Savage Master-With Whips And Chains

High Roller/ Skol Records
2016

Fans of female-fronted traditional/classic metal would do well to listen up as this is a important message. U.S. occult heavy metal band Savage Master return with album number two in "With Whips And Chains" and to put it in simple words that everyone can understand it is a real gem of a recording! As you can see here Savage Master is a band that I've covered before and while I thought their debut album was a real blast, "Mask of the Devil" has NOTHING on the the metallic masterpiece that is "With Whips And Chains"! Armed with a new drummer in Zach Harris, Louisville, Kentucky-based Savage Master set out to stomp any fears about a sophomore slump with the resulting album in question showing just how far lead vocalist Stacey "Savage" Peak and her companions have come between their rock-solid 2014 debut album and the forthcoming "With Whips And Chains"! Formed in October of 2012 by Stacy Savage and  guitarist Adam Neal (The Hookers), Savage Master set out in life in order to create a unique occult metal band and they achieved that and then some when it came to their highly-recommended debut album. Early on this five-piece band was influenced by the sounds and styles of such classic metal and N.W.O.B.H.M. groups as Coven, Bitch, Warlock, Venom, Exciter, Witchfinder General, Angel Witch, Diamond Head, Warlord, Judas Priest, Candlemass, Danzig, (early) Iron Maiden and Belgian's Acid. Here it is some four years later and we find this underrated outfit pushing their way past the raw and untamed sounds that were present on "Mask of the Devil" in order to deliver a new album that is far more polished and technical than the primitive* nature of their debut! That's not to say that I don't appreciate everything that Savage Master did on their first album. I loved "Mask of the Devil"! But whereas their debut album was grilled to perfection sirloin steak this new disc is grand A filet mignon! Not only has Stacy Savage improved as a vocalist (something which I would have never thought possible as she already had this incredibly strong voice!), but the band as a whole has really stepped up it's game! On their sophomore album we find Savage Master (which is incidentally rounded out by guitarist Larry Myers and bassist Brandon "BB Gunz" Brown) taking the best parts of their 2014 album (raw and dark metal, thrash, hard & heavy N.W.O.B.H.M., etc.) and then adding in slicker & sicker guitar solos, crushing bass lines and a new and improved drum sound in order that their new disc ends up being as wicked and evil as humanly demonically possibly! When it comes to sincere occult heavy metal and sinister heavy metal-infused thrash this 10-track album is as good as it gets folks.

*"Mask of the Devil" brilliantly combined seventies occult rock, eighties metal, traditional/classic heavy metal and the many different sounds and styles of N.W.O.B.H.M. movement with the raw and primitive nature of Venom and Exciter. Toss in the punk-inspired N.W.O.B.H.M. sound of Iron Maiden's first two albums and you will come close to what Savage Master achieved on their first album. But as great as it was, "Mask of the Devil" pails in comparison to the tighter and way more structured sound that is found on "With Whips And Chains". The key thing to take away from all of this is that such musical growth is not only to be expected, but it should be highly encouraged! Savage Master has grown and matured between album number one and album number two and fans of this occult heavy metal act will just love the ends results!