Simply stated, the two don’t believe inluck.. only the hard work, dedication, and perseverance that has led them toperform nearly a thousand shows across the United States, though over 13line-up changes, management changes, and stylistic evolution as well- from theblues pop sound they forged as early teens, to their unique style of ‘BeardMetal’; which includes elements of classic/progressive metal with elements ofmodern hard rock, coupled with a very melodic vibe and virtuosticinstrumentation amongst the three members that has earned them the respect ofmany industry professionals, rock legends, and also their loyal, passionate fanbase.

The band follows Remanence (2007),Tattered Memories (2009), and Jagged Regrets (2010), with the 13-track metalmasterpiece, Black Days Behind Us; their most accomplished and fulfilling albumto date. With their ultimate goal to bethe “Metallica” of their generation, Sacred 13 has toured from New York City toSan Francisco, and performed many festivals in all areas in between; such asNashville, Cleveland, Columbus, Rochester, Niagara Falls, Geneva, and Buffaloas well as dominating in the band’s home town, Erie Pennsylvania; headliningpopular festivals such as Eight Great Tuesdays, and Celebrate Erie to name afew. After being discovered by JNPConcerts, the band was given the opportunity to perform a sold-out show atErie’s legendary Warner Theatre with global rock icon, Alice Cooper. Thisperformance was professionally shot for a live Sacred 13 concert DVD [S13Live]. Following the band's performance,they were then personally asked to perform again as direct support for AliceCooper July 13th 2010 at the Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville Indiana, andJuly 18th 2010 at the Fraze Pavilion in Dayton Ohio. Sacred 13 has also performed with many othernational acts as well throughout the years, including Bad Company, Symphony X,Kings X, Joe Bonamassa, Bobaflex, Local H, Steven Pearcy (of RATT), BillyMorris (Warrant/Quiet Riot) Mushroomhead, Ventana, The Godz, Britny Fox, JoeStump, Rob Balducci, Psychostick, and Stemm to name a few. The band was alsoscheduled to perform as direct support for ZZ Top at the Lake Erie Speedway in Julyof 2004, but the entire event was unfortunately cancelled.

As founding members of the band,Karickhoff and Ward have also won numerous awards over the span of their 12+year career, including Best Teen Band at the New York International MusicFestival, Best New Video at the Great Lakes Film Festival, and Best LivePerformance by All Biz Entertainment. Bythe time Karickhoff was 15, he was not only victorious in many regional guitarcompetitions, but was already nationally recognized and considered one of thetop ten greatest unsigned guitarists in the world (out of over 3,000 reviewed players)in Guitar Player Magazine's "Guitar Hero [now known as Guitar Superstar]"competition, which was judged by guitar legends Joe Satriani (soloartist/Chickenfoot), Steve Lukather (ToTo/Michael Jackson), Richie Kotzen(Poison/Mr. Big/The Winery Dogs), Shredmistress Renada, and others. Sacred 13’smusic receives air play on several regional radio stations, as well as numerousonline stations such as FatCat Radio, Livin Rocks Radio, Rocking Angels MetalSanctuary, Local Licks Radio, Infernal Rock Radio, etc. In addition, the band has also appeared on afew TV shows as well, including CATV's City Music; which also aired on VH1Classic.

“When we further developed our soundand evolved into Sacred 13, fans of Blue Fire followed, but we also picked upmany harder rock/metal fans along the way as well,” says Karickhoff. “Our albumRemanence was a great way to open the door, and by the time we did the slightlydarker Tattered Memories, we were combining strong hooks, our signaturemelodies and driving aggressive riffs to create a heavy but highly melodicsound. Our tracks are musician friendly but are also coupled with diversecontrasts. While that album helped us expand our regional fan-base, we’ve dugeven deeper into our rich, emotional life experiences to write the songs onJagged Regrets. And even since then, our sound has really solidified even moreso. With the new record [Black DaysBehind Us], we were able to get very conceptual, both with the lyrics and withthe composition of the music. We broughtout a more diverse side, and a more emotional side than ever before, also. It's our best so far. The production has really come a long way, andthe songwriting I feel has matured immensely. I feel this album truly is a masterpiece."

Black Days Behind Us is said to have astrong thematic base as well. "Thisalbum has very strong theme. It (ofcourse) has 13 tracks, and basically each song is like a chapter in the courseof events on this record. The albumbasically is about the struggle to overcome; putting the 'black days' behindyou and moving forward positively. Eachtrack after the two main openers [Twilight Falls Pt.1 / Black Days], takes thelistener through a different sort of struggle, a different situation, beforefinally going full circle and wrapping up with the 3-parter, “The End IsCalling”. The part that makes thisrecord for me, is the fact that the music really fits the mood of the lyricsthe whole way through. For example,“Scars And Bruises” is like a fighting sort of song- it's up tempo andenergetic. “The Path For Me” was writtenwhen 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 powerwhen the lyrics become inspired and positive. “Down This Road” talks about living with the consequences of thelifestyle 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 albumand I'm proud that we could make something like this that we feel is not onlyvery powerful musically, but also conceptually as well."

Karickhoff also elaborates on the joyand excitement the band feels on stage:

“While I feel all our records have acertain uniqueness and energy to them, our favorite part of being musicians isthe live performances,” says Karickhoff, “because at heart, we are not onlymusicians but also performers. We love to express ourselves to crowds of allsizes; whether it’s 50 people or 5,000 people, we still get that ‘charge’ whenwe’re up on stage. It’s great writing and recording an album, and being able topour your heart and soul into a piece of work, but ultimately we cannotphysically see how people respond to us when they listen to a CD. At our shows however, we get the opportunityto feel their energy, and we put a lot of effort into our shows; including aunique visual component. People who seeus 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 thoroughlybelieve it’s what has kept us going for the past ten years and what keeps usmotivated to continue forward everyday...”