UMUR "Saviour Machine" is the eponymously titled debut full-length studio album by US goth/progressive metal act Saviour Machine. The album was released through Christian music label Frontline Records in August 1993. It was re-released through Massacre Records in 1996 and thereby received a more widespread release. The album was initially sold in Christian book stores throughout the US, but after a few weeks it was banned from sale from those stores as it was deemed controversial, because of the lyric line "The Dragon slides between her thighs" from the "Legion" track. A track which features apocalyptic lyrics about the rise of Satan...

...and the lyrical approach and generally dark nature of Saviour Machine´s music are essential to describing the band´s sound on this debut album. Saviour Machine may be a band dealing with Christian lyrical themes, but they deal with the darker sides of Christianity and themes like hypocrisy among Christians and the biblical apocalypse.

Stylistically the music on the album is a combination of gothic rock/metal and progressive rock/metal (with rare touches of traditional heavy metal like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden). 80s/90s goth rock artists like The Sisters of Mercy, The Mission, and Fields of the Nephilim are valid references, but Saviour Machine are a more heavy metal oriented act. The progressive part of the band´s music is due to unconventional song structures and not technical playing. It´s music featuring an epic atmosphere further enhanced by Eric Clayton´s semi-operatic baritone vocals. He has a strong voice and a paatos filled commanding delivery. His performance here is one of the highlights of the album. His Andrew Eldritch meets David Bowie vocal delivery is probably a bit of an aquired taste but there´s no arguing the sincerity and authenticity of his performance. Piano/keyboards are in addition to guitars, bass, drums, and vocals, also an important part of the band´s sound.

The material are well written and varied, but still consistent in style. There´s a good tracklist flow, and harder edged rock/metal tracks are followed by slower epic tracks and the album even features a couple of majestic semi-ballad songs in "Son Of The Rain" and "A World Alone". There are several highlights on the album like the above mentioned epic "Legion", the dark and heavy "Killer", which features a middle eastern inspired lead guitar melody, and powerful goth rock/metal tracks like "Carnival of Souls", "Force of the Entity", and "The Mask". Common for most tracks are that although they all feature vers/chorus structures, they all also feature a lot of other parts and musical ideas, which is where the label progressive comes from. Some tracks are a little more simple and direct than others, but the song structures are generally adventurous in nature.

The album features a dark, organic, and detailed sound production, which suits the material well, and paired with the high level musicianship, and some very unique songwriting, this is through and through a high quality release. It´s not often you come across artists, who are instantly recognisable, who have a unique personal sound, and who are on fire with passion about their music and the way it is performed. Saviour Machine are one of those rare artists who leave no doubt that they mean every word which is sung and who has done all they can possibly do to perform every part of their music with the intensity it deserves. A 5 star (100%) rating is deserved.

Warthur Saviour Machine's balance of doomy riffs, gothic atmosphere, stentorian vocals and spiritual lyrics was always a difficult one to pull off, and on this second album the riffs seem to take a back seat as the music shifts in a more operatic direction to suit Eric Clayton's vocals. The end result is an album which is competent enough, but which lacks the unique alchemy which made the debut album special. Moreover, the band seem to be stuck in an atmospheric rut, with each song sounding more or less the same as any other song on the album to the point where it's sometimes difficult to remember which song you're listening to unless you've memorised the lyrics.

1967/ 1976 I'm not a fan of Gothic Metal but "Legend part II" is a great operatic Gothic metal album with heavily read atmospheres. This is because "Legend Part II" is an orchestral album, relaxed but still very heavy. More than sung "Legend Part II" is recited and this contributes greatly to its great success. Also because it was built as a suite, with the compositions linked, it is not easy to listen to in the car while traveling or if you are ready to experience that "Legend Part II" requires.

In short, "Legend Part II" is a great album, a bit claustrophobic for me. Nevertheless, "Legend Part II" really like me.

Warthur Saviour Machine's debut album is an intriguing blend of gothic rock in the tradition of Sisters of Mercy and Fields of the Nephilim - most apparent in Eric Clayton's vocals, which constitute perhaps the most dead-on Andrew Eldritch impersonation I've ever heard - with gothic metal and some prog rock influences. In particular, some moments remind me a lot at points of some of the gothier moments of neo-prog, and some passages seem to prefigure the work of bands like Arena. That said, for the most part the band play in a straight-ahead Sisters of Mercy-inspired style.

Sprinkle a few classic rock moments on the top and add a healthy dose of apocalyptic Christian mysticism and you have an interesting blend to say the least. Don't be put off by the fact that Saviour Machine are a Christian band who originally put this album out on a Christian music label; the band don't indulge in the crass and alienating preaching of other Christian groups, dividing their attentions between contemplations of their faith and terrifying prophecies of the end times.

In fact, the concluding song Jesus Christ includes lyrics like "You are the reason for the wars that plague the land" and "You are the shattered dream that frightens us to burn", suggesting that the group have a far from uncritical attitude to religion, and in particular seem to question whether some of the manifestations of Christianity are a reflection of God's will or an example of precisely the sort of thing Jesus preached against. It's this thoughtful approach to their religion which makes Saviour Machine's lyrical approach so interesting - whilst I don't personally share their worldview, it is at least a stance which is rooted in questioning and contemplation rather than dogmatism and intolerance.

Between this, the startling imagery in Legion, and the band's mysterious and spooky stage presence, it's no wonder that the more socially conservative side of the Christian music scene turned against them - in fact, the album release was held up in America precisely because of this backlash. If you are in the market for a safe, wholesome Christian band who sing songs reaffirming and promoting culturally conservative values, then you're in absolutely the wrong place here - but if the idea of progressive gothic metal with theologically literate and intelligent lyrical themes floats your boat, the album's perfect for you, and if like me you don't care one way or another what the band's religious viewpoint is provided that the music is good then you're kind of in luck too, though I can't help but find the album drags a little in the middle.

Earendil Well, this is exactly what it sounds like- a CD in the shape of a roughly-cut mask. Since the mask isn't round, that means the album won't play in many cd players.

Quote from the CD case: "Caution! Not suitable for disc-changers and car-CD-players. Improper use is left at owner's risk."

Yes that's right.

The only way to hear this album is to play it on a regular, single slot CD player- not a computer one, a disc-changing one, or a car one. You can, however, find all of these tracks on other Saviour Machine albums that are actually circular in shape. The track list is short because the album only holds information as far as a circle can be burned on it, which is recognizable by some CD players.

Recommended for a huge Saviour Machine fan with a sense of humor.