Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Savage Oath - Divine Battle (2024)

Since getting tired of the traditional heavy metal sounds of The Guardians clan and flipping over to The Fallen I have not listened to a heavy metal album for some two years or so now. The genre that brought me into this thirty-five-year journey to the very extremity of death, black, thrash, etc, etc has become very neglected in recent years. There have not even been any real pangs of nostalgia to go back to my roots so to speak, so I came to Savage Oath out of pure curiosity, I guess. Once my initial fears of this being some power metal opus that was going to be pissing gloss everywhere were allayed, I soon found myself settling into the catchy and rhythmical tunes that make up Divine Battle.

A quick scan of the internet showed me that Phil Ross (one time of Manilla Road) is one of the members of the group, handling the very audible yet not overbearing bass duties here. Brendan Radigan handles vocals who I am aware of from his time with Pagan Altar and Sumerlands (the latter of whom I find far too watered down for my metal tastes) and reminds me of a less weird Mark Shelton in a way. His croons are “sneery” most certainly, but he holds a tune better at least. As a unit, Savage Oath give a professional performance with Leeland Campana of Visigoth fame handling guitar duties and the unknown Austin Wheeler occupying the drum stool. The production job is clear without being polished, the instrumentation carrying an earthy edge across the record. The drums seem a little stifled at times in the grander scheme of things, however this is my only real quibble here.

Things touch on the epic during Blood for the King as the song enters a choral section around the five-minute mark, the guitar and vocals soaring for a few seconds, heralding promise that does not quite land if I am honest but the intent is most certainly there. If I am honest, the album probably needs a couple more moments like this (and for them to be carried through) as although I enjoy most of Divine Battle there is still a sense of it coming up a little short somehow, like an aspect of the delivery is missed or misdirected. For all its driving rhythm and consistency there are not any real moments that grab you by the throat. Instead, there is almost a sense of contentment at the band sitting in the groove that they carve for themselves.