UMUR
"Savor the Flavor" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US, California based heavy metal/rock act The Organization. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in May 1995. The Organization was formed in 1991 after Death Angel disbanded, and features four out of five members of Death Angel. The only member of Death Angel who didn´t continue in The Organization, was lead vocalist Mark Osegueda. Guitarist Rob Cavestany took over the lead vocal duties in addition to playing guitar and The Organization was therefore a four-piece consisting of Rob Cavestany (vocals, guitar), Gus Pepa (guitars), Dennis Pepa (bass), and Andy Galeon (drums, backing vocals). The Organization released a relatively well received self-titled debut album in 1993 and then "Savor the Flavor" before changing their name to Swarm. Death Angel reunited in 2001 (with Mark Osegueda in front).
The 1993 eponymously titled debut album featured a melodic heavy metal style with the rare nod towards the thrash metal past of Death Angel, so ultimately The Organization didn´t sound that much like a continuation of Death Angel. At least not if you expected a more pure thrash metal sound. "Savor the Flavor" features and even more melodic and softer heavy metal/rock sound than its predecessor, and at this point the thrash metal leanings are completely gone from the band´s sound. "Savor the Flavor" is often closer to sounding like early 90s alternative rock, than to anything resembling heavy/thrash metal. There´s a lot of funky rhythms in the music too and the music is generally energetic and easily accessible.
The musicianship is strong, which isn´t surprising if you´re familiar with the high level musicianship of all involved on the Death Angel releases of the past and on the debut album by The Organization. Rob Cavestany is technically a skilled enough singer, but he hasn´t got the most distinct sounding nor the most strong voice out there. As a consequence the vocal part of the album is a bit lacking in power and conviction, and since not all tracks are that memorable either, the listening experience is a bit up and down in quality. The album soon feels a bit long and my attention often wanders because the hooks aren´t strong enough to maintain my interest for the duration of the 12 track, 46:47 minutes long album.
So unfortunately "softening" their sound (among other things) has made "Savor the Flavor" a much less interesting release than the band´s debut album, which did feature some pretty decent material. "Savor the Flavor" is not as such a bad release but it is pretty unspectacular alternative rock/metal, which I´d say I´ve heard before and much better too. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.