Savage Messiah are an English heavy metal band formed in May 2007 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The band was formed by guitarist and lead vocalist Dave Silver and also consists of guitarist Joff Bailey, bassist Míra Sláma, keyboardist Carlos Alcalde De Lema and drummer Charly Carretón.

History

Savage Messiah were formed in London in 2007 by Dave Silver. Their debut self-financed EP '' Spitting Venom'' was released on 1 October 2007 by SMR Productions (the band's own label) to positive reviews. In January 2009, the band was signed to

Candlelight Records Candlelight Records is a British record label based in England and founded by former Extreme Noise Terror bassist Lee Barrett, though it has had a division in the United States since January 2001. Candlelight Records specialises in black metal ...

, and entered the studio with

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-nominated producer

Chris Tsangarides Christopher Andrew Tsangarides (17 August 1956 – 6 January 2018) was a British Grammy-nominated record producer, sound engineer, and mixer of Greek Cypriot origin. He was best known for his work with many heavy metal artists, including G ...

to record their first full-length album, '' Insurrection Rising''. The album was mixed by Scott Atkins (

Cradle of Filth Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved originally from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other metal genres. Their ly ...

, Gama Bomb,

Sylosis Sylosis is a British heavy metal band from Reading, Berkshire, England. Signed to Nuclear Blast Records, the band has released five studio albums, a live album, two EPs and twelve music videos. Their fifth album ''Cycle of Suffering'' was rele ...

), and would be the start of a long term working relationship between the band and Scott Atkins. ''Insurrection Rising'' was released on 19 October 2009. The band immediately hit the road as support to Overkill for a 19 date European Tour as well as picking up additional support shows with

Death Angel Death Angel is an American thrash metal band from Daly City, California, initially active from 1982 to 1991 and again since 2001. Death Angel has released nine studio albums, two demo tapes, one box set and three live albums. The band has gone ...

and playing festivals such as Hellfire Festival at the Birmingham NEC with

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

Napalm Death Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in 1981 in Meriden, West Midlands. None of the band's original members has been in the group since 1986. But since ''Utopia Banished'' (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch ...

etc., and

Hammerfest Hammerfest (; sme, Hámmerfeasta ) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. Hammerfest is the northernmost town in the world with more than 10,000 inhabitants. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hammerfe ...

with

Iced Earth Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band formed in Tampa, Florida and currently based in Columbus, Indiana. They were formed in 1984 under the name the Rose, then Purgatory, by guitarist and main songwriter Jon Schaffer and original drummer ...

Five Finger Death Punch Five Finger Death Punch, also abbreviated as 5FDP or FFDP, is an American heavy metal band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2005. The band originally consisted of vocalist and keyboardist Ivan Moody, rhythm guitarist Zoltan Bathory, lead gui ...

Suicidal Tendencies Suicidal Tendencies is an American crossover thrash band formed in 1980 in Venice in Los Angeles, California by vocalist Mike Muir. Muir is the only remaining original member of the band. Along with D.R.I., Corrosion of Conformity, and Stormtr ...

etc. It was announced on 13 August 2010 that Savage Messiah was to be signed by

Earache Records Earache Records is a British independent record label, music publisher and management company founded by Digby Pearson in 1985, based in Nottingham, England, with offices in London and New York. The label helped to pioneer extreme metal by rel ...

, with whom they signed a worldwide multi-album deal. The band entered Grindstone Studios in July 2011 to begin recording what would become '' Plague of Conscience'', once again with producer Scott Atkins. Taking breaks from recording to pick up shows with

Skeletonwitch Skeletonwitch is an American metal band from Athens, Ohio, formed in 2003. The band currently consists of lead guitarist Nate Garnette, rhythm guitarist Scott Hedrick, bassist Evan Linger, and vocalist Adam Clemans. Original vocalist Chance Gar ...

, Devilstone Open Air Festival in Lithuania, and then embarking on a 15 date UK tour with label mates

Evile Evile are an English thrash metal band from Huddersfield, formed in 2004. They have experienced numerous line-up changes over the years, with drummer Ben Carter being the only member of the original line-up to have stayed consistently. The curr ...

, for which they released an advanced mix of the song "The Accuser" On 12 October 2011. The band's second album, '' Plague Of Conscience'', was released on 23 January 2012. The first live activity in support of '' Plague of Conscience'' saw the band take part in the

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

"next big thing" series of concerts with

at HMV Ritz in Manchester, another appearance at

and a string of UK headline dates supported by Diamond Plate as well as an appearance at the UK's

Bloodstock Open Air Bloodstock Open Air is a British heavy metal music, heavy metal rock festival, festival held annually at Catton Hall in Walton-on-Trent, Derbyshire, since 2005. Originally held indoors for one day with two stages, the festival started in 2001 ...

Festival. In June 2012 the band contributed a cover version of the

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

song "Of Wolf and Man" to the

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

Magazine "A Tribute to the Black Album" CD which was released on 20 June 2012. On 12 December 2012 the band premiered their video for the song "All Seeing I" on the front page of

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

. On 1 July 2013 Savage Messiah entered the studio to record their third studio album, '' The Fateful Dark'', with producer Scott Atkins. Once again taking a break from the studio to support Finish metallers

Wintersun Wintersun is a Finnish heavy metal band from Helsinki originally formed as the side project of Jari Mäenpää, then-vocalist and guitarist of folk metal band Ensiferum. In 2003, Mäenpää began pulling together songs that he had been work ...

on a UK tour. Lead guitarist/vocalist Dave Silver also took part in a

Century Media A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

sponsored guitar clinic at

Carvin Guitars Kiesel Guitars is an American manufacturer of custom electric guitars and electric bass guitars located in Southern California, with a heritage dating back to 1946. In 2015, Kiesel Guitars split from Carvin Corporation, taking the guitar and ba ...

in West Hollywood, California before returning to the UK to complete recording. Prior to the release of '' The Fateful Dark'' the band joined Denver, Colorado Thrashers Havok and Spanish metal act

Angelus Apatrida Angelus Apatrida is a Spanish thrash metal band formed in Albacete in 2000. History Early years (2000–2003) Angelus Apatrida was formed as a heavy/power metal band. Two demos were recorded in this period: ''Lost in the Realms of Orchinodae ...

for a 28 date European tour, taking in UK, France, Italy, Slovenia, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Spain and Belgium. '' The Fateful Dark'' was released on 10 March 2014 in Europe by

, 12 March 2014 in Japan by Trooper Entertainment and 18 March 2014 in the US by

Century Media Records Century Media Records is a heavy metal record label with offices in the United States, Germany and London. In August 2015, Century Media was acquired by Sony Music for US$17 million. Background Century Media was founded by Robert Kampf and Oli ...

. On 17 February 2014 the band released a promo video for the track "Hellblazer" directed by Tom Walsh ( Bullet for my Valentine,

Pendulum A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward the ...

) and featuring ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...

'' star Pixie-Le-Knot. The video received regular play on UK metal Sky TV channel

Scuzz Scuzz was a British 24-hour rock and metal music television channel owned and operated by Sony Pictures Television. It was launched on 17 April 2003 and went on to be the highest-rated rock TV station on the Sky satellite platform, available in ...

. Upon the release of the album Savage Messiah joined

Soulfly Soulfly is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1997, and later based out of Phoenix, Arizona. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera, who formed the band after he left the Brazilian group in 199 ...

for 8 dates across the UK, followed by another run of UK headline dates culminating in another appearance at

. On 10 April 2014 it was announced that the band had been nominated for a

Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards The following is a list of the ''Metal Hammer'' Golden Gods Awards winners. Introduction The awards were conceived by Chris Ingham, John O'Sullivan & Dave Bianchi, and first held at the Kentish Town Forum in London 2003. The show was owned by Fut ...

in the category of "Best New Band" In 2014, the band was awarded a grant by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

and performed on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

News as well as being interviewed regarding the grant. The rest of 2014 saw the band take in headlining tours of Europe and the UK. In October 2014 the band were confirmed as support on a 27 date European tour as an opening act for

Amon Amarth Amon Amarth () is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Tumba, formed in 1992. The band takes its name from the Sindarin name of Mount Doom, a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. Their lyrics mostly deal with Viking mythology and hi ...

and Huntress commencing in January 2015. In February 2015

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

announced the ''Metal Matters'' compilation disc including songs from

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

, Slipknot,

MC5 MC5, also commonly called The MC5, is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The original line-up consisted of Rob Tyner (vocals) Wayne Kramer (guitar), Fred "Sonic" Smith (guitar), Michael Davis (bass), and Dennis ...

and many others. The Savage Messiah track "Hellblazer" was amongst the songs included. In 2016 the band performed on several tours in the UK and Europe, opening for Testament,

Trivium The trivium is the lower division of the seven liberal arts and comprises grammar, logic, and rhetoric. The trivium is implicit in ''De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii'' ("On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury") by Martianus Capella, but the ...

Armored Saint Armored Saint is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1982. Since 1990, the band has consisted of John Bush on lead vocals, Joey Vera on bass, Jeff Duncan (musician), Jeff Duncan on rhythm guitar and the Sandoval ...

. They also performed at the

Download Festival Download Festival is a British-created rock festival created by Terrance Gough, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 201 ...

in the UK, Prog Power USA and opened the main stage at

Loud Park Festival The was a heavy metal festival held annually at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama City or Makuhari Messe in Chiba City, Japan. It was one of the biggest heavy metal festivals in Japan. The festival has featured both Japanese and international p ...

in Japan. In August 2017 the band announced that they had signed a new record contract with

for the release of their fourth full-length album titled ''Hands of Fate''. The album was recorded at

Rockfield Studios Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was originally founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward. Facilities Rockfield is a two- ...

in Monmouth and produced by long time collaborator Scott Atkins. The album was mastered in Los Angeles by Dave Collins (

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drummer ...

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yamamo ...

) and has artwork created by Travis Smith (

Avenged Sevenfold Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Zacky Vengeance, ...

Opeth Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal/rock band from Stockholm, formed in 1990 by lead vocalist David Isberg. The group has been through several personnel changes, including the replacement of every original member; notably Isberg in 1992. Mikael ...

). In October and November 2017 they toured the UK and Ireland playing 11 venues, supporting Cradle of Filth. The band announced Charly Carretón as a new full time drummer in February/March 2019. In March 2019 the band released their first single 'Under No Illusions' off their upcoming album titled "Demons" which will be released on 17 May 2019, they also announced 3 special album launch shows in the UK in that month and a European tour with Symphony X as special guests for May/June 2019. Carlos Alcalde de Lema joined the band as a live keyboardist for the tour and remained the band's new member afterwards. In August 2019 former lead guitarist Joff Bailey reunited with the band and made his first appearance at Wacken Open Air 2019.

Members

* Dave Silver – lead vocals, guitars (2007–present) * Míra Sláma – bass (2014–present) * Joff Bailey – guitars (2011–2015; 2019–present) * Carlos Alcalde De Lema – keyboards (2019–present) * Charly Carretón – drums, percussion (2019–present)

Past members

* Sasha Krohn – bass * Chris O'Toole – bass * Stefano Selvatico – bass * Andy Faulkner – drum programming * Pete Hunt – drums * Andrea Gorio – drums (2012–2017) * Ernesto Nogara – drums * Mauricio Chamucero – drums * Tom Draper – guitar * Sy Taplin – guitar * James Tyler – guitar * Sam Saadat – guitar Touring members * Ali Richardson – drums (2017–2018) * Dan Wilding – drums (2017–2018)

Discography

;Studio albums * '' Insurrection Rising'' (Candlelight 2009) * '' Plague of Conscience'' (Earache 2012) * '' The Fateful Dark'' (Earache 2014) * '' Hands of Fate'' (Century Media 2017) * ''Demons'' (Century Media 2019) ;EPs * '' Spitting Venom'' (SMR 2007) ;Singles * "Cross of Babylon" (Earache 2014) * "Hands of Fate" (Century Media 2017) * "Under No Illusions" (Century Media Records May 17, 2019)

References

External links

Official website
* {{Authority control English heavy metal musical groups English thrash metal musical groups Musical groups from London Musical groups established in 2007 Earache Records artists Candlelight Records artists