Savage Messiah - The Fateful Dark (2014) [Gorgatz]

Savage Messiah - The Fateful Dark (2014) [Gorgatz]



- I N F O -

Within the concrete jungles of the world, corroded system laying mankind down to waste, engraving corruption on the walls of eternity, scattering the seed of hate and desperation, a cursed earth, awaiting for the final countdown for a cleansing that someday will sweep like a swarm. Apocalyptic visions have been usually exploited as a red beacon, a warning and marker for what can be rendered as an avoidable future. While everything is open for interpretation, I figured that the British SAVAGE MESSIAH had their teeth sink deep in the social infrastructure, attempting to create an understanding of the deterioration around us, while divulging their British Metal roots with a fistful of attitude. Possibly one of the seamless fusions between NWOBHM with Speed / Thrash Metal, SAVAGE MESSIAH have been perfecting their methods into becoming highly artistic alongside delivering a chugged heaviness with a melodic piquancy. Continuing the same diligent musical aspiration of the previous album, SAVAGE MESSIAH unleashed their next mastery “The Fateful Dark”, virtually reciting and accentuating everything I adore about Metal music.

Extensively covering the entire classic Metal grounds up towards the outsets of Thrash Metal al’a old British emblems in the manner of XENTRIX and HAMMER, yet also caressing the crusts of ARTILLERY and several pointers of the Bay Area Thrash mania, SAVAGE MESSIAH battered with deadly sophistication, paving a kind of songwriting that will cajole your mindset into a mosh headbang, letting you blow off some steam due to its hammering heaviness, while also pandering your thought patterns with their melodic creativity and penetrating texts. Frankly, in comparison to the previous “Plague Of Conscience”, this here album struck me as Thrashier, and it didn’t bother. Furthermore, I was emblazoned by the guitar work and tightness of the band’s rhythm section. Dave Silver and Joff Bailey, other than smashing with meaty rhythm guitar riffery, divulged their immense shredding incendiary licks and tricks, exchanging the spotlight with gruesome discharges of pandemonium. On vocals I was surprised by Silver’s developed singing Stefano Selvatico and Andrea Gorio (freshly in the lineup) punching hard as the best of them out there, representing a one hell of backbone for this band, so accurate and hard as steel, crushing with might.

“Live as One Already Dead”, even if not being the toughest on the bunch, not as if I was precisely looking for the roughest bastardized song in line, a charming semi ballad, one might argue as one of the Thrash ballads like TESTAMENT’s renowned “The Legacy”, a notion that I can abide by actually, yet I perceived this track as one of the earnest turnouts that this band had since its formation. Silver shines with such an emotive vocal performance, his best in the album as far as I can tell. The riffing is exponential, addictive, memorable, somewhat dramatic and gradually pinched something from within. “Cross of Babylon” evidencing SAVAGE MESSIAH’s musical expansion within the boundaries of Heavy to Thrash Metal, devastating with high octane speed and mid tempo guitar palm muted parades of grandeur. Sheer IRON MAIDENish harmonies engraved within the riffs, a charming turnout, not forgetting the band’s country’s profound Metal heritage, combined with a simple chorus that carved in stone. “Hellblazer” crossing swords with Euro Power Metal for just a tad bit, instigating Heavy and Speed Metal to its command, a straight to the point, forthright, finding its marker rather rapidly, great chorus leaving a taste for more. “Zero Hour”, the dawning of everything that one holds dear, letting the apocalypse slide in, like a segment out of a bigger picture, heavy chugger with definite guitar riffery, amazing pre chorus in line for the song’s title as if praised by marching armies. Possibly another example of SAVAGE MESSIAH artistic nature of creating a shimmering mixture of Metal’s finest.

With or without the covers for classics bands such IRON MAIDEN, MOTORHEAD and DIAMOND HEAD, “The Fateful Dark” supplied my passion for this kind of Metal robustness. SAVAGE MESSIAH employed their talents to prolong the authority of their previous discography, no doubt one of the best Metal bands of nowadays that are true to their form.

London metallers Savage Messiah return to the fold with their hugely anticipated fourth album, The Fateful Dark. It’s an archetypical metal album. It’s everything you would expect from a metal album. It is indeed the definition of heavy metal.

Like a mixologist creating and serving their greatest cocktails, so Savage Messiah work in a similar way musically on The Fateful Dark. A smattering of thrash riffs here, some melodic guitar parts there, thumping drums and bass, soaring and gritty vocals, they’ve all been pulled together into one big giant cocktail shaker and given a good old thrashing. This is a cocktail though that’s more likely to be served in a giant pint tumbler, minus the umbrella and glace cherry. It’s the kind of cocktail you take a huge swig of, grin evilly, then proceed to down the remainder in record time. It’s one of those albums that remind me why I love metal so much.

We Brits love our metal served, for the most part, traditional style. It’s something that Savage Messiah have down to a tee with this album. There’s moments they remind me of the very best of Puppets-era Metallica and the Bay Area thrash revolution, there’s riffs and melodies that pull to mind classic Maiden and Helloween, there’s elements of thrash, power and speed, all served in controlled doses throughout that make this album a joy to listen to.

Iconocaust sets the scene perfectly for what lies ahead, with its intro somewhat reminiscent of The Evil That Men Do before kicking into a real thrashy groove that just owns you completely. It segues perfectly from Maiden style to Bay Area thrash and is a brilliant start.

Current single Hellblazer is a perfect example of the power metal leanings, it’s the kind of track that wouldn’t seem out of place on a Helloween or Gama Bomb album. Fizzing guitar harmonies, soaring vocals, anthemic chorus. It has it all.

- T R A C K L I S T -

01. Iconocaust
02. Minority of One
03. Cross of Babylon
04. Hellblazer
05. Live as One Already Dead
06. The Fateful Dark
07. Zero Hour
08. Hammered Down
09. Scavengers of Mercy
10. The Cursed Earth

Format: 256 mp3
Genre: Thrash Metal
Sub Genre: Power Metal
Size: 103.19 MB