Release date: 13 June, 2025 (CD)||18 July, 2025 (LP)

Formed in 2021, in Barcelona, Spain, SAVAGED released their debut single “Knights of Metal” the same year, meeting a very positive and enthusiastic feedback. Their first live shows were full of energy and the band is a live powerhouse! Without even having an album released and they performed at Headbangers Open Air 2023 next to bands such as Riot V, Jag Panzer, Sacred Reich, Fifth Angel and many more, releasing also the single “Running for Your Love (Tonight)”. Their ambitious debut album “Night Stealer” was released in January 2024, leading to many more live shows! With a total ‘80s style and work ethic, the band didn’t lose time and just after a year they have ready the sophomore album “Rising”, including headbanging tracks of pure classic heavy metal, recommended for fans of Judas Priest, Tokyo Blade, Riot, and Dokken. Many more shows are on the way, including a South American Tour! SAVAGED are RISING!

Recorded and mixed by Javie Felez in Moontower Studios. Mastered by Jaime Gomes in Orgon Studios. Cover artwork by Old School Crew. Photography by Marc Teruel.

LINE-UP
Cristian Blade- Drums, backing vocals
Aleix Coll- Bass
Jamie Killhead- Guitars (lead), vocals
Joan Grimalt- Guitars (rhythm), backing vocals

Review

Following the short introductory track of “Ascension”, the album properly begins with “Fire It Up”. I was getting a lot of Priest influence in this one, like something from their later period or possibly the title track from “Screaming for Vengeance”. While a good track on its own, by the midpoint I was starting to feel like it was playing it a bit too safe. Despite that, the riff sequence near the 3 minute mark was divine, and bled right into the pretty nifty solo.

“Queen of My Salvation” opened with a nice US Power Metal sort of guitar riff, and felt less like Judas Priest than the previous track, and more like Savaged (and someone else that I can’t figure out, so let’s say Crimson Glory). This one had that addictive chorus to it, but I found it not able to jump into the next gear. Did love the cowbell (?) near the end. I’ve got a fever, and cowbell is the only prescription.

“The Long Walk” featured a really smooth distorted bit for its intro, followed by some sharp riffs. Ooh that slide bleeding in perfectly with the vocal shriek was magic! This one was a relatively by-the-numbers affair, save for that insanely well-done and all-too-brief acoustic sequence to bookend the solo. This one did feature some pretty nice lyrics that made me think of The Great War (the actual war, not the Sabaton album).

“Across the Burning Fields” had its moments of leaping to the next level, most noticeably during the chorus sequence that featured some quiet hymnal chanting in the background. In fact, the chorus and the pieces accompanying it were the real standout here, that and the incredible bend near the 3:40 mark, but on the whole I just found this one to be slightly above average.

“The Conqueror” featured a sadistic riff that was impossible to not headbang along with a bit. The chanting from the previous track make a return in this one, once again giving the track a nice boost of ambiance (I’m not sure if “hymnal” is the best way to describe it). I would go so far as to say that this track was a clear standout on the album by far thus far, maybe the extra bit of time helped push it over the edge, with this one clocking in a little more than 5 minutes.

“Stars Are Falling” was the lead single for the album and definitely has that feel to it right from the get-go. I don’t mean that disparagingly either, it actually helps this one stand on its own from the rest of the album, with a vibe and tempo (sort of) all to itself. While a touch shorter than most of its siblings, I found the length to be perfect for this one, not too short and not too long.

“Texas Bloody Texas”, which is not a parody cover of “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”, was the penultimate track and it was kind of just there for me. It wasn’t offensively terrible, but I also didn’t find it great or even average really. Drums were nice though.

“Rising”, our title track, closes out the album and again featured a somewhat different feel to it than its siblings. The very King Diamond reminiscent vocal sequence after the 2:20 mark definitely carried this one up a few tiers for me. The solo, while fast and loose with taps, had a nice melody to it and honestly reminded me a bit of late 90s power metal like Dark Moor and Labyrinth.

Conclusion

At the end of the spin, I found “Rising” to be a bit of a step back from Savaged’s debut album “Night Stealer”, equal parts solid and frustratingly mediocre. I’ve been generous and rated it a bit higher than one might expect from the review because what works really does work, but so much of the album is bogged down by Savaged either playing it safe or playing too much like their favorite bands. I do really like their mustachioed sabre-toothed cat mascot though.

TheNwothm Score: 7.5/10

Links

Bandcamp: https://savaged.bandcamp.com/

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/savaged_official/#

Label: No Remorse Records