Savage Beat – Trench Warfare

Evil Has Landed Records (12”) / Rebellion Records (MCD)

 

Straight out of Holland’s red light district Amsterdam comes Savage Beat, a brand new outfit featuring (ex-)members of bands such as The Shining, Wanderlust, The Works, Open Wounds and The Lords Of Altamont – just to name a few. Indeed a whole lot of experience of guys playing punk, garage, hardcore, crossover and whatnot, all combined into a savaging new sound that is both exciting and fresh, but familiar at the same time!

 

Based on a foundation of Oi! music and a street punk sound, Savage Beat delivers a vibrant mix of Blitz-worship, getting all skrewed up on some raucous rock ‘n’ roll and 60’s garage punk. I told you these guys sounded exciting and fresh, but familiar! Now naturally Criminal Damage (the American one) and newer bands like Vanity and Tyrant come to mind – at least to me – when I describe these savages, but only on paper. Therefor I intend the following without any disrespect, because I love all these bands, but musically I find Savage Beat’s sound much more appealing, thanks to its diversity. Hell, you could even say that the Dutch sound like a blend of these three bands combined... and then some more, delivering a thrilling debut on vinyl (Evil Has Landed Records) and CD (Rebellion Records)!

 

Even songs that don’t really speak to the imagination at first, with titles like “Revenge” and “The Drinking Song”, are bound to blow you away. With the former being a revved up, hard rockin’ take on that ‘77 Chiswhick sound, while the latter is a boisterous anthem about the usual weekend shenanigans brought with some wild guitar work. Loving it! The remaining four songs – yes, unfortunately there are only six tracks on this scorcher (but more is coming soon, I promise!) – but it’s all killer (and no filler), from mid-tempo opener “Always Dreaming” to the title-track “Trench Warfare”, back to the grand finale entitled “Easy Way Out”, this record is filled with riotous guitars, a stompin’ rhythm section, excellent lead vocals, rowdy back-ups and all packed with a mighty punch!

 

Despite that Savage Beat pretty much came out of nowhere (although I was sent some previews before), they instantly delivered one of my favorite releases of 2017. And if anything of the above grabbed your attention, this will most likely be one of your favorite releases of 2017 as well – mark my words. “Trench Warfare” is an absolute shocker from start to finish and should be on everyone’s ‘to-buy’ list. Superb!