Forget the usual nonsense and clichés about Sweet Savage and who was in the band — instead, think about this.
15 years ago MV was in Dublin. We were at the O2 Arena to watch Iron Maiden on a summer Friday night. We should have been watching Heaven and Hell too, but Ronnie James Dio had died just a couple of months before.
So instead, the opening act that Eddie and the boys had was Sweet Savage. As their last song they played “Whiskey In The Jar,” and I swear to you, in what is now 34 years of going to gigs, I have never seen anything like it. The reaction was incredible.
The reason I tell that story is to give some insight into how big a deal Sweet Savage are back home, and why this — only their fourth album, and their first in 11 years — matters so much.
Produced by one of those former members that everyone talks about, Deep Purple’s Simon McBride, “Bang” fires the starting gun with its title track.
Full of urgency, anchored by the magnificent drums of Marty McCloskey and topped off by a solo that Phil Edgar seems to rip out of nowhere, it’s a hell of a welcome back.
Before you can even answer the question, “Have you missed us?” the chaos of 2025 is writ large on “Bad F Robot.”
What’s striking is that it’s both extremely heavy and supremely modern.
On the dark and angry “Leave Me Alone,” there’s a groove that White Zombie would have been proud of and a touch of AIC in the vocals.
“I See The Light” is a cracker, fizzing along on its chorus — pure arena rock. And if “I Don’t Know” revels in its confusion, it does so brilliantly.
As ever, the three-piece manages to sound wonderfully balanced.
“Live And Die,” which considers the human condition, slows the pace but still sounds huge.
Even if they haven’t exactly played it straight throughout — this is very much not a NWOBHM record — things take a surprising turn with the electronic flourishes of the interlude “The Meltdown,” which spills over into “Mad Mad World.”
The riffs are mighty here. And everywhere you look there’s a highlight: “The Chosen One” soars on melody and harmonies, while “Dirtyland,” which seems to find some stoicism to take on 2025, is surely made for the stage.
The downtuned nature of “Time” only adds to the darkness. Ray Haller finds some glorious bottom end to go with his almost spoken-word, matter-of-fact delivery.
There’s a claustrophobic quality to “Outside” as it envelopes you. Deliberately so — it discusses mental health in the raw.
The curtain goes up, as it were, with “Victorious,” which brings power metal stylings to the chorus. The thing is, it’s also true.
They are victorious. The whole thing is a triumph.
And if it’s a little too on the nose to finish with “Sweet Savage have returned with a Bang,” then I’m still saying it anyway.
Actually, no. “Bang” amounts to a 21-gun salute.
Rating: 9/10
