Legend III:I

Saviour Machine wanted to do a trilogy and after releasing the two first parts they went like “oh we have to much material to fit into just one cd”. OK. But then, if they couldn’t eliminate some of the material – and really not all of it could be on the same level (?), one could’ve at least expected that they’d release a double-disc record or change the promised trilogy to a four parts-saga. Apparently one couldn’t. Instead they think that’ll it still be a trilogy if they split the third chapter in two parts so that people will have to buy four albums but still think of it like a trilogy. That’s however the end of the fun.

I haven’t exactly anything against Christian metal, but it better be good. A suite about the book of revelations, sure it could be interesting. But when you play it as real slow gothic metal with a vocalist imitating Italian opera singers for eighty minutes then it’s not really my piece of cake.

The drums are in the background, sounding like a pounding heart in all these documentaries. In the foreground are the keyboards and the torrential showers of synthesized effects. They just can’t get enough of them. I can. Guitars and bass are only audible a few times, but two guitarists don’t mean that you do complex stuff; we mainly get rhythm guitars. And an occasional Iron Maiden lead (think Seventh Son of a Seventh Son). There are complex parts such as Abomination of Desolation that proves rather good when all elements spread out before you, but mostly Saviour Machine does slow, lousy excuses for music with less feeling than the average Polish synthetic funeral doom band. The spoken parts fits better with the music than say Rhapsody, but are far less moving, good or contrasting.

Their jerky, tugging rhythms in a few songs are what they do best. That and the vocals are Saviour Machine’s only real qualities. You see, Eric Clayton doesn’t just do these opera imitations, sometimes he does some emotional Goth rock screams that’ll pass for now. Sometimes we get some Gregorian chant from female choirs too, but those choirs seem diluted, just like there aren’t as many people as you’d expect from a choir. The keyboard intros, that are when we only hear the keyboards and not some keys every now and then ruining the other instruments, do work too.

All in all though, it’s consistent, it’s epic but it’s also boring and bad. I’m actually bored before reaching half-way through the record and knowing that one could change album to a real great thrash release and that it will be over before the Saviour Machine consumes one patience rather quickly. The good parts of this album could’ve been fit on one EP! I’ve heard Saviour Machine being described as chaotic and that they may take time to get into, well what the fuck? I haven’t heard many slower, more ordered attempts at making metal. There’s no chaos what so ever in here, no energy, no passion… And it will take time to get into it! You need to call for brain washing to start with.

If you like hearing the same stuff over and over again, this could sure be something for you.