Australian six-piece Saviour released their debut album ‘First Light To My Deathbed’ back in 2013 but went on hiatus soon after. ‘Let Me Leave’ sees the band reinvent themselves with a refreshed line-up and demonstrates enough quality to confirm that the project is worth investing more time in.
The band’s main assets are vocalists Bryan Best and Shontay Snow. Best’s mix of screaming and spoken word is a method usually found in melodic hardcore, but it works just as well among these softer, alt-rock tracks, particularly alongside Snow’s soothing, melodic voice. Both styles combine brilliantly on ‘Pressure and Composure’ and ‘The Low in Hello’, which stand out as the strongest songs on the record.
Beneath the vocals the guitars offer vast amounts of atmosphere, conveyed through strong chord progressions interspersed with ambient lead lines. These atmospheric tones supplement the melodic vocals well, however there’s a lack of aggression in the instrumentation to reinforce the harsh vocals. Without a heavier undertone, the screamed vocals are often isolated and out of context and the absence of this extra dimension leaves the majority of tracks feeling one-dimensional.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Best and Snow project prominent Australian accents on ‘Like This’ and its position, two-thirds of the way through the record, makes it jarring, almost forcing a double take to check it’s the same band. Having their native accent shine through illuminates the band’s identity and personality, giving the music an extra characteristic, so it’s a shame this only happens once on the record. As a result, it feels more of an oversight than a concerted effort to be themselves.
The decision to neutralise their accents for the majority of the album is symptomatic of a wider problem across the record: there are good ideas but Saviour don’t commit to them enough. There are flashes of heavy riffs but not enough hold the attention of aggressive music fans and Snow, despite having a fantastic tone and soothing delivery, doesn’t go far enough with the chorus melodies to inspire listeners at the poppier end of the spectrum.
Saviour have definite quality and the vocal partnership gives them a unique characteristic, however ‘Let Me Leave’ is the next chapter in this band’s journey to figuring out who they are, rather than being the finished article. It would be a shame for a band with this kind of talent to disappear again, but if they can dial everything up to show more of their personality in the future, they’ll be sure to land more attention.
MARK JOHNSON