Savage - Loose 'N Lethal

(1983, Ebony Records - Reissued on CD in 1997 on Neat Metal Records)

Boy, these guys sure got the shit end of the stick. Way back in the day, they were one of the hottest things going in the "New Wave of British Heavy Metal" movement, (with the two biggest probably being Def Leppard and Iron Maiden, for reference) and were destined to become big-time superstars, with swimming pools and hot chicks and all that kind of stuff. The only problem is that their management never bothered to tell the band that imports of their albums were selling like hotcakes in the US and actually turned down several offers from major labels like RCA, for some unknown reason. As a result, the only reason anyone outside of a few metal nerds here and there might have even the slightest hint of a chance of having heard of Savage is because Metallica used to play "Let it Loose" and "Dirty Money" live, way back in the early 80s. Bummer. Anyway, after seeing a bunch if places pimp this as some sort of lost classic, I decided to pick it up when I found the Metal Blade-distributed Neat Metal re-release for like five bucks, brand new. And while I'm not sure if I'd go so far as to call this an all-time classic, I'll definitely go so far as to call it really good. They kind of sound like a heavier version of early Iron Maiden, with a lot of "galloping" guitar riffs and a style that's definitely heavy metal by any standard, but not quite so far removed from traditional rock roots. Actually, it sounds a lot like a slower, more melodic Kill 'Em All era Metallica in some ways, which makes sense, with them being one of Metallica's biggest influences at the time. It's all topped nicely by the vocals, which don't differ a whole lot from what most old-school metal bands at the time were doing, but with a little more balls in the dude's voice and no reliance on operatic high notes. If there is a problem with this album, it's the production, though. There's this sort of buzz on everything that either sounds like you're listening to a late-generation dub of a cassette demo or you have cheap paper speakers that have been ripped to hell, and it can get annoying after a while. Aside from that, this is pretty awesome, and it's a total bummer that we never got to see what these guys could do with major-label budgets and production. If I still had my old 280Z, I would grow a mullet and blast "Let it Loose" in there with the windows rolled down like all the time.

Track Listing:
1. Let it Loose
2. Cry Wolf
3. Berlin
4. Dirty Money
5. Ain't No Fit Place
6. On the Rocks
7. The China Run
8. White Hot
9. No Cause to Kill (1980 Demo)
10. The Devil Take You (1980 Demo)
11. Back on the Road (1979 Demo)

---

Yeah, I decided to go more random on the "clearing out the CD shelf" stuff. The world doesn't need any more Alice in Chains reviews, because you oughtta know by now whether you like them or not. And if you don't like Alice in Chains, screw you.