Nasty Savage
Nasty Savage

The Nasty Savage were born in Tampa, Florida, in 1983. After releasing two demo tapes, they secured a contract with Metal Blade and debuted in 1985 with their self-titled album, which featured a cover invaded by the band's logo, with dark and disturbing colors somewhat reminiscent of the queen mother from "Alien" or the giant moles of "Deep Rising".

They are often classified as a thrash band even though they are not as fast as other bands of the genre, lacking steamroller-like rhythms, devastating speed cues, and their guitar phrasing is certainly full-bodied but not as compressed as the Bay Area sound. Over the course of three albums and a mini-LP, the band would develop a rich heavy metal sound, later moving towards well-played and catchy American thrash in "Penetration Point" of 1989. In the history of the band's members, following the temporary dissolution of the band in 1989, the common denominator seems to be death metal: singer Ronnie Galletti plays with Infernal, a brutal death metal combo (with one demo in 1995), axe-man Ben Meyer in deathsters Lowbrow and Acheron; guitarist David Austin also transited through Acheron, while bassist Richard Bateman and drummer Curtis Beeson played with the aforementioned Lowbrow and other bands in the American thrash-death-black sector.

On the back cover of the vinyl, the five Nasty Savages tell their story with shots taken from a concert. Nasty Ronnie shows his physique from his former wrestling days, heavy eye makeup, studs, rings, and black leather. David Austin is caught in a rapture, eyes half-closed, with a firmly held guitar, all hair and uniform while a fan’s friendly hand makes its appearance on stage. Ben Meyer offers a grimacing mouth, with an Adolfo Celi-esque nose, and a guitar strap lined with cartridges. Curtis Beeson showcases a high-skilled circus act, spitting fire with gas-station mouthwash, set against a yellow sheet backdrop with the band logo. Concluding the parade is bassist Fred Dregischan, captured in full head-banging motion above his warrior-like heavy metal attire. Destiny would see the talented bassist and composer fall from a window on New Year’s Eve 1985, resulting in injuries so severe that he would be forever barred from playing the bass. Through their discographic journey, the "bassist’s curse" would afflict the band, forcing numerous bassist changes during their releases. Nasty Savage executes a compact heavy metal following the footsteps of Mercyful Fate’s mini-LP "Nuns Have No Fun" (1982), with a hint of thrash and some reminiscence of Angel Witch, even in Ronnie Galletti’s voice, who hits highs comparable to King Diamond and, in some passages, vaguely Di'Anno-like tones, yet personal, not tiring our ears as in the song "Fear Beyond The Vision," with elevated vocalizations alternated with a biting, mocking, scornful singing fitting the awkward progress of the tune. Lyrics of struggle or violence, almost inspired by the writings of the historian Tertullian, accompany the music, as in "Gladiator" ("Gladiator!/Born to fight, fight to kill/Night and day, day and night/Active strength, take risks/With deadly weapons, with metal tools/Pursue with force/Protect your soul/Mortal demons destroy the weak/Violent creatures target the victim/Worthy of survival/Gladiator!/Hate, sin, lust, and fear/Living ways are revealed/The end of the world is not far – STRIKE/Torn bodies, blood, and flesh/The battle rages; corruption begins/Live or die, another day/no self-control; I am mad")

The opener "No Sympathy" is however the most powerful track, with a rhythm that recalls thrash more than the group members might like, invigorated by full-bodied, thoughtful solos filled with discernment, together with Dregischan's bass that pulses like a crazed heart, supported by some high note hitting the stars. In reality, the band is simply transferring the grit, sound, and compositional skill displayed on the demo tape "Wage Of Mayhem", into their debut album, which also denotes the already solid rapport among the musicians from numerous notable live acts. Acoustic arpeggios find their place in the inspired "Garden Of Temptation" where "The Morgue" touches the paths of doom with a calm and gloomy intro, then explodes into a highly gripping tempo shift, inherited from the rhythmic "Dungeon Of Pleasure," dominated by well-calibrated solos from Austin and Meyer, who complement each other without ever jostling. It’s noticeable how the band doesn’t compose harrowing songs like "Caught In A Middle" or "Invisible" by Dio but focuses on impact, the strategic placement of solos within the songs, a powerful yet lean sound, never muddled, thanks to Brian Slagel's production, Jim Morris’s touch, and even thanks to Fred Dregischan’s tortuous bass lines, whose absence would weigh on the subsequent "Indulgence". At times they accelerate like in the anthem "Metal Knights," or hint at Middle-Eastern chants as in "Psycopath," yet without losing sight of the proper refrain. The debut of Nasty Savage is probably also their peak.

After losing their main composer, Fred Dregischan, Nasty Savage struggled to regain the right compactness and adequate compositional energies. The subsequent "Indulgence" is indeed more powerful than the debut but also less inspired, closer to U.S. thrash metal and leaves the group with only a spot among the cult bands of the '80s, only to return in the new millennium with a negligible record.