We’re all looking for a Saviour. Sometimes we stumble across one accidentally.
There were no accidents at Saviour’s appearance at Crowbar last Friday (6 April).
One of the most impressive things about second act Sensaii was that four of the five members sing (if I can use that word). The two guitarists sing clean, and the bassist – who seemed real keen to be there - added a great difference of higher screams than the frontman, who was bringing lumberjack back. (No judgement here: I dig it!)
By Aburden, the intensity was building, people moved to the front, bouncing rhythmically. The bass by now is something to behold. Or be held by. The intro was cinematic, the drummer is vertically mobile. His striped shirt might have you thinking Where’s Wally, but you sure know where he is.
And besides, frontman Mason has the beanie. There is poetic speech mid song; he sings of someone lying to his face but preaches forgiveness and honour. Mason also plays keys, set-up sideways in front of the drums. Knives inked onto his face, he’s convincing, whatever he’s saying: his scream holds up masterfully.
Earth Caller’s bass player must have been hot in his windbreaker jacket. I move to the back of the room, to take out my ear plugs and test the sound sans barrier. There’s a dude in Pink Power Ranger costume: rad.
Before I know it, the crowd has swollen rapidly. No, not so much: I forgot about a crucial element to these shows - the throwdown pit. Drummer Joel is playing in an absolute pool of sweat (would have made a fantastic film clip). There are particular bass riffs that are a deliciously physical, sliding descent.
Then the main course. Or, after the four-course degustation the pre-stayers have already endured, is this now dessert?
Three dudes walk down the stairs at once, two with matching Saviour merch shirts, the middle one with another design. They could be part of the posse or just attendees who get it. Merch sales significantly fund fuel and lunches on tour, you know.
I thought the sound was a bit loose for the top act, but the layering achieved by the band from the male and female perpetual vocals (founding member Bryant and long-time collaborator Shontay) is still pretty great: the crowd knew heaps of the words, like “set me free forever”. That’ll happen when you have 30k monthly listeners on Spotify and over 46k Facebook followers.
This refreshed line-up played from all three releases, 2009 to now, including new stuff about to be recorded. “We’re gonna do something weird,” announces Bryant. “Shontay is gonna play in the middle and you’re gonna make a circle around her.”
The vocal duets were expertly timed, though Bryant doesn’t exactly sing, so much as rap melodically and scream. Bryant adds: “This has been a really long hour.” But they’ve got two songs left. They include “a chill one”, 'cause it’s how he’s feeling. It’s called ‘Homecoming’.
I can only anticipate absolute brutality from the finale. Indeed, let’s be clear – chill does not mean soft. “This next track is called 'Jaded'.” Wow, they’re feeling it - punters playing out the first few lines themselves.
Sometimes I think chick vocals with heavy music can seem contrived, or purposely juxtaposed, but this mix of clean and husky and almost pop vocals, especially right at the end: “I used to know you, I used to know you…” feels like it’s all been wonderfully crafted together with Bryant’s musical progeny.
Saviour continue to smash-out their national eight-date tour in nine days before heading to the studio and a few solo projects.
Saviour Tour Dates
Wed 11 Apr - The Basement (Canberra)Thu 12 Apr - Karova Lounge (Ballarat)
Fri 13 Apr - Evelyn Hotel (Melbourne)
Sat 14 Apr - Enigma Bar (Adelaide)
