Savage Messiah – Hands of Fate

[schema type=”review” name=”Savage Messiah – Hands of Fate” description=”Label: Century Media Records” author=”Juho Karila” pubdate=”2017-10-27″ ]

Savage Messiah is a British heavy metal band, which has come to the mature age of 10 at the brink of the release of their 4th album: Hands of Fate.

The album kicks off with the title track, and it strikes right where it hurts. A seamless groove of guitars and drums shows the listener that they’re a force to be reckoned with. The first verse brings in some modern heavy riffs that bows towards Avenged Sevenfold‘s late production but ups the ante and swipes the floor with their American peer with more primal and raw sound. The whole song is a mid-tempo one but to a much pleasant surprise, I can’t find anything to complain; I am most pleased.

The second track is a video single one and it follows more the traditional ways of British heavy metal. Wing and a Prayer begins with a short but immersing guitar lead, which in the way of Iron Maiden, toys with harmonics. The verse doesn’t offer much of surprises as it relies on tension and release format and keeps me hooked until the chorus, which subconsciously makes me tapping my foot and bobbing my head to the rhythm while the catchiness takes the best of me and I sing along to it. Simplicity at its best.

Next one, Blood Red Road, follows the more traditional, guitar-lead heavy but is nicely upbeat and blends in some subtle thrashy elements in the verse, much like what Iced Earth has been doing over the years but once again it’s 2-0 for the Europeans. The chorus drops a bomb, it sounds and feels almost like that of an AOR band and just simply needs to be screamed out loud by an audience of thousands at a festival or a stadium concert.

The rest of the album follows basically these archtypes and gives us a lot of massive choruses, intensive and raw guitar riffs and attitude that Savage Messiah is here to kick some ass!

SM is a band I will keep a close eye on from now on, and this album is surely going to stay on my playlist for long. In it’s own game, it combines the best sides of heavy- and power metal, leaves out the worst cliches and harnesses it to their own purpose, resulting in being a unique and genuine album, which is surely one of the best ones of 2017.

Tracklist: 1. Hands of Fate 2. Wing And A Prayer 3. Blood Red Road 4. Lay Down Your Arms 5. Solar Corona 6. Eat your Heart Out 7. Fearless 8. The Last Confession 9. The Crucible 10. Out Of Time

Line-up:
David Silver – Lead Guitar, Vocals
Sam S Junior – Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals
Mira Slama – Bass Guitar
Andrea Gorio – Drums

Links:
Facebook
Official