Reviewed by Oscar Hyde

Saviour Machine, genre-bending and eccentric Christian metal pioneers that they were, remain intensely fascinating figures. It's no surprise that their rarities collection stretches to four albums; this, the first volume, covers the first four years of their existence. Though there are some genuinely harder-edged moments, such as the two prog-thrashy demos that open the album, much of the CD consists of live acoustic sets from various local gigs. The stripped-back instrumentation and swirling guitars make it all sound a good deal more like neofolk, but the conspiracy-theoretical lyrics really seal the Current 93 deal, drawing heavily on premillennialist dispensationalism. It's terrifically eerie, especially mixed heavily with band leader Eric Clayton's voice, deep and resonant and evocative of David Bowie's. One of the songs appearing in this acoustic set is the infamous "Legion", an adaptation of Revelation 12 so disturbing (by Christian standards) that the album on which it originally appeared was never officially distributed in the United States. There are other highly questionable thematic choices here, such as the instrumental "Church Of The Vatican Slaves", but really, esoteric goofiness comes with the territory for these more gothic forms of metal.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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