Released by: Minus2Zebra Music
Release Date: Out Now!!!
Genre: Heavy Metal
Links: http://www.myspace.com/savageuk
Line Up:
Chris Bradley – Vocals, Bass Guitar
Andy Dawsoon – Lead Guitars
Mark Nelson – Drums
Kristian Bradley – Guitars
Tracklist:
01. The Rage Within
02. Black N Blue
03. Sons Of Malice
04. The Hanging Tree
05. Monkey On My Back
06. Junkyard Dogs
07. Blow
08. Waking The Dead
09. Choose Revolution
10. Now
11. Look At Yourself
12. Master Of War
13. Fallen Idols
Many NWOBHM bands attempted to break into the fold in the late 70’s and so on all throughout the 80s, but only a few successively implanted their seed into the music world. Sadly the band Savage never made that billing during a consistent period of time and manage to slip through the cracks, a real shame because now some after a 10 year hiatus the outfit returned to the scene with a rock solid delivery of British metal slab.
The founders of the band members Chris Bradley and Andy Dawson we’re just 15 and 18 respectively when they first stormed through the East Midlands rock scene in the early 80’s. In an interesting twist of fate their compilation sampler called “Scene of the Crime” for which the band recorded two tunes, landed in the hands of Lars Ulrich from Metallica who as the story has it ended up taking back to the states and recording a demo of the track “Let It Loose” with Metallica. Ahh even the posers of Metallica at some point understood good music, too bad Savage didn’t get the big break until they we’re signed by Ebony Records whom with they released their first debut album “Loose ‘n’ Lethal” considered one of the best British metal imports to this day. Hearing that album a few years ago when I was compiling a dose of underrated NWOBHM acts I can safely say that this particular record slayed, a killer tone alongside some top notch musicianship that put Savage on the right path to what could of been, eventually that never happened as the band blames partly bad management and lack of support form the label for the fallout of their career.
After a short reunion back in 1995 for the release of “Holy Wars” and “Babylon” in 1996 and receiving some good feedback in Europe and Japan, the band folded again and took an unprecedented break from each other due to personal issues. But finally after a short bio and trip back in time, the killer backbone of the band is back with a new album for British Metallers for the 21st century as only Savage knows how. The new one titled “Sons of Malice” marks the band updating their sound in modern times and keeping the core of the band intact with Dawson and Bradley and adding guitar player Kristian Bradley who is the nephew of Andy and son of Chris.
Is nice to hear this album from top to bottom as they do a nice job of touching up their sound from the past with a more polished straight up metal approach. Is hard this day in age to not stray too far from the past especially for bands that had en established groove then. The vocals of Chris still have a Trash Metal vibe and the guitars whilst a bit tamed this time around, still offer something for the listener who want a solid metal album. Some of the killer cuts here brought to you direct and with sublime aggression courtesy of numbers like “Black N Blue”, this Whitesnake-esque melodic charger adds a nice touch to the record early on. The title track delivers some tight corners with a rising chorus, a bit of grunge Alice in Chains in there to muddy things up a bit. The grinding pulse of “Junkyard Dog” although a bit repetitive at times, features a killer solo to spices things up rightly. The harder paced “Now” entails a top notch blasting riff that opens things up nicely; bringing flashes of modern day Vicious Rumors, a nice tasty track with plenty of attitude. The basic formula on this new album is used for the duration and it surprisingly doesn’t wear out thin, something that tends to happen to bands in this genre.
Is a hard task to try to retrace your old stomping grounds, and Savage has done a commendable job of doing just that while not sacrificing too much of their old school sound, but at the same inviting a modern appeal. The writing is probably not at part with some of their older material, and the riffs are not as aggressive as they used to be, but for a band that has taken such extended breaks from the scene and trying to retouch base again with their heretic sound, “Sons of Malice” is actually a good effort. I guess I call a coming full circle release and as a more mature band they deliver on what they know they can. Is an enjoyable for metal fans the likes of old and new, and as convoluted the support for bands has gotten now a days you would do some good to go check out their new offering and give the band the props it deserves.
Written by Denys
Ratings Denys 8/10
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