As a young metalhead, presumably after you graduate from the Metallicas and Slayers and various other entry level bands on your way to the underground, Nasty Savage are one of those bands who immediately captivate you in all their gonzoid glory. How could they not? There are few figures in the history of metal as charismatic as their ringmaster of mayhem, Nasty Ronnie. Adulthood, however, is realizing that these kings of the ’80s underground offered far more than cheap tricks and shock shows. In fact, I’d go so far as to argue they were one of the most underrated bands of their era.
I don’t say this because they should’ve gone onto fame and fortune and jam packed arenas and multi-platinum albums. You don’t get mainstream rock radio airplay with songs like “XXX” and “Dungeon of Pleasure”. I say this because their evolution from album to album was nothing short of drastic. Initially establishing themselves as a barbaric power-speed outfit on their iconic self titled debut, by 1987’s Indulgence, they had fully embraced the thrash revolution. Come 1989’s Penetration Point, the band’s sound took a turn for the technical, practically foreshadowing what was to follow in the early ’90s from bands like Death, Hellwitch, and Atheist. All of these multi-faceted elements coalesce on Nasty Savage’s long awaited fifth studio album, Jeopardy Room.
Although only Nasty Ronnie remains from the band’s glorious ’80s heyday, he’s since assembled a lineup who clearly studied those classic past releases from front to back. It shows all over the writing and performances on Jeopardy Room. Admittedly, the production is “modern” in nature, lying sonically closer to a 21st century death metal outing than a feral ’80s thrash rager. That said, the songs themselves draw heavily from the rugged well of yesteryear, in all their frenetic glory, leaving no neck unsnapped and no TV un-smashed!
The brutal thrash attack of the opening “Jeopardy Room” wallops the listener with its pummeling riffs, dense atmosphere, and the signature snarls of Nasty Ronnie. At times bordering on death metal at its most embryonic, cuts like this, the wildly unsettling “Azetec Elegance”, and defiantly unhinged “Blood Syndicate” come off as total throwbacks to the Indulgence days. Technically natured numbers like “Schizoid Platform” and “The 6th Finger” pick up where Penetration Point left off, while straightforward bangers like “Southern Fried Homicide” and “Operation Annihilate” channel the youthful naivety of the debut. Speaking of youthful naivety, the legendary “Witches Sabbath” off the Wage of Mayhem (1984) demo receives the re-recording treatment, complete with guest appearances from the boys in Obituary, who’ll be the first to lecture you on the importance of Nasty Savage.
While Jeopardy Room doesn’t reach the metallic heights of Nasty Savage’s ’80s output, it is a stunning return to form for a band who, less than a decade ago, were all but dead: A distant memory of yesteryear reminisced upon by thrashers of yore. Jeopardy Room dashes this depressing epitaph, determined to reestablish Nasty Savage as a band with a bright and brutal future. OK, I’m not sure if “bright” is the correct word to use here, but brutal? Absolutely. Something tells me these “Metal Knights” will be waging mayhem for years to come!
7 out of 10
Label: FHM Records
Genre: Thrash Metal
For fans of: Impaler, Overkill, Exodus