Saviour Machine I
Studio album by
Saviour Machine
Released1993
1996 (reissue)
Recorded1993 The Geen Room and The Mixing Lab
GenreSymphonic gothic metal, Christian metal, dark wave, art rock
Length69:44
LabelFrontline Records (1993)
Massacre Records (1996)
ProducerTerry Scott Taylor
Saviour Machine chronology
Saviour Machine
(1990)		 Saviour Machine I
(1993)		 Saviour Machine II
(1994)

Saviour Machine I is the 1993 debut album of the American metal band Saviour Machine. In 2010, HM Magazine ranked it #72 on the Top 100 Christian metal albums of all-time list.[1]

Recording history

Saviour Machine I was recorded after the band signed a record deal with the Christian music label Frontline Records at The Green Room and The Mixing Lab. The album was produced by Terry Scott Taylor and co-produced and arranged by Eric Clayton. Saviour Machine I was mixed at The Mixing Lab by Gene Eugene and Bob Moon, and additional engineering was done by Drew Aldridge. The album was mastered by Doug Doyle at Digital Brothers, Costa Mesa, California. On this album the band's line-up consisted of the quartet Eric Clayton (vocals), Jeff Clayton (guitar), Dean Forsyth (bass), and Samuel West (drums). Bob Watson played piano, keyboard and conducted the orchestration, and backing vocals were sung by Jimmy P. Brown II (Deliverance), Love Larrimore, Riki Michelle, and Terry Taylor.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Cross Rhythms[2]
Rock Hard10/10[3]

According to Eric Clayton, a certain line in the song "Legion" was partially responsible for Saviour Machine I being banned from Christian book stores throughout the United States in the summer of 1993, only weeks after its release.[4] The song's lyrics deal with apocalyptical themes about the rise of the Beast with a gothic horror approach. Because of the controversy surrounding "Legion" in particular, Saviour Machine I is still not distributed in the United States as of today.[4] As a statement to this, since 1993 whenever the band has performed live, Eric Clayton has worn the flag of United States during the performance of "Legion".[4]

Unlike the reception in the United States, Saviour Machine I achieved more notice in the Europe. Few gothic metal albums like this existed in the early 1990s, and Saviour Machine I is considered as some kind of landmark in that genre especially in the Christian metal movement. The British magazine Cross Rhythms rated the album a nine out of ten, opining that it was slightly better than the follow-up release, Saviour Machine II.[2] Rock Hard rated the album a full ten-out-of-ten as they could not find a mediocre song on the album.[3] In 2005, Saviour Machine I was ranked number 329 in Rock Hard magazine's book The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[5] Stefan Lang from Powermetal.de, in a retrospective review, considered the album one of the best from the 1990s.[6] Also in a retrospective review, Tom Kernbichler of Darkscene.at lavished praise on the album, citing the band as the last revolutionary musical revelation in their life.[7]

The album was re-released on Massacre Records in 1996 with different packaging.

Track listing

Lyrics by Eric Clayton. Music by Eric Clayton and Jeff Clayton.

No.TitleLength
1."Carnival of Souls"6:06
2."Force of the Entity"3:54
3."Legion"4:33
4."Ludicrous Smiles"5:26
5."The Wicked Window"6:30
6."Son of the Rain"5:28
7."Killer"10:07
8."The Widow and the Bride"4:29
9."Christians and Lunatics"5:20
10."The Mask"4:30
11."A Word Alone"6:21
12."Jesus Christ"7:00

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ Van Pelt, Doug (2010). "Top 100 Christian metal albums of all time". HM Magazine. August.
  2. 1 2 Long, Andy (February 1, 1996). "Saviour Machine – Saviour Machine (Independent)". Cross Rhythms (31).
  3. 1 2 Trojan, Frank. "Rock Hard review". issue 78 (in German). Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 Clayton, Eric (2003). Synopsis (Media notes). Saviour Machine.
  5. ↑ Best of Rock & Metal - Die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten (in German). Rock Hard. 2005. p. 79. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.
  6. ↑ Stefan, Lang (December 11, 2000). "Saviour Machine – Saviour Machine". Powermetal.de (in German). Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  7. ↑ Kernbichler, Thomas (July 21, 2004). "Review: Saviour Machine – Saviour Machine". Darkscene.at (in Austrian German). Retrieved August 20, 2021.
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