Savior Machine

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Savior Machine
General information
Genre (s) White metal , progressive metal
founding 1989
Website Savior Machine ( Memento from December 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
Founding members
Eric Clayton
Jeff Clayton
Dean Forsyth (until 1995)
Chris Fee (until 1992)
Current occupation
singing
 Eric Clayton
guitar
 Jeff Clayton (until 2001, since 2017)
bass
 Charles Cooper (since ~ 1995)
Keyboard
 Nathan van Hala
Drums
 Sam West (1993 and since 2017)
former members
Drums
 Sam West
Drums
 Jason Heart (1994-1998)
Drums
 Victor Deaton (2001)
guitar
 Carl Johan Grimmark (2001-2008)
Drums
 Thomas Weinesjö

Savior Machine is a Christian gothic metal band from California . The band was formed in mid-1989 by brothers Eric and Jeff Clayton.

The band name is derived from David Bowie 's song of the same name from the album The Man Who Sold the World . The band itself describes their style as epic progressive metal . Characteristic for the band are theatrical, conceptual stage shows with fake blood and fire as well as a strongly staged appearance of the singer Eric Clayton.

Band history

The early years

Founded in 1989, the band was successful early on in the southern United States. In particular, the theatrical stage shows and the success of the self-produced demo gave the band a large fan base right from the start.

In 1993, Savior Machine signed a record deal with the Christian rock label "Frontline Records", which also released their first album, "Savior Machine I". The style was assigned to classic rock with Jeff Clayton's guitar solos and melodic riffs. The texts dealt with personal spiritual experiences, but references to the Apocalypse of John were already there. With “Savior Machine I” they were able to attract a great deal of attention beyond the country's borders, so that they soon also played at Christian rock festivals in Europe.

Even at that time, the theatrical staging of her music aroused criticism in the Christian music scene. In 1993, on a tour with Deliverance in a Christian club in Minneapolis , the band was forced to end their concert early.

Savior Machine II

Political circumstances around "Frontline Records" prompted the band to re-release their next album "Savior Machine II" on another label. With the arrival of pianist Nathan van Hala, her music was now heavily oriented towards classical and baroque music , and new orchestral elements were also added.

The great success in Germany prompted the band to found the Christian label "MCM Music", which still exists today, together with their German management team at the time. Massacre Records took over the distribution of the albums. Even today, “MCM Music” is one of the most important Christian labels on the scene in the distribution of “Massacre Records”. Thanks to their own label, the band now had a free influence on the creative process, marketing and musical content.

Several tours followed in 1995 and 1996. The “ Owener Rocknacht ” concert was recorded live in Germany for the video publication . In 1997 the band also performed at the Wacken Open Air .

The trilogy: Legend I, II, III: I, III: II and III

After the first two albums had already been created as concept albums , Eric Clayton consistently continued this direction with the "Legend" project. The title itself is "The unofficial soundtrack for the end of the world", because against the background of biblical prophecy, richly arranged sound spaces are created. "Legend I" was released in 1997, "Legend II" a year later.

Originally, the individual parts of the trilogy should appear annually. However, the third part was delayed by two years due to technical and financial problems. While the third part was being made, the decision was made to publish it on two CDs due to the volume of content that still had to be processed, and to release them separately so that the fans didn't have too long. The last part III: II was finally announced in summer 2006 for July 7, 2007. The date is to be understood in the sense of the often used short form “777”, which is meant as a Christian positive modification of the number of the Antichrist . Clayton announced, however, that this deadline cannot be met either. The publication is still pending. In the meantime, the live CD / DVD "Live in Germany 2002", which was recorded again at Owener Rocknacht , and three special limited editions were released.

MCM and Massacre released the album "Legend III: II" in August 2011 without the band's consent. According to Savior Machine, this release is unlawful, is based on demo recordings from 2004 and therefore only reflects a qualitatively and quantitatively inferior draft of the material that was sold together with a revised version of "Legend III: I" as "Legend III" on 3 CDs should be published. In response, Savior Machine have made those demo recordings available for free download.

2001 Jeff Clayton left the band. There is no official information on the reasons for the departure, which has led to much speculation.

According to Eric Clayton, the last part of Legend will also mean the end of "Savior Machine". Whether there will be a final tour or a full Legend performance - possibly even in Israel - is still open.

The covers, CDs and booklets for the individual parts of the Legend trilogy are all lavishly designed:

  • The covers are initially simply black with the titles in red, green and blue.
  • The basically black CDs themselves carry u. a. great Hebrew scriptures. The first three CDs point to an apocalyptic prophecy of Jesus ( Mt 24.15  EU ).
  • The cover pictures of the booklets when put together result in a large picture of an apocalyptic depiction of a world viewed from two eyes with a "beast" pierced by a sword between the eyes.
  • Numerous pictures by Hieronymus Bosch are used in the inner parts . The backgrounds contain Hebrew characters. Extensive reference lists are given for the biblical texts on which the setting is based .

The choir, which can be heard several times on “Legend”, is the “Ensemble Cantabile” from Würzburg .

Reunion and Announcement Savior Machine III

In an interview with Eric Clayton at the Wacken Open Air 2017 as well as on the band's pages on Facebook and Youtube, a new joint album for 2018 was announced, which will not be part of the Legend trilogy, but should build on the first two releases. Jeff Clayton and Sam West have returned to the band.

style

music

The music of Savior Machine lies between dark rock and gothic metal with a subtle hardness . Eric Clayton's baritone voice is based on clear, classical singing. Classic heavy riffs are rare, the melody arcs dominate. The guitar solos are mostly less technical, but clear and melodious. The use of delay effects builds a bridge to Gothic Rock of the 1980s. The keyboards mostly play a piano sound, samples are played individually . Despite the orchestral moments, there is no excessive bombast, the instrumentation is mostly very transparent. The song structure is mostly formed by repeating and varying melodic patterns .

Texts

The lyrics of Savior Machine describe secular and Christian topics in the first two albums, in the Legend trilogy all lyrics are Christian. Metaphors, codes and symbols are dominant. Elements from prophecy flow into the texts individually . The text of the Legend trilogy recites almost exclusively Bible verses from apocalyptic and prophetic passages. The exact biblical passages are given in the booklet of the albums.

Occur

The staged personality cult around singer Eric Clayton is often perceived as offensive and blasphemous , although it is a defining stylistic feature of the band.

The band only seldom appears live due to the elaborate theatrical shows, but also because of the friendly relationships with producers Rainer and Matthias Mittelstädt, they can be seen again and again in Germany ( Owener Rock Night , Christmas Rock Night ). The reason for this is the German-based label MCM Music , with which there are no longer any business relationships. The last concerts were supported by Carl Johan Grimmark from the Swedish band Narnia and Thomas Weinesjö from Veni Domine .

Other member projects

  • Eric Clayton appeared in 2004 as Reason on the album The Human Equation by Ayreon , where James LaBrie and Devin Townsend are among others . 1998 Clayton produced the album Anthems of Wedding Party , in which he participated as a singer - just as the album Damnation: Ride the Madness of Eva O . He also sang O Holy Night together with Eva O on Excelsis - A Dark Noel (Projekt Records).
  • Carl Johan Grimmark also works with Rob Rock outside of his own band Narnia .
  • Nathan Van Hala currently plays the keyboard at Eagle Winged Palace . Previous projects were West Indian Girl , Duchess, X-electra, Shadow Project and Strychnine Kiss, where he was singer and lead lyricist.
  • Thomas Weinesjö is the drummer at Veni Domine .
  • The former drummer Victor Deaton also worked on the album with three songs Anthems of Wedding Party with. Because of the reference to BAND THANX: ..., Vic Deaton for the music lessons, ... it is assumed that he also played drums on the album Trick or Treat by Rackets and Drapes . Victor Deaton also played on recordings with Phil Keaggy .
  • Former drummer Sam West is now with Stavesacre and was previously part of Scaterd Few and The Violet Burning .

Discography

  • 1990: Savior Machine (demo) - remastered in 1997
  • 1993: Savior Machine I ( Frontline Records )
  • 1994: Savior Machine II (Frontline Records) gray cover - edition of 500
  • 1994: Savior Machine II ( Pila Music ) purple cover (misprint, withdrawn immediately)
  • 1994: Savior Machine II (Pila Music) gray cover
  • 1995: Savior Machine II (MCM Music) blue cover
  • 1995: Savior Machine I (MCM Music)
  • 1995: Savior Machine II ( Massacre Records ) blue cover
  • 1996: Live in Germany (live album; also as VHS)
  • 1997: Legend Part I ( MCM Music )
  • 1998: Legend Part II (MCM Music)
  • 1998: Behold A Pale Horse (maxi-single, MCM Music) - including New World Order , which had to be omitted from the Part II CD due to lack of space
  • 1999: Shape CD in the form of the typical Savior Machine mask (Massacre Records)
  • 2001: Synopsis ( An Introduction to the Artist ) (MCM Music)
  • 2001: Legend Part III: I (MCM Music) - also as a first edition limited to 2001 pieces with a specially designed cover
  • 2003: Live in Germany 2002 (live album, MCM Music) - also as a double DVD including Live in Germany 1995
  • 2006: Rarities / Revelations (limited 4-CD box) - Edition: 500 hand-numbered copies
  • 2007: Legend Part II - 2 Disc Limited Signature Edition (edition: 300 hand-signed and numbered copies)
  • 2007: Legend Part III: I - 2 Disc Limited Signature Edition (edition: 500 hand-signed and numbered copies)
  • 2008: Legend Part I - 2 Disc Limited Signature Edition (edition: 300 hand-signed and numbered copies)

Web links

swell

  1. ↑ a b Macintosh, Dan Savior Machine ( memento of September 18, 2000 in the Internet Archive ), from "HM Magazine" (65). ISSN  1066-6923 .
  2. ^ "Deus Ex Machina" ( Memento from May 1, 1997 in the Internet Archive ) - Interview with Eric Clayton
  3. ↑ Appearance at the W: O: A 1997
  4. ↑ Clayton, Eric Official Savior Machine Press Release ( September 27, 2007 memento on the Internet Archive ), in the band's official forum
  5. ↑ An Official Statement from Eric Clayton / Savior Machine: Regarding the 'Massacre Bumble Bee Version of Legend III: II' (viewed August 10, 2011)
  6. ↑ Eric Clayton - Wacken Press Conference 2017 - YouTube. Retrieved October 30, 2017 .
  7. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/pg/saviourmachineband/about/?ref=page_internal