Hailing from Denmark, up and coming classic heavy metallers SAVAGE MACHINE are back with their first full length effort "Abandon Earth." Did anybody ask for another classic heavy metal album in 2018? No. But we seem to be getting one anyways. It's not bad by any means, it is just fucking played out beyond belief it's hard to take seriously sometimes. Maybe I'm the dumbass here (I do love djent), but it does get boring and derivative and it can't be overlooked.

If you're a group of talented artists in 2018, why make an album in this style? These guys have real talent, all the parts are performed beautifully, and the melodies are crafted with a veteran touch. I just will never understand why the boundaries of a genre can't be pushed instead of the same thing over and over again.

That being said, the concept is pretty rad. Taking place in a post-apocalyptic Earth, man and machine wage war over the few remaining resources needed to sustain "life." As a firm believer we're all gonna get fucked by AI one day, I'm really into this. The music realistically does not live up to the hype though.

The first choice track for me is track 3, "The Hunter." We get a much more innovative, modern, and dark sound. The guitar work is foreboding, quick, and rhythmically quite impressive. The vocals are underwhelming which still leaves the song feeling incomplete. And I don't mean to knock lead vocalist Troels Rasmussen, he sings everything very well. The throaty 90s thrash wailing just doesn't quite much the dark tone of the song. But any song that has a chorus based around the chant "KILL KILL" followed with a wonderful guitar chunk is just fine with me. That was fresh, it's a really great track.

Track 4 "Time Traveller" begins with a much softer and thoughtful intro laced with gentle guitar work. It was enjoyable and a bit different, but the rest of the song falls into a familiar monotony.

Track 6 "The Fourth Dimension" has impressive guitar solo work and rapid thumping pace that will make you head bang. It's a classic galloping power metal song. Track 7 "Fall of Icarus" is one of the more melodically inventive and epic numbers on the album, and it has a very climactic feel.

Track 9 "Savior" is their attempt at a longer BLIND GUARDIAN-esque track built around an epic and soaring story arc and clocking in at a longer but still short enough 8:08. To me, it did not quite serve its intended purpose of epically building up to closer "Welcome To Hell," but to each their own. What matters is closer "Welcome To Hell" is a really great track, and without a doubt the best on the album. Everything comes together better here than anywhere else. The intro riff is sick, we get verses driven by a FILTHLY bass performance, the vocals are spot on with the tone of the song, and most of all it's creative and new. Write more songs like that boys.

"Abandon Earth" is a halfway decent effort from musicians with a lot of potential and serious upside. The album is saved by the kick-ass concept and creative lyrical work. I personally would love to see them move away from the traditional heavy metal vibe and modernize their sound more moving forward. Seriously, "Welcome To Hell" should be the template.

Also, I want to end on one final complaint because it is something I feel deeply about. No metal band should ever be using a 3 single coil strat. It's just how I feel.