{"id":17754,"date":"2014-03-04T00:01:57","date_gmt":"2014-03-04T00:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=17754"},"modified":"2014-03-04T20:53:51","modified_gmt":"2014-03-04T20:53:51","slug":"album-review-savage-messiah-the-fateful-dark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-savage-messiah-the-fateful-dark\/","title":{"rendered":"SAVAGE MESSIAH – The Fateful Dark (2014) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAVAGE MESSIAH
The Fateful Dark<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nEarache (2014)<\/span>
Rating: 7\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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When London thrashers Savage Messiah released their debut opus Spitting Venom<\/em> back in 2007 there was a real buzz, not just about these guys, but the thrash scene in general. Since then of course too many sterile bands have bogged down the scene, and it\u2019s been up to bands such as Evile, and to some extent Savage Messiah, to keep the thrash flag flying.<\/p>\n

But it seems that those we have faith in aren\u2019t all they are cracked up to be; where their heroes such as Metallica and Megadeth<\/a> slowly became more polished and less primal over time, so have Evile and Savage Messiah.<\/p>\n

The Fateful Dark<\/em> is the fourth full-length album from this quartet, following on from 2012\u2019s disappointing Plague Of Conscience<\/em>. It\u2019s a ten-track composition (which also comes with three bonus cover versions) that relies on a more mainstream and melodic feel rather than the blistering thrash I\u2019d become used to with these guys. The band is fronted by Dave Silver, who is backed by fellow guitarist Joff Bailey, and they are accompanied by bassist Stefano Selvatico and drummer Andrea Gorio, who replaces Mauricio Chamucero. <\/p>\n

The opus boasts crisp production but as thrash albums go, despite some very strong numbers, it suffers from being rather dull at times. The album opens with the simmering strains of \u2018Iconocaust\u2019, a beefy six-minute rocker featuring sturdy drums and galloping guitars as well as Silver\u2019s diverse vocal ability. It\u2019s a classy marrying of NWOBHM and melodic thrash. This combination works well for the band throughout, nowhere more than on \u2018Minority Of One\u2019; its racy guitars blend into a catchy melody, reminding me heavily of Megadeth at their most accessible. <\/p>\n

However, this combination fails when we\u2019re introduced to \u2018Cross Of Babylon\u2019; Silver\u2019s vocals sound strained and the generic thrash comes to the fore, giving the track a feel of the rehashed. Oddly, bands such as Xentrix opted for this formula decades previous and yet failed rather miserably, so I find it rather confusing that the likes of Savage Messiah and Evile feel the need to try this ingredient once again. Put against their peers, Savage Messiah and the likes pale in comparison with what can only be described as middle of the road, polished thrash. <\/p>\n

The likes of \u2018Hellblazer\u2019 with its traditional metal chug, the majestic swoon of \u2018Live As One Already Dead\u2019 and \u2018Zero Hour\u2019 are rather bland affairs which lack any real bite. When the band does knuckle down in the thrash stakes though, they are more than capable of churning out a volatile number, particularly with the title track and the frantic \u2018Hammered Down\u2019. \u2018Scavengers Of Mercy\u2019 is another impressive track, but these aren\u2019t thrash metal classics we\u2019ll be talking about in decades to come. <\/p>\n

While I enjoy Silver\u2019s enigmatic tones, for the most part The Fateful Dark<\/em> is a record of tepid thrash metal that hints at early Iron Maiden in its harmonies, but rarely is it an album tough enough to stand the test of time.<\/p>\n

Those eager for the record\u2019s bonus cover versions will find Iron Maiden\u2019s \u2018Be Quick Or Be Dead\u2019, Diamond Head\u2019s \u2018Lightning To The Nations\u2019 and Mot\u00f6rhead\u2019s \u2018Killers\u2019 rather timid but intriguing fare, yet they don\u2019t do much for me to be honest. <\/p>\n

To sum up, The Fateful Dark<\/em> is a rather meek and mild metal album, but one that will no doubt please Savage Messiah\u2019s disciples.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SAVAGE MESSIAHThe Fateful Dark Earache (2014)Rating: 7\/10 When London thrashers Savage Messiah released their debut opus Spitting Venom back in 2007 there was a real buzz, not just about these guys, but the thrash scene in general. Since then of course too many sterile bands have bogged down the scene, and it\u2019s been up to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1100],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-savage-messiah"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17754"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17757,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17754\/revisions\/17757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}