Customer Reviews

Saviorself

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hades is just one of those bands no one really hears about. Split in the late 80's, Dan Lorenzo and Alan Tecchio formed a very cool band in itself: Non-Fiction. Dan decides to focus once again on the political, almost satricial pun-like Hades with songs such as "In The Words Of The Profit" and "To Know One" and of course the title track "$avior$elf". Maybe losing a little of the Non-Fiction quality, but still grounded in the old Hades sense, $avior$elf is a solid ball of steel. Not as brutal as "Resisting Success", "$avior$elf" finds itself a little more thought out, a little more mature in most areas. Well thinking and more politically incorrect than Bill Maher, it probably won't please the nineties Korn/Limp Bizkit-junkies or those who still believe metal should be played and growled through at Warp 5, it will please the 80's metal maniac and might even surprise a 90's fan here and there. To knock it down a notch, I believe there is more room for production improvement (maybe I'm nitpicking) and one or two more songs would've done nicely. And with track #3 being a meat by-product filler interlude, "$avior$elf" is a solid 4 stars, definitely worth a measely test drive on your CD player.

I have burned Our Father to my library. Thanks guys for the beautiful irony! Too bad you don't put your talents to such good use otherwise.

I didn't expect a whole lot out of this album when I ordered it but as it turns out, its astoundingly good! The band is fronted by ex-WATCHTOWER vocalist Alan Tecchio whose voice is more subdued on this album than on the WATCHTOWER releases. That's a welcome change because HADES is not what I'd consider a progressive, thrash-it-out band. What they are, however, is good kick-in-the-pants Power Metal with originality and personality. With its superior production, Saviorself is a refreshing release full of great riffing, slicing leads, well-structured Metal that reminds me of a cross between SACRED REICH and FLOTSAM & JETSAM. This isn't a speedy affair but a cranking methodical mid-paced album of cleverly crafted heavy music with some of the better lyrics I've seen in a long while. Critiques of everything from religion to politics are done with a touch of humor but weighted with intelligent commentary. The only real downside to the album are perhaps some short instrumentals and a sang version of the Our Father prayer which I don't understand the relevance of on the album. Every pure Metal track though is extremly catchy and some just flat-out great and I can't help but recommend Saviorself to any fan of good, loud Power Metal.

I was hoping that by choosing an artist with the Metal Blade label, I would be guaranteed a heavy hitting album. That was not the case. I was under the impression that these guys were a new band that no one had heard much of and they really had something to show off. They couldnt keep with one kind of music ranging anywhere from vienna choirboys to somewhere around the early 90's version of Testament. I wouldnt waste my money on this album. If you are looking for the hardcore metal, I recommend giving Six Feet Under's new album "Maximum Violence" A listen, and you can never go wrong with bands like Slayer, Mercyful Fate and At The Gates.