Review
Amora Savant
The Immaculate Misconception

Volatile Productions (2005) Kevin Fitzpatrick

Amora Savant – The Immaculate Misconception cover artwork
Amora Savant – The Immaculate Misconception — Volatile Productions, 2005

Sometimes, perspective is a good thing. There's not always time to gain significant perspective, but when you do have the time, it makes an informed decision well, all that more informed. When I first played Amora Savant's The Immaculate Misconception, I didn't like it. So I played it a second time to, you know, gain some of that perspective thingy we were talking about and guess what? I liked it even less.

This didn't bode well. Believe it or not, I don't like to write bad reviews. It's easy to say something sucks. The "critic" world is full of people trying to out-pith each other and be the next Dorothy Parker or David Cross. It's always easier to say something's shit, rather than explain why it's good. But just because I don't like to write bad reviews doesn't mean I won't. I mean, I gotta earn those fat-ass Scene Point Blank checks. Coke, whores and patio furniture don't come for free, after all.

This brings us to the review in question. When I sat down to write this, I figured "Sure, I know what I'm going to say, but what better album to have on in the background than the album I'm writing about?" And wouldn't you know it - after getting ready with delicious bon mots about why the album is no fucking good, a funny thing happened - I started to like the goddamn thing. Not enough to give a glowing review, mind you (I save those for Sony artists. Thanks for the payola!), but enough of a change in heart that I knew I had some thinking to do. So with my whole world in upheaval, I stared blankly at the keyboard (a time-honored tradition) and re-formulated the whole process from soup-to-nuts and all the lentils in between.

The Immaculate Misconception, while certainly not the album of the year has just enough of the good stuff, the growls and grinding, the Misery Signals and the Botch-isms to (at least) placate the average listener. Clocking in at just under 24 minutes, this six track EP (including a brief intro) is a brief taste of possibilities on the horizon for these young whippersnappers from Wisconsin.

Amora Savant – The Immaculate Misconception cover artwork
Amora Savant – The Immaculate Misconception — Volatile Productions, 2005

Recently-posted album reviews

Various Artists

Her Head's On Fire/Arms Like Roses - Split
Double Helix (2025)

Her Head’s On Fire (NY, NY) and Arms Like Roses (New Haven, CT) team up on this split 7” with two new tracks (one each band) of post-hardcore tunes that are both massive and melodic in their own distinct ways. "Universal" is the track from Her Head’s On Fire. Recorded by the band’s guitarist Jeff Dean, "Universal" came from the … Read more

Dead Bars

All Dead Bars Go To Heaven
Iodine (2025)

Dead Bars has a unique talent of taking the everyday, the experiences you see and live all the time, and shining a new light on them to make them personal and interesting. I've written about it before, yet it's my job to say this again and to make it interesting. It's what Dead Bars does, so it only seems fitting … Read more

Painkiller

The Great God Pan
Tzadik (2025)

Painkiller, the trio of John Zorn, Bill Laswell, and Mick Harris shows no signs of slowing down. The Great God Pan is their third full-length, since their reunion in 2024, and in many ways it is an unexpected offering. In keeping with their interests in the metaphysical realm, Painkiller find inspiration from the famed Arthur Machen horror novella. Here, the … Read more