Saviours

The direct result of what happens when groove metal dudes discover old school thrash, Saviours' latest work is an oddball fusion of doom-y cacophony, crossover's hyperactivity and hardcore's menace. Call them the modern Join The Army-era Suicidal Tendencies: their production values are a multiple of zero but you don't give a shit when the supersonic chug riffs and searing solos are offset by a vocalist who just kind of yells. Not screams or bellows ― hollers. At that, third full-length Accelerated Living is Saviours' most direct, accomplished affair, finally seeing Austin Barber's vocals settle within the music rather than clash against it like fingernails on a chalkboard, and virtually every riff is an accelerated bout of pulverizing fury. While this is clearly the same band that released Into Abbadon just over a year ago, man, have they changed, and for the better. While they touch on their slower elements occasionally, the majority of this album is way faster, more aggressive and less stoner wanky. Accelerated Living sheds most of the overt Sabbath and Priestess connotations, which were great to begin with, for something that's far more magnetically seedy. This is the perfect meeting ground between the greasy wail of VoiVod's first two albums, Sudden Impact's slacker vocals and Sacrifice's sheer metal. Not bad for dudes from California who've probably never heard any of those bands.