The Savage Poetry. A rare jewel in the metal community and in ten years I will say that this will be as sought after in some sects as much as Iron Maiden’s Soundhouse Tapes. Other than being a highly sought after commodity, Savage Poetry is a brilliant chunk of Maidenoweenian proportions. This sounds more like a debut album rather than an independently self-financed demo. Production duties are handled by the band and other than being a bit quiet in the mix the album sounds very professional in nature. Performances by the band itself is fuckin’ extraordinary considering the average age of the group was SIXTEEN!!! Tobias Sammet lays down some killer basslines and some cool keys that aren’t prevalent throughout the recordings, rather they are scattered here and there to add atmosphere and create mood with the songs. His singing while not even anywhere near close to what he is today, is still very satisfying and even though its obvious he’s a young teenager (sixteen I still cant get over that) he gives a performance that is the best of his abilities at the time being. Jens Ludwig and Dirk Sauer shred with some killer solos that fool you into thinking that you’re listening to an established act in the middle of its prime, not a bunch of teenagers first major attempt at recording music. Dominik Storch lays down a nice rhythm that complements the rest of the group well. Songwise, Savage Poetry is a consistent listen throughout, and a great love of Iron Maiden is evident with the way the songs are structured and Helloween is another obvious influence with the abundance of twin harmony solos.

If you have heard the 2000 The Savage Poetry then listening to the original recordings will be a surprise to say the least. There is a minimalist amount of orchestration and epic choirs. In their place however are to the point and basic songs that despite the lack of any amount of epic flair they still deliver the goods in a satisfying manner. On Hallowed Jens lets it rip and plays a very vintage sounding solo that soars into the stratosphere, really this sounds like it was straight out the 80’s and is my favorite solo moment on Savage Poetry. Misguiding Your Life has a very Helloween sounding twin harmony section, a happy romp through the woods type of feel which contrasts sharply with the lyrics subject matter and the rest of the song in general. The two ballads, Sands of Time and Roses to No One are both piano driven, soft, reflective numbers. Taking the words into account on Roses to No One you can really see that Tobias even back at sixteen had some serious talent when it came to crafting songs. These aren’t your cliché sounding numbers that are a case of “heard it a million times” these are songs that even on a demo, they grab your attention. The centerpiece of Savage Poetry are the two killers, Sacred Hell and Eyes of the Tyrant. Sacred Hell is a blistering all guns blazing speed-fest that doesn’t let up one bit, my personal favorite on the album. Eyes of the Tyrant goes through many changes in its length and Tobi gives a particularly strong performance on this tune. The album is finished off on a really good note with Power and Majesty a fun song that kicks ass and makes you smile when you hear the lyrics and the good ol’ chainsaw interlude.

Even though Savage Poetry is a demo, I prefer this to the bands official debut Kingdom of Madness. The songs just seem like they were better written and I really think that if Tobi’s singing was just a bit better than AFM Records would have had no qualms releasing Savage Poetry to the public in its original form. The production smacks of professionalism and there is nothing remotely sub-par on here at all. If you are lucky enough to obtain an original version of Savage Poetry not only are you getting a piece of heavy metal history, you are getting an excellent album full of meaty riffs, and soaring solos all topped off with songs that beg to be played over and over again. As weird as it sounds, I come back to the original recordings far more than I do to the 2000 re-recording and that right there speaks for itself.