LEGEND PART I

This third CD from progressive metal band SAVIOUR MACHINE is a big step from their previous album "Saviour Machine II" from 1994. The music is like a soundtrack to a rock opera about the bible, and the songs are much better on this one.

Another great thing about this release is the CD case. It's all black with the band name, the title of the album and the songs printed in red and silver direct on the plastic. Inside it there's a 16-page booklet complete with all of the lyrics. It's great to have the lyrics available on a concept album like this. It makes it much easier to understand the story of the album.

The singer Eric Clayton is the main man behind the most things on this CD. His vocals are sometimes reminiscent to David BOWIE. The keyboard player Nathan Van Hala is also in the forefront of it all, always present with his piano and keyboards. Very much of what he's playing is done on the piano. A good decision in my opinion.

This is definitely the album to start with if you want to get into SAVIOUR MACHINE. If you liked the previous work of SAVIOUR MACHINE I'm sure that you can't resist this one.

Not much to say but i love SMs gothic opera/sympathy sounds ( or what ever you want to call it) i like bands like these because it brings out the darker side of me. my favorite song by SM is the sword of islam off of legend part 1. If you like the gothic opera/sympathy sounds check out Morphia, and Midnight orchestra.

Legend Part I is the first of a trilogy of albums by Saviour Machine. This album is christian music, but it is unlike any christian music you have ever heard. There are no feel good "Jesus loves me this I know . . ." lyrics that are present in more contemporary christian bands. There are also no jugdements made such as "accept the Lord or burn in hell" in the lyrics. This album just lays it on the line and tells a prophecy in blunt terms, no watering anything down.

To explain this album best, it is a musical interpretation of the book of Revelations in the Bible. The trilogy tells the prophecy of the end of the world. From WWIII to the Antichrist, the abomination of desolation, the epic battle between Heaven and Hell, this trilogy leaves nothing out. The lyrics are chilling, dark forboding and about as beautiful as you can get.

This is a gothic metal/rock opera, a huge concept album spanning 3 albums at the moment and a 4th coming on 7/7/07. The songs are all very well put together, with a blend of soft, melencholy piano pieces, driving distorted guitar riffs, some middle eastern melodies, beautiful soaring choral sections, and the incredible vocals of Eric Clayton.

For anyone who has heard the album "Human Equation" by Ayreon, you will understand how incredible Eric Clayton's vocal talents are. He was featured as the voice of "Reason" on that album. He has a low, soulfull voice, and he pours out every bit of feeling into the music.

The album has a very dark, forboding feeling to it. Although it is a christian album, I recommend this to nonbelievers as well. The musical quality is fantastic, and the sound quality is some of the best I have ever heard. I highly recommend this to any fan of melodic/gothic metal.

This is one of my favorite albums of all time. Every part of the Legend Trilogy is equally good. I get chills whenever I hear any of the albums in the trilogy.

BEHOLD APOCALYPSE

Legend Part I is the third studio album from american dark rock/ metal band Saviour Machine. After releasing two critically acclaimed albums in Saviour Machine one and two and the excellent live album Live in Deutchland from 1995, Eric Clayton and co. started working on the very ambitious Legend concept which by now spans over three albums ( and as I understand a fourth one has been in the making for a long time, but has been delayed due to Eric Clayton´s bad health) of which this one is the first. The concept story is the tale from The Book of Revelation ( The Apocalypse of John), and without being the big expert when it comes to the new Testament, of which this is the most controversial book for sure, this is a very dark story about the end of the world.

The music on this album really suits the apocalyptic story well. It´s dark, sombre and at times angry. If you know the style of music Saviour Machine play the music on Legend Part I will not be a surprise as their distinct sound is unmistakable. Eric Clayton´s baritone operatic David Bowie croon is still the center of the music while piano/ keyboards, drums, bass and guitar creates the musical background. This is not technical music and it is not music where you´ll be dazzled by soloing or other exciting instrumental parts. These songs are compositions which are meant to move you emotionally and make you think. There are many quit piano driven songs where Eric Clayton sings beautiful melody lines but there are also some heavy symphonic songs like The Birth Pangs ( my favorite), Gog: The Kings Of The North and The Invasion Of Israel. What all songs have in common is the dark tense emotions and apocalyptic feel.

This is not an album that is very easily accessible and many will probably never get through the 75:51 minutes the album last. Some because they will not enjoy the depressive/ apocalyptic mood and some because the music can seem repetitive. I think the repetitive nature of the songs helps build the dense atmosphere, but for many years I was not able to enjoy Saviour Machine´s music because of this, so I understand the critics.

The musicianship is good and especially Eric Clayton needs to be mentioned for his emotional performance. Eric Clayton is just one of the most exceptional singers in the world and his paatos moves me every time. Some might find his style pathetic but personally I love it. He gives everything and then some.

The production is a bit weaker than on the previous albums which is a real shame and it does drag my rating down a bit. It´s not a bad production just not as good as it could have been.

The cover artwork doesn´t look too exiting here but holding the original black jewel case in my hands the letters are printed directly on the case and it makes this artwork a bit more original. The black case of course suits the dark music well.

Being a big concept story there are parts on this album that almost cross into musical/ story telling territory and even though I really enjoy those parts they are not as exciting to me as the REAL songs. Saviour Machine is without a doubt one of the most original and dark bands in the world and I simply love their music. This album isn´t their best in my opinion though as there are too many subtle songs and not enough heavy songs for my taste. It´s still a great album that deserves 4 stars, but mind you that you shouldn´t start here if you´re new to Saviour Machine. Start with the debut album as it is the most easily accessible album they have made. It´s like they have become more and more inaccessible with each album they release. To some this will be a treat and to others it will be a turn- off. Judge yourself.

A dark, dense shadow marches along without falter. It's massive wall of sound can be overwhelming at first, but to the right listener, it is beautiful.

After you "get into" this style of music, you'll discover a masterpiece here. The mood is very grave, as the lyrics deal with the book of Revelations. Taking on the Eastern imagery, there are noticeable Eastern-sounding guitars built into the wall of sound which carries the album. There is very little riffing or soloing, and the album is fairly steady-paced and uniform with Clayton's searching vocals soaring over a web of instrumentation. The album is definitely meant to be listened to as a single piece, and each track flows into the next, with some spoken interludes and transitions.

Although it can take several listens to appreciate, Legend Part I is a masterpiece which leaves the listener anxious to continue the journey with the rest of the trilogy.

Rating: 10/10

A LEGEND IS BORN!!!❕

I have to say that it is my sincerest pleasure to review this album. I will get right to the point and say that this album, LEGEND pt1 is nothing short of a masterpiece. It is the first of 3 parts that depicts the Anastasis of Christ and the rise of Satan with his apocalyptic army to reek havoc on the earth ushering in the principal of the end of days. Nice i know. LEGEND pt1 is a conceptual piece that fully adapts the biblical story of Revelations, which is the last part of the bible in the 2nd testament. For people who have read revelations and have a pretty good understanding of it may be thinking right now how in the you know what, did SAVIOUR MACHINE turn this incredibly dense and dark story into a beautiful music piece? I still to this day can't fathom how SM did it, but it shall be known that they pulled it off and in fine form!!   Meanwhile, let's get into the music here. First of all, out of the 3 parts of the LEGEND series the first part here is the most guitar driven out of 3. JEFF CLAYTON absolutely shines on this album (last album with the band) by offering up some of thee most haunting riffs I've ever heard and it fits so well considering the nature of the story. The track 'THE BEAST' and 'THE SWORD OF ISLAM' are key highlights in the album to get that wicked-evil guitar based sound that any gothic prog/metal fan would appreciate. Next would be the superb choir orchestration movements provided by the CANTIBLE CHOIR  /ORCHESTRA that sit so very nicely in the listeners ear to contrast the dark moody guitar soundscape. Heart felt songs can be heard in tracks LEGEND 1:1, THE LAMB, I AM, OVERTURE and of course the ever powerful epic ANTICHRIST 1:1 which fittingly enough is the last track on this incredible album.  To continue, I have to mention the main driving force of the machine that is Saviour, and that man is Mr. ERIC CLAYTON. If you ever wanted a singer that can belt it out with power, conviction and grace then you found your frontman in ERIC. E.C's powerful lyrics and song writing is a huge contributing factor as to why this album was such a successful listen for me (hopefully for you as well). E.C is nothing short of a genius and pretty much is the backbone of Saviour Machine itself. He will move you and captivate your interest even if your not a religious person and that is hard to do. Once the listener is brought past the opening OVERTURE track on this album, you will be hypnotized by EC's powerful narration and bellowing baritone vocals that tells one of the greatest stories ever in REVELATIONS. Key moments of ERIC CLAYTON'S genius is really in the whole album, but if I had to choose tracks where he shines musically it would be LEGEND 1:1/THE LAMB, THE NIGHT and ANTICHRIST 1. Powerful majesty and grandeur indeed!!  Lastly, the drumming and bass fall nicely into place as well, but don't really stand out cause the drumming is soft, repetitious and  quite rhythmic. The bass is soft as well from DEAN FORSYTHE and acts mainly as background filler. I know it sounds like I have described the drum/bass sound to this album as a bit prosaic, but the reality is that it works so well with everything else that is going in the album like the incredibly lush keyboards by Nathan Van Halla, choir orchestration and of course E.C's vocals. It all works and flows like a well oiled machine. The chemistry and genius is really all there and I have to say that is really rare to find these days, which is why I am giving this album a 5/5 👌. I am forever hooked to this haunting, gripping masterpiece from SAVIOUR MACHINE. It was indeed a pleasure. I hope you will get the same enjoyment as I did. 👍