Savage Lands are in revolt.
Led by Sylvain Demercastel (guitar, ex-Artsonic) and Dirk Verbeuren (drums, Megadeth, ex-Soilwork, ex-Artsonic…), they call on Poun (vocals) and Etienne Treton (bass) from Black Bomb A as well as Florian Pons (drums, Locomuerte) to give life to their project (which is now an NGO), and create the album Army of the Trees.
We start with Black Rock Heart, which immediately welcomes Kai Uwe Faust (Heilung) and Chloe Trujillo to enhance the groove of the composition and give them interesting vocal diversity, complementing Poun‘s screams. The mix is easy to listen to, as is the catchy Ruling Queen where the musicians are joined by Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy, ex-The Agonist) on vocals and Kenneth Andrews (Obituary) on guitar to turn into a melancholy Death Melodic-oriented composition, with a few spikes of raw energy all the same. Andreas Kisser (Sepultura) and John Tardy (Obituary) join in on The Last Howl to give the track its abrasive, haunting tones, thanks to dissonant guitars and a slightly softer approach, before Maria Franz (Heilung) takes on No Remedy. The track brings its own haunting, relatively calm touch to hypnotize us, before Lord Of The Lost collaborates with the four musicians to energize Out of Breath with intense vocal parts from the German vocalist. The track’s final moments are recounted by Chloe Trujillo, before giving way to Better Man, where airy notes blend effortlessly with a disquieting base, transforming the composition into a kind of ballad, a hymn of repentance in the colors of environmental themes, then back into energy with Never Be Up, which borrows its brighter, more joyful hues from Punk Rock. Then comes the unifying Army Of The Trees, an eponymous composition featuring Steeven Corsini (Locomuerte), Auré Jäger (Akiavel), David & Viber (Sidilarsen), Niko Jones (Tagada Jones), Julien Truchan (Benighted), Stéphane Buriez (Loudblast, Sinsaenum), Nils Courbaron (Bloodorn, Sirenia, Drop Dead Chaos) and Aurelien Ouzoulias (The Beat Factory, Mörglbl) to bring their message to life, followed by the intriguing Visions Of Life, which straddles several styles. The motivating base remains perfect for the cries of Poun, who doesn’t hesitate to switch to clear vocals on a few passages, then we already reach the final composition, Addicted, which returns to mysterious tones and a few more soaring riffs to close the album.
More than just an album, Army of the Trees is a real message that Savage Lands gets across through an effective blend of Metalcore/Groove Metal. The compositions are fairly simple but relatively catchy, and the many collaborations give the album an interesting rhythm.
75/100