Never turn your back on the classics, inhale them. Though the swift rewinding back to the sources of the genre, especially the ones that made is so great and long lasting, aren't a rare thing nowadays, those sure have their effect on contemporary bands. Moreover, to abandon the sticky clichés themes created by the heavenly classics, is also task that is not simple to shake off, however, it has been proven that it can be manageable, up to a certain point at least. In a sense, this is more or less the story of the new album of the rising British Metal force, SAVAGE MESSIAH. Titled "Hands Of Fate", a debut for the band with Century Media, it is a clear cut of what to expect from this starlet fantastic four, taking their music one step forward in order to seize the attention of newly potential listeners and followers while not making the efforts cheap and far off the mainstream.

I don't think that Dave Silver and Co. made a such courageous decision with the inception of "Hands Of Fate" material as they were already underway towards that direction, back on "The Fateful Dark" album. The sort of deserting of the purity of Bay Area animated Thrash Metal, which I particularly found to be immensely appealing by the hands of these guys, into a more song driven beast, memorable, embracing choruses and evocative melodies. What I mostly like about SAVAGE MESSIAH, and it asserted itself superbly on "Hands Of Fate", is a creation of an exquisite manifold of determined heaviness meets British Metal oriented melodies. I know that it might sound ordinary to you, yet throughout my long Metal journey, I came to notice that only a selected few bands were actually able to make a good use out of this rather rudimentary mixture. Thus, "Hands Of Fate" features hammering riffs, crossing contemporary and old school, not too simplistic yet not overly complexed either, a bridge way between METALLICA / IRON MAIDEN / JUDAS PRIEST / BLACK SABBATH. Furthermore, Silver's soaring vocals' display is surely one of his finest to date, and lest I forget the tight rhythm section that held nothing back.

Frankly, I enjoyed the entire album, and it doesn't happen often. It was simply a major festival of Metal to the bone. "Blood Red Road" displays some of the band's early Thrash Metal veins along with their current Classic Metal accomplishments. A heavy number with a definitive chorus that is a direct blast, roaming between JUDAS PRIEST and METALLICA, it is bound that Silver and the boys sure know what they are doing. I didn't expect a sing-along right on the opening phase, "Hands Of Fate" turned out as a formidable piece of British steel, a heavy hook-laden riffer, sharing influences of BLACK SABBATH and early 90s METALLICA, harnessing a fine melodic line that is quite user friendly, portraying a chorus that reaches high above. "Lay Down Your Arms" depicts that its composers revealed that my weak points are known, establishing a bone breaking main riff, mid tempo skin bash and an ultra-melodic chorus. Both vocally and instrumentally, it is a near pitch perfect songwriting, an aspect that the band has been perfecting album after album.

The climatic "The Last Confession" has that ICED EARTH musical approach, combining melancholic slow tempo Heavy Metal hand in hand with fast paced, near Thrash, output of aggression. A riff based crusher that mercilessly pounds, a bit more composite in comparison to the majority of tracks that are vastly song oriented. A significant 80s Heavy Metal piece hails in the image of "Eat Your Heart Out". A unification of the top notch qualities of British Metal under its wing, SAVAGE MESSIAH deliver a crunchy explosive tune that is an aggressive energetic bomber, between the melodious IRON MAIDEN and the riff machinery JUDAS PRIEST. Highly recommended: "Wing And A Prayer", "The Crucible" and "Solar Corona".

A hard competition just started here folks as I remain undecided regarding which is SAVAGE MESSIAH's best. It just shows, at least for now, that no matter what they do within their spectrum, it is bound to be a spectacular effort.