Gone Savage (ENGLAND)

[Horex]

Gone Savage - PastLife (2022)











Year : 2022
Style : Hard Rock
Country : United Kingdom
Audio : 320 kbps + front
Size : 103 mb

Bio:

Former members bassist Ian Salpekar (aka Ku Martinez) & guitarist Andy J (Andy Halliwell) formed GONE SAVAGE from the ashes of Sweet Sin.Originally GONE SAVAGE included as well DARE members Vinny Burns (guitar) and James Ross (drums) – as you see, there’s quality at GONE SAVAGE’s core. Fast forward 2019 and Salpekar resurrected the band and after a few singles they are releasing the debut album titled “PastLife“.Based in and around Manchester the band purveys a classy take on classic hard rock but with a refreshingly melodic modern feel. With songs, riffs, melodies and choruses firmly inspired by the ’80s style, “PastLife” showcases a group of musicians not ‘recreating a style’ – they lived the Eighties.

Album:

Gone Savage are an original UK rock band formed from former members of Sweet Sin, Sam Thunder and Dare. Now you may well have heard of Dare and even Sweet Sin but I only heard of Sam Thunder through Lee Aaron! Based in and around Manchester the band purveys a classy take on Rock but with a refreshingly melodic modern feel. Over the last few years they have put out a number of singles – starting in 2019 with the release of ‘Bulletproof’; followed by ‘Louder Than the Sun’ in February 2020; before a post-pandemic release later that year of ‘Love Caught Me Out.’After the intro ‘Regression’ that has a retro feeling and which “captures musical / audio sound clips from our past with tracks we have written set to a back story of despair and hope”, comes ‘Icons of Today’ a song that has a little Dokken meets 1987 Queensryche vibe going on.‘Irresistible’ adds a bit more bite but still rides those smooth melodic waters. There’s certainly a progressive element here, and one that eschews the huge chorus for the path less travelled, and whilst the solos are intact there’s a cool almost NWOBHM grit to many.‘Life in Black and White’ is a pure melodic hard rocker driven by a big riff, a great song and one that does have that extra kick. ‘Permanent State of Change’ mixes things up a bit with a harder riff rocker that has bits of everyone from Def Leppard to Dokken in there.‘Bulletproof’ gets things harder right to the point, and is the most metallic offering here and rather fine it is too!The best though arguably is still to come: first ‘Life Incendiary’ builds slowly and has a wonderful languid opening, it’s a song with plenty of space and atmosphere (and again the Dokken comparisons come). As is the mid-tempo groove of ‘Louder Than the Sun’ which really hits the spot again before the catchy ‘Love Caught Me Out’ ups the pace and adds possibly the strongest refrain and solo to boot.‘Redemption Song’ is moodier and another number with a little more space to breath and it again works rather well; ‘Powerless’ comes as another nice change of pace and sounds like a sure-fire crowd pleaser.Closer ‘Touch Your God’ is another track that is more expansive, with extra arrangements, and like ‘Redemption Song’ and ‘Life in Black and White’ makes a nice trio of such songs that push the boundaries a little more.While overall more elaborated than your typical melodic hard rock and wrapped by modern production standards, GONE SAVAGE’s “PastLife” takes you back to your teens when bands like Dokken, Ratt, Queensryche ruled the World, and others more contemporary such as AdrianGale, Bombay Black, etc.Add to that American style all band members British ’80s melodic / hard influences.

Line Up:

Will Glover – lead and backing vocals
Ian Salpekar – bass, keys, backing vocals
Grant Mallison – guitar
Sam Millar – guitar
Dex Tyler – drums, percussion, backing vocals

+

Don Genovese – backing vocals

Tracklist:

01. Regression
02. Icon of Today
03. Irresistible
04. Life in Black and White
05. Permanent State of Change
06. Bulletproof
07. Life Incendiary
08. Louder Than the Sun
09. Love Caught Me Out
10. Redemption Song
11. Power=Less
12. Touch Your God




Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/

[Horex]

Gone Savage - Life In Black & White (2023)













Year : 2023
Style : Hard Rock
Country : United Kingdom
Audio : 320 kbps + front
Size : 99 mb

Bio:

Former members bassist Ian Salpekar (aka Ku Martinez) & guitarist Andy J (Andy Halliwell) formed GONE SAVAGE from the ashes of Sweet Sin.Originally GONE SAVAGE included as well DARE members Vinny Burns (guitar) and James Ross (drums) – as you see, there’s quality at GONE SAVAGE’s core. Fast forward 2019 and Salpekar resurrected the band and after a few singles they are releasing the debut album titled “PastLife“.Based in and around Manchester the band purveys a classy take on classic hard rock but with a refreshingly melodic modern feel. With songs, riffs, melodies and choruses firmly inspired by the ’80s style, “PastLife” showcases a group of musicians not ‘recreating a style’ – they lived the Eighties.

Album:

GONE SAVAGE are a melodic hard rock band out of Manchester UK, formed in 1990 by bassist Ian Salpekar (formerly of SWEET SIN), guitarist Andy J (formerly of SWEET SIN), vocalist Will Glover (formerly of SAM THUNDER) and drummer James Ross (formerly of Darren Wharton’s DARE). As the band evolved they would go on to have a long history with several other contributors, including DARE’s Vinny Burns.GONE SAVAGE recorded several songs in the early Nineties, but while all members remained friends, the group disbanded.GONE SAVAGE went on a hiatus until 2013 when all original members tried to pick-up the pieces, however Salpekar and singer Glover are the only still in the band, and signed by Heaven and Hell Records they releasing the album “Life In Black & White”.With songs, riffs, melodies and choruses firmly inspired by the ’80s / early ’90s classic hard rock style but with a refreshingly melodic modern feel, “Life In Black & White” showcases a group of musicians not ‘recreating a a sound’ – that sound is into their DNA, they lived the Eighties.GONE SAVAGE released many demos in the early years which were only ever sold at gigs, or via their fan club. They recorded four demos over two sessions with including the AOR classic ‘Love Caught me Out’.These sessions were recorded at the famous Strawberry Studios in Stockport, England, home to many 70s and 80s renowned artists. The recordings would be engineered by famed producer Martin Abbott, who was responsible for producing most of Lisa Stansfield’s early work. Both demos were also used as self-promotion with the main UK radio stations of the time, which included two sessions with the legendary UK radio broadcaster Tommy Vance on his “Friday Night Rock Show”, the number one show in the UK at the time.As the demos were selling out at live gigs and more radio stations began picking up on the band, there was a demand for more music. After Andy J left the band in 1991 GONE SAVAGE went back to record more demos with Vinny Burns (DARE / TEN / ASIA).Vinny played lead and rhythm guitars on a 3-track demo recorded at another stalwart of UK recording studios – The Engine Room Studio in Bradford, England.GONE SAVAGE continued to write songs and returned to The Engine Room in ‘92 to record 2 songs with Grant Mallison on guitar duties to much aplomb resulting in an interview with the renowned Games Workshop in ‘93, producers of the Warhammer table-top game, who wanted to branch out to include a rock/heavy metal record label division.The company showed interest in signing GONE SAVAGE as its first outing. Things didn’t go as planned as a disgruntled ex-manager of the band created mayhem with the company leading to Games Workshop walking away from any further negotiations. The band would fold later that year.GONE SAVAGE went on a hiatus until 2013 when all original members spoke about a return. This included Andy J and then again with Grant Mallison, but alas the candle did not burn and both Will, Grant and Andy stepped aside.In 2015, GONE SAVAGE, still eager to create more music, brought in a fledgling young gun by the name of James Marsh who took on both lead / rhythm guitar duties and lead vocals. A new 4-song EP was recorded and self-produced by the band titled ‘Resurrection’. A self-funded CD would be released on their own 3@47inc Records in January of 2016.The EP would be very well received by the media and radio stations alike, which resulted in a gig at the prestigious Hard Rock Hell franchise alongside the likes of SKID ROW, NIGHT RANGER and Joe Lynn Turner to name but a few.In 2019, Salpekar started writing again with Glover for a new album. Out of over 30 songs, the cut came down to 11. Mallison returned as a guest and played guitar on five of the tracks on the new album together with another rising star Sam Millar (BIGFOOT, Solo) who also played on five tracks.James Marsh guested on the re-recorded version of “Love Caught Me Out” playing guitars and singing backing vocals.Mixing of the stems was carried out by a young emerging producer named David Radahd-Jones at his Red City Recordings studio in Manchester. Mastering was carried out by legendary mastering man Pete Maher, responsible for mastering THE ROLLING STONES, THE KILLERS and U2 amongst many others.Opener ‘Icon of Today’ a song that has a little Dokken meets 1987 Queensryche vibe going on. ‘Irresistible’ adds a bit more bite but still rides those smooth melodic waters. There’s certainly a progressive element here, and one that eschews the huge chorus for the path less travelled, and whilst the solos are intact there’s a cool almost NWOBHM grit to many.Title track ‘Life in Black and White’ is a pure melodic hard rocker driven by a big riff, a great song and one that does have that extra kick. ‘Permanent State of Change’ mixes things up a bit with a harder riff rocker that has bits of everyone from Def Leppard to Dokken in there.‘Bulletproof’ gets things harder right to the point, and is the most metallic offering here and rather fine it is too!‘Life Incendiary’ builds slowly and has a wonderful languid opening, it’s a song with plenty of space and atmosphere (and again the Dokken comparisons come). As is the mid-tempo groove of ‘Louder Than the Sun’ which really hits the spot again before the catchy ‘Love Caught Me Out’ ups the pace and adds possibly the strongest refrain and solo to boot.‘Redemption Song’ is moodier and another number with a little more space to breath and it again works rather well; ‘Power=less’ comes as another nice change of pace and sounds like a sure-fire crowd pleaser.Closer ‘Touch Your God’ is another track that is more expansive, with extra arrangements, and like ‘Redemption Song’ and ‘Life in Black and White’ makes a nice trio of such songs that push the boundaries a little more.While overall more elaborated than your typical melodic hard rock and wrapped by modern production standards, GONE SAVAGE’s “Life In Black & White” takes you back to your teens when bands like Dokken, Ratt, Queensryche ruled the World, adding to their music as well a more contemporary style such as AdrianGale, Bombay Black, etc.

Line Up:

Will Glover – Lead and Backing Vocals
Ian Salpekar – Bass, Keys, Programming, Backing Vocals
Sam Millar (BigFoot) – Rhythm guitars and solos on tracks 2, 3, 8, 10 and 11
Grant Mallison – Rhythm guitars and solos on tracks 1, 4, 5, 7, 9
James Marsh – Rhythm guitars and solo on track 6
James Ross – Drums
Don Genovese – Backing Vocals

Tracklist:

01. Icon of Today
02. Permanent State of Change
03. Life Incendiary
04. Irresistible
05. Louder Than the Sun
06. Love Caught Me Out
07. Bulletproof
08. Redemption Song
09. Power=Less
10. Life in Black and White
11. Touch Your God




Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/

[Horex]

Gone Savage - Retrograde (2024)











Year : 2024
Style : Hard Rock
Country : United Kingdom
Audio : 320 kbps + front
Size : 112 mb

Bio:

Former members bassist Ian Salpekar (aka Ku Martinez) & guitarist Andy J (Andy Halliwell) formed GONE SAVAGE from the ashes of Sweet Sin.Originally GONE SAVAGE included as well DARE members Vinny Burns (guitar) and James Ross (drums) – as you see, there’s quality at GONE SAVAGE’s core. Fast forward 2019 and Salpekar resurrected the band and after a few singles they are releasing the debut album titled “PastLife“.Based in and around Manchester the band purveys a classy take on classic hard rock but with a refreshingly melodic modern feel. With songs, riffs, melodies and choruses firmly inspired by the ’80s style, “PastLife” showcases a group of musicians not ‘recreating a style’ – they lived the Eighties.

Album:

Melodic hard rock band out of Manchester UK, GONE SAVAGE, formed in 1990 by bassist Ian Salpekar (formerly of SWEET SIN), guitarist Andy J (formerly of SWEET SIN), vocalist Will Glover (formerly of SAM THUNDER) and drummer James Ross (formerly of Darren Wharton’s DARE). As the band evolved they would go on to have a long history with several other contributors, including DARE’s Vinny Burns.GONE SAVAGE went on a hiatus until 2013 when all original members tried to pick-up the pieces, however Salpekar and singer Glover are the only still in the band. Since 2022, the band have been releasing an album every year, all featured here, all enjoyable.Non 2024 it’s time for new effort “Retrograde“, an album faithful to GONE SAVAGE’s late ’80s pedigree but with a production modern enough to fit in today’s market. I think we’ve got Alice Cooper (glam metal era), Icon and XYZ in there as possible influences. Yeah, this band hails from UK, but they sound very American. And they have some darn good tunes.First of all, we love the cover art. We appreciate when artists take care of visuals too.Getting stuck right in ‘Ram Me Down’, the opener sports a great riff and keys and has a real early ’80s classic hard rock vibe, it’s melodic enough whilst still rocking and has a great vocal from Glover. ‘Shameless’ that follows starts with an atmospheric wail of guitars before settling into a groove, it’s a midtempo grower with a fine solo that already hints at the variety to come.It’s ‘Money Power Love’ though which picks up the pace, that makes a great opening salvo of three assured rockers. It’s a great track kinda like early Icon meets early Ratt.Next up ‘Here Comes the Shade’ takes us back to that slower moodier side with strummed guitar and a slow build to the vocal. It’s a longer number with plenty going on and whilst there’s no huge peaks or punchy chorus, it’s one that sticks and gets better with each listen.‘Soul Sister’ opens similarly with strummed guitar before exploding midway into full electric life. It kinda reminds me of bands like Sweet F.A. and has huge potential – It could well be my favourite here and as Power Ballads go this is a little gem.‘Adrenaline Junkie’ has an opening that you feel Metallica would love as it slowly launches into the song with gentle acoustics and spoken words. It’s a heavier song that’s a nice reminder that before we got obsessed with genres there was just Rock. It’s another winner.‘World Gone Crazy’ opens with spoken words but in rides a riff that is 100% early 80s L.A. It struts and swaggers in all the right ways and for us is another sure-fire winner. ‘In 2 Ya’ opens with another spoken intro which is a bit of a theme here that makes it stand apart, this one though is slower, groovier, and bubbles on the electronic beat before slipping into a smooth chorus that is more Dan Reed or King Of The Kill than Eighties hard rock. It shows a certain conviction to back yourselves with songs like this and that’s certainly one of the reasons this release stands out.‘Sunshine and Flowers’ takes that thought and edges in a different direction again, smoldering with dirtier guitars underlining it, and a smooth verse and almost hypnotic chorus. It feels a decade away from anything that precedes it. We place it high in our list of highlights even though in a way it feels like a stand-alone single sonically.‘D.R.O.W.N.I.N.G.’ that closes, is another song that feels like it is floating in its own sea, it’s another slower number, which is something that we keep coming back to (not a bad thing, the variety of those numbers are the saving grace), though it holds its own and has elements of everything from the ’90s to the languid ballads of bands like Vain. You could argue that it’s a song that opens another door or that it confuses things as to the direction we’re headed. It’s a great song – don’t get us wrong – but one a feel laced at the end makes more of a statement than it perhaps is.Salpekar on the bass really compliments the drumming. The rhythm section is strong and also right in the pocket. This gives the various guitarists room to do their thing. The guitars are also powerful and crunchy with some great solos throughout. This musical bedrock allows Glover to sit right on top of the mountain and blast out his cracking voice.Very much an album that gets to the basics, with a vibe of the early days of the Sunset Strip when bands were more concerned about writing great songs than create a hit to get signed.

Line Up:

Will Glover – Lead and Backing Vocals
Ian Salpekar – Bass, Keys, Backing Vocals
James Marsh – Rhythm guitars and solos
Rob Rideout – Rhythm guitars and solos
Tracy Story – Rhythm guitars and solos
Ian Schofield, Lee Bradbury – Keyboards
Dex Tyler – Drums

Tracklist:

01. Ram Me Down
02. Shameless
03. Money Power Love
04. Here Comes The Shade
05. Soul Sister
06. Adrenaline Junkie
07. World Gone Crazy
08. IN2Ya
09. Sunshine And Flowers
10. D.R.O.W.N.I.N.G




Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/