Nasty Savage – Jeopardy Room.
Reviewed by: Denis Bridger.
Review Score: 7.5
Nasty Savage, Now there is name that, when I saw it on the list of coming releases. I dove straight in, maybe for sentimental reasons, as I remember buying their second album Indulgance and possibly the first self titled record back in the 80s. They released 3 albums and 1 EP between ’85 and ’89 and Nasty Savage has been on and off since their 2004 release Psycho Psycho.
To be honest, I don’t think Nasty Savage were a band who had so much success in the UK back then, when there was so much competition with some of the many other more successful bands around, but the band were influential for other bands like Death and Obituary, so that isn’t bad, is it? And as a man who likes those, who have passion for life, I thought it would be an honour to review this coming release.
Vocalist ‘ Nasty ‘ Ronnie Galletti is the only original member and back in the day he was known for his craziness on stage, like smashing TV’s on his head! Hopefully, he has given that up. Health and Safety n all.
So with a new band, let’s see what’s going on with Nasty Savage.
As with a lot of great metal albums, you can’t go without a scary intro track and here we have Invocations, which leads straight in to the opening track, Jeopardy Room. It’s a hard hitting track with great production that has a full and deep sound, banging drums ( as you’d expect ) and excellent guitar. I don’t know what this song is about but for some reason it made me think of that Sam Smith when he did some award show and was dressed as the Devil in high heels. A no holes barred Thrash track.
Brain Washer is next and more hard thrashing madness, the double bass is going mental on this track, which I may assume is about the world being brainwashed by the media. Nasty Savage have definitely modernized their sound, its big and the guitar solos are blistering.
Southern Fried Homicide. Death by chicken maybe? The mood changes and we’re going a little slower and a bit heavier still. The monk’s choir is out and then bang into some very traditional 80’s chugging guitar. I can see Nasty Savage gaining ground with this release, if they get to play some of the festivals with this material, cos it is brutal and perfect for those circling death mosh-its, you have these days. More cracking solos.
Witches Sabbath comes in with the acoustic, organ Halloween vibe. This track feels a little less thrash and more hard metal and has a very Venom feel. If you like that early 80s black metal vibe, this is perfect. Donald and John Tardy from Obituary join in on this one on drums and Vocals. Respectively.
Schizoid Platform is where you could see that the band were an influence on bands like Obituary. Bit of a Testament vibe on this maybe, some complicated changes. It’s good to hear that a band like Nasty Savage are not taking anything laying down and are for sure going at full speed and taking some risks. It makes bands like the big four seem a little lazy. hehe.
Aztec Elegance. Enters with a nice acoustic amazon vibe but that is short lived and we’re back with the darkened thrash metal and the story about the lost empire or the Aztecs and the brutality involved with that, and possible not the only downfallen empire, there have been a few.
I’m loving the production and mix of this record. Everything sounds amazing.
Operation Annihilate does, exactly what it says. Annihilate, but in musical force. A full paced track, no holding back. More excellent dual guitar solos and excellent drums, and there is a nice bass tone when it stands out.
Blood Syndicate. Heavy, heavy, heavy. Maybe personally, I wouldn’t have needed 11 songs but, I suppose when you haven’t released any music for a while, you want to get it all out and Nasty Savage have definitely done that.
The 6th finger is an instrumental possibly just there for some practice or they had some extra studio time, but why not, if you can, eh?
And the final track Sainted Devil seems a bit of an experimental track, with a different vocal style. You won’t find much melody on this record but you will expel all your anger when listening to it.
Conclusion – I think Jeopardy Room is a good return for a band who has had a spell away. This is a good solid record for those who are die hard thrash fans, who like the realistic topics or the world at large. This record is very old school Thrash, with a very modern production. The production from Jim Morris at Morrisound Recording Studio in Tampa, Florida is second to none. This album has a massive full, deep mix and everything is very clear to the ear. Bravo.
Tracklist
1. Invocations
2. Jeopardy Room
3. Brain Washer
4. Southern Fried Homicide
5. Witches Sabbath
6. Schizoid Platform
7. Aztec Elegance
8. Operation Annihilate
9. Blood Syndicate
10. The 6th Finger
11. Sainted Devil
LINE-UP:
“Nasty” Ron Galletti – Vocals
Jim Coker – Drums
Dave Orman – Guitar
Pete Sykes – Guitars
Kyle Sokol – Bass
Special honoured guests on “Witches Sabbath”: Drums – Donald Tardy & Vocals – John Tardy (Obituary)
Jeopardy Room is out on 10.10.24