kirkfield Motor Hotel (3317 Portage Avenue), Dylan O’ Connors Irish Pub (2609 Portage Avenue)  and Henderson Draft House at Curtis Gordon Motor Hotel (1011 Henderson Highway), Rookies at Central Hotel (201 Melrose Avenue E), The Cavern (112 Osborne Street),  Chugfest at  Ridgeville, Rock Against Ignorance at West End Cultural Centre and the FAMOUS-produced Pinoy Rock Fest on May 24, 2014, held at Jimel’s International Cuisine (A-1045 St. James St). Aside from this, Alfie’s article also mentioned, “Immortal Sacrament was the winner of the Dylan o’ Connors’ 2011 My Band Rocks competition, performing alongside many of Manitoba’s prime bands.” Mella, in the same article, described Immortal Sacrament aptly as the “Ultimate Filipino –Canadian Metal Band in Manitoba.”

I messaged some of the members of Sacrament to ask for  quotes. Pangan's short reply was, “The experience is totally different and new to me. I was never a metal head until Paul (Magnaye) introduced  me to the genre and after having watched Slapshock  during  the Philippine Metal band's concerts in Winnipeg. Furthermore, it was during my time in Immortal Sacrament, when I begun learning how to write original materials. We also had the opportunity to share our music outside the Filipino community, becoming well-received even by non-Filipino Metal music enthusiast. The experience I had was amazing and it also brought out other fledgling Pinoy players hiding in the shadows who also got inspired to start writing their own songs."

Borja:“Our first gig as Immortal Sacrament was at The Cavern in Osborne Village.  Nobody knew us. Four Asians playing heavy metal in Winnipeg? This can’t be real, right? People thought that we were a joke, but we proved them wrong. From that night on, we started building connections outside of the Filipino community and invitations started to come.”

In my visit at Paul Magnaye’s home, I asked him for a quote and he said that, “As an artist, one should not stay in one’s comfort zone because music is unlimited.  You will never grow if you stay in your comfort zone. One must always explore. I am happy that we were able to help in paving the way for other musicians in the Metal scene.”  He added enthusiastically, "It is a great ride,one of the best, having been a part of the music scene."

(Levy Abad is a freelance writer and also a singer songwriter/recording artist and a member of Migrante Canada-Mb chapter and also a founding member/ program coordinator of Winnipeg Multicultural Human Rights Forum, Levy has released three albums , Canadian Experience Vol. 1 (iTunes ), Never Give Up and Rhythms of Compassion CanEx 3. Levy is soon to release a his fourth album by fall titled "I Love Canada". You can reach Levy Abad through, lev67.abad@yahoo.ca or on Facebook).