Zozobra returns five years after their excellent previous full length Birds of Prey; and now, Caleb Scofield (of Cave In and Old Man Gloom) brings forth Savage Masters. If you are not familiar with Zozobra, try to imagine Old Man Gloom covering Cave In tracks: in essence you get straightforward songs, with quite catchy riffs and nice groove which on the same time manage to remain extreme sounding.
Savage Masters is filled with sludge riffs that are combined in an excellent way with a punk/hardcore attitude, there are even moments when Zozobra will remind you of obscure bands such as His Hero Is Gone or the more well known Converge and Narrows. Although the album is not as diverse, they manage to combine the vibe of hardcore with the heaviness of sludge and on top of that add some sonic experimentation such as weird effects for instant in "A Chorus Of War" (the song at points even reminded me a bit of Lair of the Minotaur), that give the album a extra lift.
The album is not a long one; six songs are included in Savage Masters none of which is longer than three minutes, therefore the album manages to remain energetic and upbeat throughout and will keep your attention and at the same time will not tire you at all. Although on the other hand it will also leave you wanting more, but oh well what can you do…
In the end of the day that is what Savage Masters offers, tracks that will stuck in your head, the seer catchiness of songs such as "Deathless," "Born In A Blaze" and "Black Holes" can only be surpassed by the heaviness of songs like "Venom Hell" and “The Cruelest Cut." If you like heavy, dirty sludge filled with groove then this is an album that you should definitely listen to… on the other hand if you prefer catchy songs that you can even whistle to their melodies then again: this is an album you should listen to. How many albums can you say that for?
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