Sweet Savage can trace their roots back to Belfast in 1979, when they were considered to be one of the pioneers of the clumsily titled New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). In their early days, they toured supporting bands like Saxon and Lizzy, and at one time included Vivian Campbell on guitar in their line-up, but didn’t release any albums till 1996, when Campbell was long gone, playing in Dio and Def Leppard, by which time they’d already split and reformed at least twice.
The current line-up of the band has been in existence since 2010, with ever-present Ray Haller on bass/vocals joined by Phil Edgar, guitars, Martin McCloskey on drums and, on this new album, ex-member Simon Bride, now with Deep Purple, helping out on a few tracks.
Bang does exactly what it says on the tin. There’s no pretence at subtlety or being mellow; this is a throwback to the days of the NWOBHM when power rock ruled the roost, an album of power and high energy, played for the most part with full-on metal mania. Ray Haller’s voice sounds like he gargles with gravel, McCloskey beats the drums into submission, and Phil Edgar comes up with some cracking riffs.
Title track ‘Bang’ is quite the explosive opener, from an opening riff seeped in thrash, this track gives you an almost exact guide to what the rest of the album is like: fast-paced hard-driving riffs, played with a kind of punk attitude. ‘Bad F Robot,’ ‘Mad World,’ ‘The Chosen One,‘ and ‘I Don’t Know,’ also thrash tinged, continue along the same vein with flat out rock. There are, however, a couple of toned-down moments. ‘Live And Die’ is a quieter piece, a power ballad where they pose the question “tell me why we live and die,” and also ‘Leave Me Alone,’ which is slightly slower but no less intense.
It’s easy to imagine Sweet Savage being a powerhouse on stage, and they’d be a great opening act for someone like Phil Campbell & the Bastard Sons. As it is, this is a positive return to the fray for a band who were perhaps unlucky to miss the boat first time around.
