Right off the bat, Major Label Debut comes out swingin’ fast and furious. I don’t think SW has ever been this venomous and quick-tempoed. That’s saying a lot.
Like Neubauten, like Crash Worship, like ¡Tchkung!, Savage Aural Hotbed loves drums. Lots of ’em. But unlike said bands, SAH are not political, nor even savage.
Like late ’80s power/thrash metal never died. Wandering instrumental intros, riff-by-numbers guitarwork, and clear-yer-throat-snarlboy vocals. Dated as hell.
As the title implies, it is a dichotomy – between hope and despair, anger and exhilaration, acknowledging the past while leading the charge into the future.
They rank up there with Emperor and Satyricon, only a tad less inflated in their epic songwriting, with most songs clocking in at less than four minutes long.