Review by Saxy S for Savage Oath - Divine Battle (2024)

It took a while for us to get here, but we finally have the debut full length record from US Power Metal's Savage Oath. 

Now I might have said sometime ago that the American strain of Power Metal does not provide the same kind of positive reaction as the European counterpart. Something about it being super derivative and not doing much in the way of standing out from its influences. Power metal in the United States became much better when it dropped the cheesy pretense and became speed/thrash metal. But Savage Oath are trying to be a fading spark in a genre that is now almost exclusively carried by legacy acts.

In a way, Divine Battles reminds me of the newest releases by Cirith Ungol. The mixing is very underappreciated with how it sounds modern while also feeling deeply nostalgic. Guitars are not the focal point of this mix and that allows for the tasteful bass lines to give the album some dynamic weight. The percussion is pretty solid, if a little overbearing. But that only seems to be the case early on in the album on "Knight of the Night" and "Wings of Vengeance."

With such a solid foundation, it really pushes the vocals to the front and they sound excellent. Brendan Radigan has a varied vocal timbre and fits the landscape of this project quite well. There is quite a bit of influence from the power metal great vocalists, but also provides his own style and personality to the performance. That said, I feel like the variety in the vocals is a double edged sword; for example, while "Wings of Vengeance" has a wild timbre and can even be reminiscent of classic Rob Halford, songs like "Madness of the Crowd" have passages that sound deeply out of tune. It just sounds bad and gives me the feeling of sky high aspirations by the group that were just not met.

But beyond that, I don't see much else in the way of obvious criticisms. The album can run a little bit too long at times, but that feels like an issue for a handful of songs instead of a critique of the entire album. If you like power metal in the 21st century, but would like to hear something that isn't directly related to the past (i.e. Blind Guardian, Helloween, Metal Church), then Savage Oath might just be your next favourite band. Just hoping that the next album does something new and different.

Best Songs: Wings of Vengeance, Blood for the King, Savage Oath