SAVIOUR MACHINE II

Saviour Machine's balance of doomy riffs, gothic atmosphere, stentorian vocals and spiritual lyrics was always a difficult one to pull off, and on this second album the riffs seem to take a back seat as the music shifts in a more operatic direction to suit Eric Clayton's vocals. The end result is an album which is competent enough, but which lacks the unique alchemy which made the debut album special. Moreover, the band seem to be stuck in an atmospheric rut, with each song sounding more or less the same as any other song on the album to the point where it's sometimes difficult to remember which song you're listening to unless you've memorised the lyrics.