Band:	Savage
Album:	Sons Of Malice
Style:	Heavy metal
Release date:	April 2012

01. The Rage Within
02. Black N Blue
03. Sons Of Malice
04. The Hanging Tree
05. Monkey On My Back
06. Junkyard Dogs
07. Blow
08. Waking The Dead
09. Choose Revolution
10. NOW
11. Look At Yourself
12. Master Of War
13. Fallen Idols

Old, lesser known NWOBHM? Terrible album artwork? Well, here's to gearing up for another round of shitting on someone's hard work.

...Wait a minute...This doesn't actually suck? Son of a bitch, looks like I'm actually going to have to write a review.

Full-blown, better-than-ever comeback? Hardly. In a lot of ways, Savage's Sons Of Malice strikes me as a release similar to George Lynch's material with post-Dokken band Lynch Mob. It's clear that the youthful energy that once gave these artists their genuine, creative drive may be diminished a wee bit (in some cases, maybe more than a bit), but they still manage to put out something that isn't entirely shameful, if not mostly enjoyable.

The premise? Think Motörhead here; maybe not as distinct, but still that old school blues-fused heavy metal that vaguely adapts to modern times with heavier riffing, and thicker production, but adheres to the classic metal standards. That's what gives Sons Of Malice that genuine feel; it's clearly made by a band that isn't making any pathetic attempts to sound younger than they are, while at the same time it shows just enough modernization to prove they aren't dinosaurs.

Though Savage have managed to create a consistent base of impressively thick, catchy riffs, the slower, bluesy songs are pretty unbearable. All due respect to Chris Bradley, who does a fantastic job on the more upbeat songs, incorporating what sounds like some Guns 'N Roses-esque vocal arrangements, sounds extremely forced and more than a bit hokey when trying to lay something down atop the laid-back blues tracks. It doesn't end with the vocals, unfortunately. The change in tempo shows a nice respect for variation, but frankly, cutting these few tracks in favour of a few more of the hard ripping tracks would have kept things a little more consistent.

Maybe not an earth-shaking release by any stretch of the imagination, but if people are willing to continue putting faith in big, classic names like Judas Priest or Iron Maiden, there's no reason for them not to give this a spin, as Sons Of Malice is easily more fun than the material put out by those other two bands in recent history.