SAVAGE GRACE: American Power-Speed Metal Masters. LET'S TALK METAL

Despite numerous lineup changes (mainly behind the mic) and label shuffling, SAVAGE GRACE released two of the best albums of US power-speed metal during the 1980s. Let's check out their discography...

[@carlosabad6596]

Oh I love Savage Grace - After the fall from Grace ! Purchased the album back in '86. Still have it.

[@letstalkmetal]

Cool! I think I first got After the Fall on a used cassette in '96. Loved it right away.

[@carlosabad6596]

@letstalkmetal awesome !

[@xjamesxreedx]

Master of Disguise is one of the greatest Speed Metal albums ever released, I’ve heard a few people say that it was actually sped up artificially in post, but I’ve never been able to confirm that for sure. The rough production never bothered me, but then again I mostly listen to early Black/Death Metal lol

[@vuzkoth]

I hope it wasn’t sped up! That sort of stuff does tarnish my ability to enjoy an album. I know it’s silly but it is what it is

[@letstalkmetal]

I've heard that rumor too but it's not substantiated TMK

[@letstalkmetal]

@@vuzkoth Yeah it would stink to find out it was tinkered with. Considering how bad the sound quality is, I doubt they had the budget to mess around with the speed settings :)

[@verdelak]

Forgot to mention that Prototype's lead vocalist was the vocalist Dwight Cliff from Savage Grace's demo.

[@letstalkmetal]

Oh I completely missed that!

[@stormrider923]

Great spotlight Alan, MOD is my favourite album of 1985 and when I teamleden up with Scott Waters and Randy on the 1985 list a long time, you can here them mention my list. Chris is btw currently staying for a weeks with my buddy now, since he's on tour here with SG.

[@letstalkmetal]

Cool! It would rank really high on my 1985 list too

[@albertampel4175]

I´ve seen them in 2010, it was a very cool to hear these songs live. The gig was good but not fantastic. Chris had a German backing band, a couple of old friends of mine played with him. Someone else mentioned them here in the comments. They´re called Masters Of Disguise, all three albums are very much recommended! There´s a Hammerheart Records CD version that has a remix of "Master...", it´s ok but I always loved the sound of the album as it is.

[@letstalkmetal]

I wondered if it had gotten a remaster, thanks for confirming! I'll have to check out that MoD band, several folks have said they're quite good.

[@s.craigzahler6797]

Savage Grace's Masters of Disguise is my favorite speed metal album ever. Excellent, almost Eric Adams-caliber shrieks and singing, hooky riffs, and boundless energy. I dig some of their other stuff, especially Dominatress, but MoD is a classic.

[@letstalkmetal]

Agreed, if it had a better production I think it would get mentioned every time someone brings up OMEN, AGENT STEEL, and other such luminaries.

[@metalhead7319]

Fantastic USPM band, i honestly cant decide which one of the first full lenght albums i like more. There is also a band called Masters of Disguise, they play that early Savage Grace style.

[@letstalkmetal]

You're right, those albums are neck and neck with one another. I've heard of that MoD band but have not checked them out. Are they good?

[@metalhead7319]

@@letstalkmetaloh yeah they are amazing you should definitely check them out. They even bring Knutson back!

[@letstalkmetal]

@@metalhead7319 ...is bringing back Knutson really a point in their favor? LOL j/k

[@metalhead7319]

@@letstalkmetal lol i had to mention that cuz its funny

[@letstalkmetal]

@@metalhead7319 It is pretty funny :)

[@thomassiegemund431]

One Band with a Savage Grace connection is the German band Masters of Disguise. The Musicians, all originaly of Exxcalibur, were the backing band for Chris Logue at Keep it True Festival. Afterwards he wsnted to make a Savage Grace Album with the Guys and after some writing he disappeared Back to the Staates without another word. So the Band was renamed Masters of Disguise and released 3 good albums mixing Speed and Power Metal. Quite worthy to Check Out.

[@letstalkmetal]

thanks for the info! I had heard of them but didn't know anything about them. I'll have to check 'em out.

[@INTOTHECOVEN69]

Sign of the cross is a good lp Hail the GRACE

[@letstalkmetal]

Cool that you dig that one. I do think it has some good songs. That cover art though, yikes

[@INTOTHECOVEN69]

@@letstalkmetal the cover looks ok on lp 🤣

[@letstalkmetal]

@@INTOTHECOVEN69 Good to know. It always looks weird when I see it onscreen.

[@jamesgwarrior1981]

This video is quite essential because basically, this is an infamous band, to put it plainly… for that ridiculous album cover?!?😱😳😅😂

[@letstalkmetal]

LOL cheers James!

[@robertmorris8371]

The music certainly sounded killer Alan but I don't think those album covers helped their cause the average power/speed in 86 would have probably flipped past those albums in the racks thinking they were a glam/sleaze act or maybe some avant garde goth group a shame though they should have been a lot bigger thanks for another interesting deep dive!

[@letstalkmetal]

Cheers Robert! Frank just posted a comment saying he did exactly what you predicted- flipped right past them back in the day assuming they were a hair band given the cover pics.

[@JayTyrus]

I have always been a bit biased towards their Dominatress EP with Kenny. A much improved version of "Curse The Night", my favorite track. But yes, Master of Disguise album is when they put it all together! Not gonna show the artwork on the inside Inlay? lol And there you go again making me envious with the great deals you get on CD's! Pre-Loved $5.99 & $7.50 for the Black Dragon version LP, ya must have gotten that decades ago. It was so frustrating all those years between 1985-2020 the only reissues that were coming out of MOD were unofficial. Then within 2 years (2020 and 2021) 4 different record labels release official reissues, go figure!

[@letstalkmetal]

Yeah that was so weird to see multiple reissues come out at essentially the same time. And finding that used SG CD at my local store is definitely one of the most unusual CD finds I've ever come across in there- they never have stuff like that in the new or used CDs.

[@cthuludreams1]

​@letstalkmetal Horizon? Yeah finding good Metal there is rare.

[@letstalkmetal]

@@cthuludreams1 Horizon has been up and down for metal. Prior to about 2017 I almost never found any good metal in there. Around 2017 or 2018 a local metal collector died and his family sold his whole collection to Horizon. Stuff went fast, so the owner realized there was demand for metal, and after that they kept a lot more in stock. But for the past year or so there's been very little turnover in stock. They get some new releases, but no one seems to be bringing in used stuff anymore, and most of the new stuff they get is pretty obvious, like stuff on Relapse.

[@cthuludreams1]

​@letstalkmetal yeah, I bought probably $200+ worth of that stuff when he got it in. I heard that he only paid that guy's mom like $500 for all that stuff, easily worth a few grand. 😬😬😬 Also, hope to run into you there or Pharmacy some time!

[@letstalkmetal]

@@cthuludreams1 Hopefully we cross paths there someday :) I talked to the Horizon owner after he bought that. He said they had a really hard time figuring out a value since it was a genre the store had little experience with. I bought a lot of stuff; I made a video about it a long time ago.

[@shaynewest8757]

I used to tape trade with Brian the beast East back around 1984ish. God I'm old. I used to have early Savage Grace rehearsal tapes that sound better than their albums.

[@letstalkmetal]

Now THAT'S cool!

[@JoeTheisen-dy8zy]

Well they say that sex sells, but it didn’t for me with these guys. I passed up their stuff for years and years based on the cheese-dick album covers. I can’t be the only one; in a post Slayer/Metallica world, those covers can not possibly have done them any favors. It’s too bad too, cause they were really on to something musically. Their blooze rock stuff is like bad strip club music, which is none too surprising given Mr Logue’s other reported interests. But that early stuff was amazing. Fun fact-that’s Gene Hoglan as the axe bearer on the cover of After the Fall From Grace. Great episode; cheers.

[@letstalkmetal]

Thanks! Good point about the timing of their album covers, you're right that the 'party time metal sex' thing was kinda over by then. Folks wanted Ed Repka covers and stuff by then. And I didn't know that was Hoglan on the cover, that's cool! Thanks for bring that up!

[@Frank_nwobhm]

Yet another band that I should know something about but know next to nothing about. (The Washington Football Club does appear to have a solid quarterback finally...time will tell)

[@letstalkmetal]

This band seems like your style Frank but they've always been easy to overlook. I haven't kept up with the NFL in recent years but I hope you're right; their run of poor decisions at QB spans decades. Statistically you'd almost HAVE to have a good QB in that amount of time!

[@Frank_nwobhm]

@letstalkmetal I remember seeing their albums in the HM bins 40 years ago. I always assumed they had to be a hideous glam band due to the uber-cheese imagery.

[@letstalkmetal]

@@Frank_nwobhm Honest mistake, 'SG' is a name that would fit a hairspray band from that era.

[@woutwout8398]

Third lesson: your record needs to have a great production. None of their first albums are well-produced or engineered. Especially the drums on the debut sound atrocious.

[@letstalkmetal]

Agreed, that drum sound is BAD. And that is indeed a good third lesson to add to the list.