Savage Messiah – Insurrection Rising (Candlelight)

Guitar work that will make you drawl, riffs that will make your head bang, songs that will make you punch the air – UK band Savage Messiah have put together a near flawless thrash metal classic!
Savage Messiah’s second album Insurrection Rising, their first on Candlelight screams old school thrash metal with names like Metal Church, Exodus, Meliah Rage and Testament slapping you backside of your head as soon as the drums roll out and the guitars come pounding in over top of the opener and title track Insurrection Rising. In fact right through to final track He Who Laughs Last the pace never lets up.
Lead vocalist and guitarist Dave Silver has a voice that at times reminds me of a young James Hetfield but he’s just as capable of going the poppier Jon Bon Jovi route too particularly on Silent Empire. And between him and co-guitarist Sy Taplin you get some blistering dual guitar workouts as drummer Ernie Nogara and bassist Sasha Cron hold down the rhythm while still managing to really keep the pace moving forward. And while Enemy Image drags you into early Metallica territory overall I wouldn’t say that they are the first band that comes to mind when you hear Savage Messiah and that is a pretty neat trick in itself considering the style of music these guys are wallowing in. Not that this wouldn’t sit nicely next to Master Of Puppets or Ride The Lightning, let alone The Dark or Bonded By Blood.
The promotional material would have you believe the band have combined the old with the new but to these old ears this is classic riff driven thrash metal – no nu metal tendencies, no remixes or pissing about with gadgets, just some amazing guitar work, a pace that never lets up and most importantly songs that hold together for repeated listening. And at 43 minutes this is an album that doesn’t overstay its welcome, in fact it leaves you begging for more. Finishing as strongly as it starts, I can’t fault this album at all – it is a beautiful thing. The more I listen to it, the more I love it. Crank this fucker up and enjoy.