• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

This is the proper debut for Savage Oath, who made some waves with their self-titled EP last year, and now we already get a complete album of their Heavy Metal alchemy. This is a band very much in the mainline of US Trad Metal, standing with other new lights of the style like Visigoth, Eternal Champion, or Gatekeeper, though I do have to appreciate that Savage Oath are less wedded to the US Metal sound of old and incorporate a more Euro/Hellenic sense of melody in the vein of Battleroar, Wotan, or Battle Ram. The guitar work, and especially the leads on here are fucking great, with that balls-out vibe you get from players really going for it in the studio. Singer Brendan Radigan (also of Sumerlands) has the pipes for whatever he wants to do, and he works a rougher-edged sound here in among his often haunting melodies. This is an album that starts strong, but then gets better. Opener "Knight of the Night" is solid, but then they hit "Wings of Vengeance" and things get fucking awesome and don't let up. You get that pervasive feeling of musicians being caught up in the music they are making, and it carries through with the sheer energy of the songs. I don't hear enough people talking about this album, and that really should change, because it's one of the best albums I have heard this year.