Nasty Savage

Here is where the story of one of Florida's greatest metal outfits begins, in the year 1985 with their self-titled debut record. While Nasty Savage's influence is undeniable among the Florida metal scene during the 80s and beyond, it is saddening to see how little this band is talked about. To break that, let's look at this album from almost 40 years later, and see where it ranks out of the sea of records that came out in that excellent year for metal music. If you ask me, it ranks pretty highly, due to the sheer admiration and fanaticism this record radiates towards the band's beloved metal, and the clever and unconventional approach the band decided to take. This is "something different", not something you'd be able to categorize right off the bat.

Right away, as soon as we hear the first two songs, it's difficult to make up what the band plays exactly. Are they playing power metal? Thrash metal? Heavy metal? The answer is somewhere between all three of those genres, as elements of all three of those genres are heavily present in these pieces, with extremely little to no speed orientation in sight. Not that it would be a problem, as the music is colorful and energetic enough to stay interesting without the need for speed here. Imagine Arizona's Flotsam and Jetsam, except on slower tempos. That might be the only band this record might remind you of (needless to say, the Arizonians came around later). Other than that, the mixture is pretty damn unique, as you don't often hear a combination of thrash, heavy, and power metal all in one album, and you hear one that's outstanding and excellent even less frequently.

There is no shortage of highlights and pleasuring moments during the record, starting with the rather hard-hearted and pitiless "No Sympathy", which presents very clever, catchy, and gripping riffs and powerful double-pedal drumming. Then, you have the greatest song of the disc, or perhaps one of the greatest metal-loving anthems of all time, "Metal Knights". The verses and the main riff are sufficient to make that memorable, but the back-and-forth shredding over that simple, yet beautifully melodic 4-chord rhythm riff is just masterful. That's the definition of top-notch 80s heavy/power metal in the form of notes. "Dungeon of Pleasure" is also magnificent, Ron's vocals might be the craziest and most over the top on that track out of all of them here. He might just be the Sean Killian of power/heavy metal, as his intentionally twisted, all-over-the-place delivery makes the music that much more captivating and unconventional, similar to how Sean Killian does the same to Vio-Lence's music.

Besides the creative and amazingly resourceful songs, one of the biggest upsides to this album is the production. In this case, I need not say "In 1985, it sounded as good as it could.". This sounds as good as anything can sound even to this day. This is produced better than 99% of most modern albums in any genre. Everything is as audible and crystal-clear as it can get. The guitars are muscular, though not overbearing, but they are as present as they need to be. Percussion-wise, the drum kit is probably the most dominant element in the mix, but every hit sounds very calculated and the tonality of the drums is very reserved and moderated. The bass, contrarily to a lot of releases in most metal genres is very present, and you constantly hear those clever and adventurous bass lines that slightly deviate from the drums and the guitars, such as the one at about 0:23 in "Dungeon of Pleasure". This is without a doubt one of the greatest albums of all time when it comes to production.

While this might be a somewhat forgotten disc from 1985, don't let that fool you. This is a massively well-written, creative, unique, and wonderfully produced album that stands the test of time as a classic 80s metal recording. Whether it's the high-pitched, over-the-top vocals of Ron Galletti, the clever riffs over the double-pedaled drum patterns, or the memorable guitar solos scattered among the songs, there has to be something that will be worth your time as a fan of 80s metal.

The first full-length of Nasty Savage showed a band that was taking the fast lane. Back in 1985, the US-Americans burst into the thrash metal scene in a very admirable manner, because they created their own niche. Right from the outset, the self-confident formation did not head for the most brutal approach. But its songs had a certain depth, a profound appearance with a long-lasting effect. In particular the pieces of the A side left no room for optimization. Apart from that, the exceptionally different song formulas were remarkable. The debutants of Nasty Savage offered a wide spectrum that could usually not be taken for granted.

For example, the straight "Metal Knights" was a simple metal rocker with likewise simple lyrics. Especially the chorus marked a triumph of primitive poetry. But in terms of music, the song did not disappoint. Despair their rather ordinary configurations, the rolling main riff and the mid-paced rhythm formed a vigorous number. By contrast, "Fear Beyond the Vision" surprised with a very unusual vocal line in the chorus. The extraordinary design of this number combined heaviness with fragility in a previously unknown manner. Lead singer Nasty Ronnie shocked with high-pitched tones that lent the song a mystic aura. His suddenly occurring sharp yells were an almost unique feature. Surely, King Diamond also knew how to cover an extreme wide range of tones. But Nasty Ronnie could not be confused with the squeaky voice from Denmark. Firstly he had no painted face and secondly he used his voice in a more stringent yet less variable way. However, his abrupt changes from normal singing to shrill cries left its mark.

One highlight chased the next during the first eight tracks. Even a brief intermezzo, only based on fragile and soft guitars, enriched the album. But it goes without saying that the most impressive pieces did not lack of harshness. Irrespective of its more or less melodic appearance, "Asmodeus" scored with profound leads and stoical heaviness and its guitar solos hit the nail on the head. Better still, the guitar excursions enriched each and every song, because they fitted flawlessly in the respective track while combining musicality and gruffness. Not at last because of the perfect embedding of the solos, the songs had a remarkably good flow. The last highlight was "The Morgue" and this almost epic track could not be compared with the pretty simple yet strong tunes such as "Metal Knights" or "Dungeon of Pleasure". (By the way, the latter was also fantastic and the explicit lines like "The bitch is bound and helpless / She's screaming for more" expanded the lyrical horizon of the violent scene by adding the combination of force, domination and sexuality.) Anyway, "The Morgue" was based on morbidity, melody and highly exciting riffs, while Nasty Ronnie's charismatic style ensured the fantastic overall impression of the song. Nevertheless, the instrumental parts were also really excellent. Either they were based on strong riffs or they surprised with suddenly emerging harmonies which generated an unexpected melody.

At the end of the album, the band was unfortunately running out of ideas and this is the only reproach which can be made against Nasty Savage. The last three tracks were forged when the iron was already cold. The clean and well-defined production was more or less the only asset of this relatively unobtrusive trio. As a result, I am not able to give a higher rating. Nevertheless, the vast majority of the here presented songs was fascinating, because the pieces revealed their own personality. Even 30 years after their release, they still illustrate the very individual approach of Nasty Savage and simultaneously they herald the strength of the then juvenile movement called thrash metal.

Although they've not produced anything worthwhile in over 20 years now, Florida's Nasty Savage were once an anomaly in the American metal landscape: a highly polished hybrid of thrash and classic heavy metal aesthetics with one of the more charismatic vocalists on the job at the time. Yes, the band is largely known for the wild vocals of 'Nasty Ronnie', who would spiral from primal power/thrash shrieking to an edged middle range, and then become even stranger as he'd insert some deeper testosterone. It was a little off-putting when I was younger, as I half felt he was making fun of the very music he was fronting. But over the years, I've come to appreciate the guy's charisma, and for the most part it's not too distracting here.

Nasty Savage was released through Metal Blade in 1985, a year after the band produced a pair of demos in Raw Mayhem and Wage of Mayhem, and it was quite a striking album due to its high level of production quality, which was rare outside of the bigger names of the period. The tones are clean and powerful, the leads burning, the vocals (despite their insanity) never leeching out the life of the songs, and overall it was one of the better sounding albums on the earlier Metal Blade roster. The band's mix of emergent styles was also harder to define than many of their peers, so they were almost instantly recognizable for embracing the current of thrashing aggression without abandoning many of the metal cliches in their lyrics and vocal delivery. I'm not going to lie, tracks like "Metal Knights" and "Gladiator" are hilarious, but considering how many bands make careers out of this crap today (the awful 3 Inches of Blood, for example), shouldn't we just break out our Nasty Savage debut instead? To paraphrase a famous film super villain, they're not monsters...they were just ahead of the curve.

The album burns a hole right into your curiosity from the first, brooding synths that inaugurate "No Sympathy", which make you feel like you've been cast into the middle of some desolate 80s horror flick. Then the guitars rattle out some excellent riffs, which exhibit a slight leaning towards both technicality and mystique, consuming a number of memorable melodies. The band plays it a little straighter in the verse, with a mid-paced chugging quality ala classic power metal. "Gladiator" functions around a lazy but gut busting thrash rhythm as Ronnie delivers some hilarious and awesome lyrics in both a manly hymn and a few off the hook falsetto shrieks. He also deserves some credit for throwing the words 'metal gear' into the first verse. I like the lead break-downs, with a nice thick bass tone and some fine shredding over a decent thrash riff. "Fear Beyond the Vision" is actually one of the more distinct tracks on the debut, with a grisly, ghastly vocal delivery in the verse and a somewhat catchy chorus that has Ronnie wailing away like a Southern King Diamond.

"Metal Knights" is a riot due to its lyrics, but the power of its grooving, molten metal rhythms is impossible to deny, and the way some of the lyrics like 'too many rockers' strike in the verse is the kind of entertainment 1,000 bands full of ironic 18 year olds in 2010 could not combine to muster. "Garden of Temptation" is a gracious interlude with a dueling pair of acoustic guitars, which took me by surprise and shows the depth and sophistication that Nasty Savage were always capable of producing in the 80s when they backed away from their strictly metal persona, while "Asmodeus" is a kickass, viral tribute to one of the greatest fictional lords of Hell, with some great drumming that carries the weight of the bomber bass lines and wicked riffing.

"Dungeon of Pleasure" provides you with the perfect soundtrack for a 'night in' with your sweetie, complete with cock rings, whips and chains to suspend one another from the basement ceiling, in addition to the killer bass and guitars and one of Ronnie's more subdued (but still funny) performances on the record. He then narrates over the eerie, clean guitars that open "The Morgue", which offers an air of doom before rising to a mid-paced melodic thrash. "Instigator" is like a wilder take on a band like Helstar, where the main similarity is the vocals but the riffs actually flow at quite the same consistency of rage and neo-classical riffing structure. Quite a good track, followed by "Psycopath" which also lives up to this album's high standard for hard riffing and melody. "End of Time" opening in a 'one two fuck you' cadence might lead some to believe its some punk douche rocker to close the album, but it quickly transforms into another of the band's burning leather seducer anthems that whispers at you from the shadows where it lurks in a campy mail-order executioner's mask.

Criticism leveled against such a weathered beast as this album becomes rubber in place of glue, because nothing really sticks. The vocals are an acquired taste, and I remember them as an immediate barrier to entry for many of my friends that I tried to persuade onto their sound. But bad? No. Nasty Ronnie had the range, he just liked to 'play around' in it. The album still sounds amazing after 25 years, with production that holds up to or exceeds most of the modern wave of retro heavy metal bands that have begun to spring up. The awful logo-art is a legitimate complaint here, especially when placed alongside the more curious abstraction of the following album (and subsequent EP), but as long as you don't judge this book by its cover, you're in for a welcome surprise. Still one of the band's best recordings.

Highlights: No Sympathy, Fear Beyond the Vision, Metal Knights, Dungeon of Pleasure, Instigator

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

It is extremely hard to describe Nasty Savage's sound. For the most part, Nasty Savage's debut album is typical thrash metal. What makes Nasty Savage unique from other like bands is how they orchestrate their music.

The basic mold on this album is thrash metal. There are two lead guitarists, and the lead parts are nicely done. However, the rhythm patterns are not complex or technical, but basic power chord riffs with occasional licks. What makes these riffs stand out is how they blend and mix with the drumming. Songs like Gladiator and Fear Beyond The Vision take a normal thrash riff, and with the drum beat, manages to make a decent sound that will make your head bang. Most of the songs follow in this mold, except for Garden of Temptation, which is a soft instrumental.

Since there isn't much to the guitar riffs, it is important to have a nice beat and really good solos. This is accomplished, but a good singer also would help. This is probably the strongest or weakest point of the band, depending on who you are. Some people like Nasty Ronnie while others despise his singing style. You can't compare Ronnie to any other singer because he has carved his own singing style in the metal scene. For the most part he sings in this normal, thrash like vocal range. He tends to go really high a lot. On some songs, like Fear Beyond the Vision, his higher parts often sound similar to King Diamond. While other times he goes real low and almost grunts his vocal parts. Sometimes even he sings in a silly voice (see Dungeon of Pleasure). He goes all over the place -which I think is good because it makes the album sporadic and not the same boring thing over and over again.

With powerful vocals from Nasty Ronnie, decent guitar riffs, and a nice thrash beat, you can't go wrong with this album. There are a lot of good songs on this album including: No Sympathy, Gladiator, Fear Beyond the Vision, Metal Knights, and Asmodeus. If you don't like the vocals, it is worth getting just for the pure thrash metal. Also think on making this album a required taste; Nasty Savage's self-titled has a lot to offer.

Back before the sulphur-well water in Florida made everyone go crazy and start a death metal band, five kids from Brandon got together and formed Nasty Savage, a band that (to me) wraps up everything good about heavy metal into one neat little package. Their "Wage of Mayhem" demo took the underground by storm in 1984, prompting Brian Slagel to sign them to Metal Blade, and in 1985 they went into Morrisound Studios (!) with Tom Morris (!) and cut this metal classic.

For those unfamiliar with the band, they seem to defy categorization, as they incorporated elements of most prevailing styles at the time. Basically, though, imagine classic early Priest/Scorpions style heavy metal, crank up the intensity a few notches to where it gets faster and more aggressive, add in some great twin-guitar work and a vocalist with a sheer OTT vocal style and stage show/image and you get Nasty Savage - and that's exactly what the debut sounded like. There were some straight-ahead thrashers ("Metal Knights", "Gladiator"), but both guitarists Ben Meyer and David Austin were good a writing odd-timed riffs and using ambitious arrangements to create songs that got out of the standard 'two verse/choruses, a bridge, and a solo' rut - songs like "No Sympathy" or "Garden of Temptation/Asmodeus" manage to cover a lot of musical ground.

Much like Mercyful Fate, if anything makes you love or hate this album, though, it'll be the vocals. "Nasty" Ronnie Galetti had a vocal style all his own - most of the lines are delivered in a 'melodramatic' midrange voice, but Ronnie also VERY often soared into high falsettos, and occasionally used some more gruff, low singing. A friend once likened his vocal delivery to the overacting of William Shatner - but like I said to the friend, "If you're a fan of Star Trek, do you care?" I certainly don't - overall, Nasty Savage always had an element of 'over-the-top' about them musically, and I think the vocals fit perfectly.

Basically, if you're into the whole mid-80s scene, when genres didn't matter as much as whether or not the music rocked, you'll like this album, because it fucking rocks.

(Originally published at LARM (c) 1999)