Continuing the article from yesterday about SAVIOR's final demo and the related full-length...
Exactly one year before recording Bleeding at the Heart (27 August 1993), SAVIOR were in Dog Fish Sound recording Brutal Tradition. BT was mixed and completed a day later, 28 August 1992.
Their best release? Could be this demo. Fast brutal US death/thrash in the vein of SADUS, early DEATH, SLAUGHTER, early MORBID ANGEL. You get the picture, it kills!
SAVIOR never managed to get a good deal and distribution; a familiar story and usually just down to bad luck. They also haven't (yet...surely) released a compilation album. Plenty of obscure material has been mined for at least a decade now, SAVIOR would be another worthy addition.
Jeff Walter (guitar, vocals) - who is interviewed below - is still active in the Portland punk scene and in recent years has been a member of POISON IDEA and is currently in CHARTBUSTERS (Oi!/punk). Jeff has a Youtube page where you can watch some SAVIOR live footage.
1994 SAVIOR interview. Part Two below, Part One yesterday.
Interview from Descent zine #1 1994 (by Stephen O'Malley - ideologic.org)
In a time when being "politically correct" is the expected thing in our country, those who aren't are frowned upon. Are you PC and what do you think about this ‘trend'?
We are not politically correct by any means. As a matter of fact, we're just the opposite. I think this trend is out of control. All these special interest groups have one common goal and that's to shape the public's opinion. In Portland you can see these hypocrites preaching things like "Don't eat animals; it's cruel." Yet they wear leather boots and jackets. They'll print "Save the trees" literature, not knowing that trees make the paper they write and print on. Not to mention that they wipe their asses with toilet paper, which also is a tree product. I would bet they all own wood furniture and live in wood houses. Oh yeah, did you know what owls are now more important than people? Ridiculous! There's so much more to it than what you and I have time for right now.
Savior has shared the stage with such greats as the Accused and Poison Idea! Does Savior play live often and what has been your best live experience?
Savior plays live all the time. I would guess that we do about 15 shows a year. The best live experience was playing with Poison Idea to a crowd of 900 people.
Complex riffing is also abundant in Savior's material. Do you ever have a problem pulling this off, along with vocal duties, live?
No; I've been playing guitar for almost ten years. I suppose every now and then I get sloppy, but that's only if I drink beforehand. Which I normally do not do. I just concentrate on the vocals and the guitar riffs fall into place. I will not smoke pot in an attempt to play and do vocals at a gig.
You also do a "zine, Loud, Fast, Rude. How did this get started and what can you tell us of it? Next issue?
I started doing the ‘zine close to a year ago and have since pressed five issues. I started it because it keeps me very, very busy, along with the band. It's one way I can support the scene, and at the same time make connections and friends. It's now done on a computer and the layout and print are excellent. Issue #6 is coming along real well. So fat I've got interviews with Candiru, Victims of Internal Decay, Sickness, Immortality, and Malevolent Creation. Also, a lengthly Polish scene report, as well as an article on Septic Schizo Radio show in France.
Your bio states that your current song list is at 25!!! Has Savior decided when to release a full-length album? And with who?
We have two independent labels interested in release a full-length. We will hold out until summer to decide what label to release it on. The interested parties being Rainforest, here in the states, and Community Three in Poland. We are soliciting our material to bigger labels in the meantime. Going with an independent makes a tour real hard, so we will weigh our options and decide this summer. Ray at Rainforest has expressed interest in releasing Savior on CD, which sounds good because at least we can trust him. At the time we'd like to take the risk of a bigger label that can help promote the band.
Do you ever think a death metal, hardcore, or black metal band will sell a million albums?
I don't really think so, unless it's very commercial. Maybe Sepultura, but they're not really death metal. If it is achieved without bending your rules as a band, I can respect that. Definitely not black metal, and maybe with commercial hardcard crap like Bio-Hazard.
Well, that's about it...last 10 words?
Feel free to write Savior and/or Loud Fast Rude "zine for more information.