Saviour Machine I

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]

Saviour Machine I
Studio album by Saviour Machine
Released	1993 1996 (reissue)
Recorded	1993 The Geen Room and The Mixing Lab
Genre	Progressive metal, symphonic metal, gothic metal, Christian metal
Length	69:44
Label	Frontline Records (1993) Massacre Records (1996)
Producer	Terry Scott Taylor
Saviour Machine chronology
Saviour Machine (1990) Saviour Machine I (1993) Saviour Machine II (1994)

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.

Overview

Musically, the album showcases a combination of progressive metal, symphonic metal and gothic metal. The song structures are complicated and feature extensive guitar solos that present melodies reminiscent of Middle Eastern music. Eric Clayton's vocals are operatic, demonstrating a dramatic baritone vocal style. The overall atmosphere of the album is dark, and the symphonic keyboards give it an apocalyptic rock opera feel. The album incorporates influences from gothic rock and the dark heavy metal style of Black Sabbath. Saviour Machine I is the band's most uptempo and lively album, as the following album would focus more on downtempo arrangements and emotion, and the Legend trilogy focused more on oppressive story telling.

The lyrics mostly deal with Christian themes, ranging from the more mystic approach such as on "The Mask" to hypocrisy within the Christendom and in the World such as on the song "Christians and Lunatics".

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Rock Hard (de)	10/10[2]

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.[3] 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.[3] 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".[3] While few reviews of the album exist, Saviour Machine I was mostly well received by the press and fans.[4]

While the album was banned 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. In 2005, Saviour Machine I was ranked number 329 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[5]

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.	Title	Length
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

Saviour Machine Eric Clayton - vocals Jeff Clayton - guitars Dean Forsyth - bass Samuel West - drums

Additional musicians Bob Watson - piano, keyboard and orchestration Jimmy P. Brown II - backing vocals Love Larrimore - backing vocals Riki Michele - backing vocals Terry Taylor - backing vocals

References

1. Van Pelt, Doug (2010). "Top 100 Christian metal albums of all time". HM Magazine. August.
2. Trojan, Frank. "Rock Hard review". issue 78. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
3. Clayton, Eric (2003). Synopsis (Media notes). Saviour Machine.
4. Espiau, Olivier (2004-02-04). "Saviour Machine - Saviour Machine I". Metal Storm. Open Publishing. Retrieved 2007-09-09.
5. [...], Rock Hard (Hrsg.). [Red.: Michael Rensen. Mitarb.: Götz Kühnemund] (2005). Best of Rock & Metal die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten. Königswinter: Heel. p. 79. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)