(Power Metal) [CD] Masters of Disguise - The Savage and the Grace - 2015, FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Speed Metal. Like it’s name suggests , this s a genre chock full of heavy fast paced tunes. There are savage riffs, insane guitar solos and screaming melodies that make you head-bang and rock out like there’s no tomorrow. Having already heard a couple of bands in this genre, such as STRIKER, I can see why it’s liked. I am partial to a bit of insane heavy tuneage from time to time. I’m here to see if the band in this review are in the same vein. Their name is MASTERS OF DISGUISE.

Having released their successful first two releases in 2013, including an EP and a full length debut, this 4 piece American speed metal band began working on some new material while touring and in February 2015. The finished product, “The Savage and the Grace” was released, which seems to have a reference to one of the members previous band someone was a member of. SAVAGE GRACE in the title, but whether or not that was entirely intentional remains to be seen.

Their new album is the focus of today’s review, and having listened to it once all the way through before writing this review, I’m picking up vibes of other metal acts in the music such as STRIKER who I have already heard before. There is a little bit of DIO as well, mainly in the vocal department that is, but whether or not this is deliberate/intentional is an unknown. I did like what I heard the first time.

The record opens up with a heavy instrumental before launching into the second track, which is the first vocal song on the CD entitled “The Enforcer”. These two songs give you a clear indication that speed metal acts don’t like to fuck about, and write something that is half-ass. You get a real sense of when you listen to bands like MASTERS OF DISGUISE.

Throughout the remainder of the record, you continue to get a real sense of what this band are about with songs like “Heaven’s Fall” and “Sins of the Damned” which is a cover of a SAVAGE GRACE song. “Barbarians at the Gate” and “New Horizons”. It’s while listening to this that you begin to appreciate the showmanship that goes into speed metal music, including the savage melodies, the heavy riffs, the insanely fast guitar solos and the screaming vocals amongst many other things.

Production wise, the performance does sound pretty tight for a record of this type. For the majority of the music with a couple of moments where it could have been tweaked to be a bit better, but it’s only a small thing which should be overlooked. The same is said for the performance in terms of both music and vocals with the latter being occasionally hit and miss. It’s very good for the most part as it helps add to the already nutty recipe that makes up the speed metal formula.

Bottom line, “The Savage and the Grace” is definitely the type of record you could play loud at parties and head-bang to without worrying about what the neighbors think even if they kicked up a huge fuss about it as when you have melodies this hard, this heavy and this nutty, it’s impossible to keep yourself restrained and it is definitely one worth checking out if you like speed metal or insane music in genre.

Review written by MarcusTheRocker for www.metal-temple.com

Links:
http://www.masters-of-disguise.com/
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Masters_of_Disguise/3540373025