Album Review: Savage Master – With Whips and Chains

Savage Master – With Whips and Chains
Release Date: May 13, 2016
Label: The Skol Records / High Roller Records

When I hear Kentucky, I think of baseball, bowling green hills, and bluegrass music. As a matter of fact, Kentucky is the last place I would probably think about when thinking of heavy metal. Well, straight out of Louisville comes a metal mistress named Stacey Savage and her band of henchmen that follow her around cloaked in masks and donning chains. Together, they call themselves Savage Master and let me just say this right now. If you have ever loved the rawness, gutsiness, unforgiving, and relentless sound of classic 80’s NWOBHM bands such as Venom, Raven, and Grim Reaper than hold on tight to your tits because Savage Master is the band for you and trust me, they’ll rip your tits clean off.

 

Savage Master’s latest album, With Whips and Chains is raw and chockfull of all the things that made me fall in love with heavy metal music as a wee young lad. Musically, the band is tight yet raw and unpolished while lead vocalist Stacey Savage sounds like the love child of Rob Halford and Cherrie Currie fronting Grim Reaper. Yes, I know about Halford but you’ll get the idea the minute you hear this woman’s voice.

Right out the gates with, “Dark Light of the Moon”, I could feel sweat and the work that this band was putting into this track. From there, the album moves like a heavy metal juggernaut pounding you over the head track after track. From the groove of “Path of the Necromancer” to the Iron Maiden inspired, “Satan’s Crowns”, With Whips and Chains is an album that never gets boring or tired. This is an album that transports me back to a time when metal bands weren’t cool or stylish and when the lyrics were full of awesomely cheesy mysticism, sorcery, and dark magic undertones. With Whips and Chains is a no frills, classic headbangers delight. Clocking in at a mere 35 minutes, Savage Master has mastered the art of understanding that less is definitely more. Savage Master does more in 35 minutes than most metal bands can do in twice that time and still leave you wanting more.

Discover more from Southeast of Heaven

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading