Shadow Kingdom Records is proud to present Savage Master’s highly anticipated fifth album, Dark & Dangerous, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.

Formed in 2013 by guitarist Adam Neal and vocalist Stacey Savage, Savage Master is by now something of a household name in heavy metal circles, and for good reason: their unique blend of occult metal and proto-thrash, Stacey Savage’s characteristic wail, anthemic shouted choruses, and their theatrical live performances have built a cult following for the band. Savage Master first hit the scene with their excellent debut, Mask of the Devil, in 2014. The early-career-defining With Whips and Chains followed in 2016, and many tracks from those first two albums still grace their spectacular (in every sense of the word) live shows. 2019’s Myth, Magic and Steel was something of a departure for the band, showing Stacey Savage adding more variation to her vocal delivery. In 2022, the band dropped Those Who Hunt at Night, their second for Shadow Kingdom Records, which solidified their place as the pre-eminent anthemic occult heavy metal band out of the U.S. Savage Master now makes another statement with Dark & Dangerous, their most darkly romantic album yet.

Anthemic in a new way, Dark & Dangerous tones down the thrash influences and turns up the mid-80s heavy metal and arena rock knob all the way, adding in some dashes of goth rock for good atmospheric measure. In place of the grunted choruses of their early records, this album shows Stacey Savage honing her voice to a smoother croon that perfectly fits the new pop sensibility on display. To be clear, Savage Master is not playing hair metal on Dark & Dangerous: this is still pure heavy metal with bombastic choruses on top. Despite the occasional detour into mid-tempo territory, these songs have all the energy of Savage Master’s previous work, and these songs are sure to be a spectacle live (complete, of course, with swords and candelabra). Backing Stacey Savage’s new vocal style is a band that has taken all the elemental force of Judas Priest, Hellion, Exciter, and Acid and distilled it to a motorik groove that never lets up. Added in for flavor is the vampiric mysticism of 80s goth rock. Overflowing with scintillating pop hooks melded to shadowy mystique, Dark & Dangerous not only plants Savage Master’s flag firmly at the top of the occult heavy metal pile but also sets a new standard for the band.

Review

A clean, picked minor-key arpeggio begins album opener Three Red Candles before twin harmonized guitars burst onto the scene: this is the central balance that the album strikes, between cold, dark romance and bright, triumphant hellfire. After the brief introduction melts into a cymbal build, Warriors Call comes galloping in with a chugged guitar riff. Despite what I’ve said so far about how new this album sounds, this track is classic Savage Master. We are introduced to Stacey Savage’s familiar husky shout before the chorus gives us our first glimpse at the mellower croon that she strikes throughout this album. Still, this is the kind of heavy metal walloping Savage Master’s fans have come to crave. A wise choice for the first proper song on the album, Warriors Call shows the band at their most dynamic.

Black Rider keeps the electricity flowing with a double bass drum riff out of the Judas Priest playbook. This first track showcases a new tool in Savage’s vocal kit, the “flat” affect of goth rock, which nicely counterbalances the pummeling guitar riff. A minute in, the guitar kicks into a brief solo that showcases how good Savage Master is at crafting songs that keep the listener interested with brief hooks and Stacey Savage’s vocal flair. This song remarkably splits the difference between Unto Others’ gothic atmosphere and Eternal Champion’s moody epic metal.

Dark & Dangerous really comes into its own with The Edge of Evil, a mid-tempo pop metal tune with Stacey Savage absolutely owning her new voice. The chorus is one of the very best on the album and in recent trad metal history. Every time I come back to the album, I look forward to this track. Tonally, it reminds me of recent Sumerlands combined with Unto Others, but with a flair and edge that only Savage Master can bring. Savage’s belted chorus is counterbalanced by a chanted refrain: this is the perfect admixture of Savage Master olde and new. The song opens with a chunky but moody riff reminiscent of Blue Öyster Cult before synths lead the riff into an epic heavy metal chug. The tone comes down again as Savage enters with a soft warble. The song picks up again with an earworm pre-chorus and then explodes into pop metal glory with Savage’s full-throated belting of the chorus. A clear album highlight.

Another four-on-the-floor heater, Devil’s Child greets with a punky street metal riff. The lead guitar jumps in to introduce Savage’s vocals, on full display here, complete with buoyant “ohs!” and “ows!” punctuating the chorus and a beautiful wail concluding the song. This one gets in and out in under three minutes but still manages to make a lasting impression. The triumphant twin guitar leads that come in on the second chorus elevate a gritty heavy metal tune to an arena rock titan of a track. The end of the track spotlights Savage and the guitars playing off each other, trading searing guitar solos with vocal accents.

Screams from the Cellar kicks off with one of the best guitar moments on the album, as churning riffage opens to plucked, ringing chords. Savage sings wickedly in a near-whisper over the riff before the song explodes into a tuneful but shouted chorus full of fire and brimstone attitude. Another track that shows that although some of the packaging is new, this is pure Savage Master at its core. Screams from the Cellar is the full package, with a perfect chorus for shouting along while the listener is enveloped in stage fog. Still, there’s a touch of post-punk here with the angular drums on the chorus. The guitar also rips into a blazing solo that moves along with the rhythm section to create an invigorating journey for the listener. This is one I’m dying to see live!

Never Ending Fire manages to meld two seemingly disparate styles, power metal and goth rock, into one chest-thumping tune. Near the end of the track, when Savage yells “hear we go,” I’m ready to charge into the fray with her. The drums really shine on this track, pummeling along with the start and stop guitars on the verses, blasting forth with double kick energy in the choruses, and leading the charge during the bridge. Although this is, relatively speaking, a slower song, it forfeits not an ounce of the album’s energy.

Up next is Devil Rock, in my opinion the weakest track on the album. Still, this song has grown on me immensely since my first spin of the record: it’s catchy fun and would fit on any Savage Master album. Perhaps that’s why it feels like the album’s weakest point, as it doesn’t have quite the same amount of character as the rest of the album. On an album dominated by incredibly strong choruses, this one just falls a little flat. All of that being said, this one would be great fun live, and perhaps that is where it will get its best reception.

From its title to its chorus, I Never Wanna Fall in Love makes no bones about being a pure pop song, and it is all the better for it.  Pop and metal need not be strangers: when the dark energy of heavy metal infects the bright sunshine of pop music, the resulting romanticism can be alluring and exciting. Savage Master perfectly understands the power of a raucous pop-metal jam. As a proper pop song, I Never Wanna Fall in Love is big on chorus with some tuneful verses sprinkled in-between to uplift the refrain into the spotlights.

When the Twilight Meets the Dawn switches up the pacing and dynamics of I Never Wanna Fall in Love: this is a pure heavy metal banger with Savage adding some nice pop flourishes to the mix. With perhaps the exception of Devil Rock, this record is perfectly paced, with lots of changes in tempo between songs to add dynamism to an album that is tonally consistent. When the Twilight Meets the Dawn adds to the album’s template a little epic heavy metal in the vein of Smoulder or Eternal Champion, with galloping rhythms building to a weighty crescendo in the sword-raising chorus, which is made all the more epic by a soaring guitar lead.

Dark & Dangerous concludes with Cold Hearted Death, a ballad, the logical end-point for the album, and quite possibly my favorite song on the record. To start, the light drums accent icy guitar arpeggios. Stacey Savage’s voice enters, expressive and restrained before rising a little to meet a male vocalist’s harmonizing. Light pianos come in to fill out the sound and add funereal ambiance. The chorus picks up with heavy accents, and Savage belts out the titular lyrics: “Cold hearted death / won’t stop following me. / Cold hearted death / won’t let me go.” This is Savage’s finest vocal performance to date. The tone of the song throughout evokes doomed love. Although the longest track on the album by about two full minutes, this song feels like it comes and goes quickly, all the while thrilling with goth metal gloom. As all great rock and metal ballads do, it also has a hair-raising, air guitar-inducing solo, perfectly placed at the peak of the song’s build. Unlike so many lesser ‘80s ballads, there is not a hint of cheese here. An excellent album closer, it still gives me chills when I listen to it, even after more than a dozen spins, and it makes me want to hit play on the album all over again.

Conclusion

Dark & Dangerous brims with forlorn romance, occult heavy metal mysticism, and arena-ready hooks. This is still the Savage Master we know and love, but with a twist, a newfound sense of pop exuberance and melodic freedom. Ignore the inevitable “their old stuff is better” naysayers: the band is working at the peak of their talents, with Stacey Savage’s voice finding new venues for earworms in bold choruses and even a tasteful ballad. The band is right behind her, still electrifying with exhilarating speed and heavy metal riffage and a propulsive rhythm section that keeps every song moving, even when the tempos slow down. Every song here sounds dialed in and perfected. If you love big brash choruses mixed in with your occult heavy metal, you could hardly do better than Dark & Dangerous.

TheNwothm Score: 9.5/10

Links

Bandcamp: https://savagemasterofficial.bandcamp.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/savagemasterofficial

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/savagemaster_official

Label: https://www.shadowkingdomrecords.com

Out 28 March 2025

Lineup

Adam Neal bass

Stacey Savage vox

Nicholas Burks guitar

John W. Littlejohn drums

River Jordan guitar