SAVAGE MASTER
“Those Who Hunt At Night”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

9.5/10

Savage Master are a female fronted heavy metal band from the USA formed in 2013 releasing four albums to date – ‘Mask Of The Devil’ (2014), ‘With Whips And Chains’ (2016), ‘Myth, Magic And Steel’ (2019), and ‘Those Who Hunt At Night’, released in 2022…

…featuring the bands colossal British sounding style of metal – Savage Master are more traditional NWOBHM than some of the actual UK NWOBHM bands, past or present! The band open their new album with (presumably the title song) ‘Hunt At Night’ – a heavy hitting thunderstorm of old school “foot on the monitor” metal. The sound of eighties heavy metal is alive and very well in the hands of Savage Master, and their charismatic front woman Stacey Savage. Fans of bands such as Saxon, Samson, Raven, and Girlschool are gonna lap this one up! Picking up the pace and furiously galloping forth, ‘Eyes Behind The Stars’ is a highly head bang-able romp that’ll give life to the worldwide mosh pits, with heads vigorously nodding back and forth. The guitar led ‘Rain Of Tears’ adopts a more epic and polished nature as it marches into sight and elegantly strides on. And when I say strides on – I mean at a very heavy pace with a huge melodious edge that makes ‘Rain Of Tears’ the most infectious offering out of the opening three songs.

With four albums in eight years, Savage Master are a fairly relentless metal machine – each one bearing the sound of traditional heavy metal, ‘Spirit Of Death’ picking up the baton and running on at full tilt. I was a teenager during the glorious eighties, and listening to Savage Master is just like being back there. The aura the band generate is incredible, their sound a match for anything released during the decade of heavy metal evolution and design. ‘A Warrior’s Return’ is a bold Saxon-like call to arms, full of mighty big riffs and a swashbuckling atmosphere. And I swear if you didn’t know the bands country of origin, you’d place your bets on Savage Master being from the UK! They’re just so British sounding! With a raucous NWOBHM sounding riff breathing fire into ‘The Hangman’s Tree’, we’re off and running at high velocity – both feet firmly planted on the monitor and in the traditional metal genre. The pace of ‘The Hangman’s Tree’ is phenomenal, and stands tall alongside some of the galloping gourmets bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest have served up over the years.

Returning the heavier mid tempo style of earlier, ‘Queen Satan’ is a menacing meander of thunder, fire. and brimstone! Hitting the hardest of any song heard so far, ‘Queen Satan’ maintains its mid tempo swagger from start to finish. Well almost – the band deploying a furious flurry just after halfway! And exploding into life, ‘Vaster Empires’ is a fast and furious gallop of all out metal – the band delivering an unabashed avalanche of head bang-able heavy metal. Savage Master have been relentless all album, not letting the intensity drop for a second, keeping the aura of the glorious eighties well and truly alive. The final song ‘The Death Of Time’, is the only song on the album to exceed the five minute mark – and is a doomy Black Sabbath style heavy stomp. Bringing a different feel and vibe to the album, Savage Master remain rooted in the traditional heavy metal genre – arguably the best genre of metal, and likely the most popular too!

Overall, a glorious gallop of traditional heavy metal, Savage Master display an incredible affinity with the NWOBHM sound.

TRACKLIST

Hunt At Night
Eyes Behind The Stars
Rain Of Tears
Spirit Of Death
A Warrior’s Return
The Hangman’s Tree
Queen Satan
Vaster Empires
The Death Of Time

https://savagemasterofficial.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/savagemaster666

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