SAVAGE MASTER
Dark & Dangerous
Shadow Kingdom Records
In the annals of metal history there has been a plethora of female-fronted bands and most could seriously deliver the goods when it came to metal. Bands like Germany's WARLOCK and BATTLEFIELD, Belgium's ACID, Sweden's CRYSTAL PRIDE, and America's CHASTAIN, HELLION & ZNOWHITE all had releases in the 80's that could kick it up with their male-fronted counterparts. Nowadays there are actually so many F.F. bands that in no way can I keep up. My personal favorites are BLOOD STAR (killer!) and SOLICITOR (raging!). And the last band of my trifecta of F.F. bands is Kentucky's SAVAGE MASTER.
The baby of singer Stacey Savage and guitarist Adam Neal (a one time member of THE HOOKERS to boot), SAVAGE MASTER is a mixture of your favorite gore & horror movie set to heavy metal. Both of them are huge horror movie aficionados, so naturally that translates well to the band. The band's (sans Stacey) faces are concealed in executioner's hoods (think MIDNIGHT, although I have seen them in Red ones as opposed to black), with plenty of chains, candles, and other assorted goodies around and are as fun to see live as you think. But make no mistake, they take their music as serious as a serial killer does his victims.
Formed in 2013, the band's discography spans 2 EP's and 4 full length albums. Plus a couple of appearances on some amazing tribute releases, (covering EXCITER's "Saxons of the Fire" for the Pounding Metal EXCITER tribute and RIOT's "Swords and Tequila" for the Thunder and Steel Down Under" RIOT tribute), and even a track on Metal Blade Records legendary Metal Massacre series (#14). So when I tell you that SAVAGE MASTER know and respect the history of metal you can take that to the bank!!
So let's get cracking on that new SAVAGE MASTER opus, shall we then? "Dark & Dangerous" is it's title and the official street date is March 28th. 11 songs clocking in at 39 minutes and it might be S.M.'s most mature album to date. Now to some that might be construed as some kind of ominous statement. But I will tell you to think about it like a horror movie soundtrack. It's not all fast & furious. There's somber and ominous tones as well, setting moods. So it is that I think of D&D in the same manner. "Three Red Candles" starts off the show, a tasty instrumental that sets the tone for the all-out headbanging of "Warriors Call", a fist pounding, headbanging way to start. "Black Rider" follows and is another brain bashing, neck-ache inducing pounder. "The Edge of Evil" slows it down and reminds me of those killer 80's tracks with even a touch of keys in the background. Stacey
really stretches her voice on this one. "Devil's Child" (no, not the JUDAS PRIEST cut) is another pounding rifferama that is a guaranteed face melter live. "Screams from the Cellar" is a mid-tempo rocker that balances out the brutality with a bit of melody. "Never Ending Fire" gets back uptempo with a double kick pounder that even has maracas (!). This should be a fun one live! "Devil Rock" is a slower riff dirge that I can see going over a storm live with some crowd participation. "I Never Wanna Fall in Love" has a memorable chorus and gang backing vocals. Definitely an earworm track, but a love song?? Think MERCYFUL FATE "Melissa" kinda lyrically and put your mind at ease. "When the Twilight Meets the Dawn" gets back to the uptempo banging and should have no trouble getting any club and mosh pit bouncing and raging! "Cold Hearted Death" is the grand finale and the album's epic track, clocking in at over 6 minutes. This one really shows the melody in Stacey's voice. Nice to hear her stretch out and show her vocal prowess. I was just thinking that this song would fit perfectly at the end of your favorite slasher movie, as you're reading the final credits as it sets that kind of dark mood. Very cool indeed.
It's been a few years since I've seen SAVAGE MASTER live, and it just so happens that they'll be joining the roster for the Hell's Heroes Fest in March right here in good ol' Houston, Texas. Easily one of, if not the best Metal festival currently in the U.S.A., the perfect place for the live debut of tracks off of Dark & Dangerous. If ya can't make it, you can certainly support the band by grabbing the album in any format of your choosing. Except 8-track. LoL. This should please SAVAGE MASTER fans worldwide, and quite possibly bring brand new fans into the darkened fold. Just be sure to stock up on those red candles.......
And for my Wax freaks, I've never known Shadow Kingdom to not put Vinyl out, and I don't expect this to be the 1st. I DO expect a few color variants and limited quantities though. So start saving those shekels.
4.6 Skulls Out Of 5.0 ☠️☠️☠️☠️
