NWOTHM masters Savage Master rolled into Atlanta for the second time this year in support of their latest album, With Whips and Changes and this was a show that I was so excited to take in. The last time they were in town was as support for Holy Grail so to see Savage Master do a full on headlining show was a real treat. Within the depths of the subterranean Drunken Unicorn, there was a strong, positive vibe in the air. Just before Savage Master took the stage, the small but very vocal and excited crowd congregated at the front of the stage and awaited Stacey Savage and her band of henchmen.
As the band took the stage slamming right into “Dark Light of the Moon”, I felt a huge shit eating grin take over my face. Why? Because the band I was watching up on that stage was a far different band from the one I first saw a little over a year ago. While the same “band”, this band was a much more confident, powerful, and polished band. Not only did they look and act more polished but they played with so much more fire and determination that I had seen them play with yet. Going into “Black Hooves” Savage Master was raising the bar but it was “Ready to Sin” that truly took things over the top. On record, this song wasn’t really one of my favorites but live, this song just seemed to grab everyone had everyone thrusting their fists in the air and head banging like it was Ruskin Arms in 1980.
Watching Savage Master live this particular time, I suddenly felt like I was transported back to a time when metal bands just didn’t give a fuck about anything but making sure that the audience was going to leave that show pummeled and exhausted. Just when I thought things couldn’t get much better, Savage Master brought it all the way over the top with “Death Rides the Highway.” Feeling exhausted and sore from my neck to my lower back, the band hit us with the 1-2 punch of “The Ripper in Black” and the outstanding closer, “Mask of the Devil.”
As the band exited the stage, I felt as if I had seen something really magical. I even had a strong sense of pride. Savage Master is a band that much like with Holy Grail I feel like I’m watching grow up right before my very eyes. On this night, it was very clear to me that Savage Master is definitely graduating with honors and working their way up the ranks at a rapid pace.
Savage Master is a band that is everything I loved about metal as a kid and that I still love now as an adult. They have a shtick that so appropriately effective. As whacky as it may be, I fucking love it and love how they work it on stage. Savage Master also has fine tuned their stage performance but most importantly they have the songs. Savage Master’s songs are some of my favorite metal songs in the last 20 years or so.
Savage Master is showing no signs of slowing down or letting up any time soon. This is a band that truly loves what they do and they do so with a burning ambition and a deep rooted fire that cannot be put out. When “the elders” of metal say things like, “Who’s going to carry the flag for us when we’re gone?” I just smile knowing that a band like Savage Master is going to carry that flag to the top of the hill leaving a huge mess of disbelievers in their wake.
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