671. Sweet Savage / Demo 81 [EP]. 1981. 4/5

It can be a tough gig trying to nail down a recording contract as a band. No doubt there is a lot of luck, and of being in the right place at the right time, when it comes to actually making it in the music business. With this being the case, it is still an amazing thought that Sweet Savage was unable to crack it during their formative years between 1979-1984. There were a couple of singles, and this multi-track titled simply Demo 81 in which to enjoy their craft. There is conjecture over whether or not this actually ever existed, and that perhaps it is just a name under which someone threw together these songs when they themselves collected them. Whatever the case, this is the collection I have discovered and have collated it as such.

"Killing Time" has become the band's most famous song, simply through it being covered by Metallica as a B-side to their "The Unforgiven" single. Sweet Savage's original version more than holds up. The great thing to me is that, though this is a terrific song, it does not overshadow the others on this album. "Eye of the Storm" has always been another big favourite of mine, driven along by the fast pace of the song and Vivian Campbell's excellent licks. The other three songs here follow a similar vein. In fact, "Sweet Surrender" follows the song structure of "Killing Time" extremely closely, with different words and a slightly changed riff progression fitting in to all the same crevices. It slightly amusing to check out the first time, though eventually you get used to it actually being a different song. "Into the Night" and "Queens Vengeance" are also upbeat songs, all with what is that signature Sweet Savage guitar sound that Campbell and Trevor Fleming have cropped together.

I like all of the songs here, and it again makes me wonder why the band was unable to take that one further step into 'music career'. Despite that, this is still as enjoyable today as it would have been when it was first written and recorded over thirty years ago, which speaks volumes for its freshness and writing background.