Written: 12th February 2025
Savage Lands are a band that deserve acclaim not only for their music but for the message they are trying to promote and the part of the natural world they are aiming to secure. Having seen first-hand how deforestation threatens Costa Rica’s rainforest, guitarist-turned-activist Sylvain Demercastel and friend, Megadeth drummer Dirk Verbeuren (who plays on three tracks on the album) formed Savage Lands in 2022. Thanks to their music, the non-profit band has preserved 100,000 square feet of forest in high-risk areas along the Costa Rican coastline. One hundred percent of the royalties from their first album, Army of the Trees, support their ongoing preservation projects in Costa Rica and other countries. “As a non-profit, we depend on the support of other organizations, fellow artists and our listeners,” Dirk comments.
Collaboration fuels the creative fires of Savage Lands. While the core band includes Poun (vocals) and Etienne Treton (Bass) from the veteran French metalcore band Black Bomb A, along with Loco Muerte’s Florian Pons (Drums), Army of the Trees features guest contributions from a plethora of famous names from the world of metal. Due to this, the band are able to visit a variety of styles across the album. “That’s another beautiful thing about Savage Lands,” Sylvain says. “As a band, we’re not limited to just one genre. We can adapt to boost the strengths of whomever is joining us.”
Black Rock Heart is the album’s blackened tinged heavy metal first track. With vocal contributions from Chloé Trujillo (wife of Metallica bassist, Robert) and Heilung’s Kai Uwe Faust, there are some interesting vocal combinations to be found. It wastes no time in its delivery of the album’s main message. Highlighting humanity’s detrimental impact on the planet, Black Rock Heart symbolises our hardened, emotionless state, reflecting our disconnection from nature. Black rock heart / Compressed fears / Clear like glass / Sharp as steel. Making for a powerful opening, the song begins with the sounds of nature from the rainforest before imposing, approaching footsteps signal the ongoing impact of humankind. With a change in style, second track Ruling Queen portrays a world on the brink of collapse where our primal instincts and predatory behaviours have led to ecological ruin. Featuring some ferocious but beguiling riffs and hooks, Ruling Queen finds Savage Lands joined by an impassioned Alissa White-Gluz of Arch Enemy and Obituary guitarist Kenneth Andrews. Every word of the track is delivered with savagery and the blend of guttural vocals and clean singing adds further interest. In the dust of the past / Who’s the alpha male? / Kill the animal within / Who’s the Ruling Queen?
The Last Howl starts with gentle picked acoustic guitar but there is an air of malevolence about the chord sequences and sure enough, just before the song reaches the minute mark, we are greeted with an agonised roar as another member of Obituary, the marvellous John Tardy, joins the band. On a track that serves as a poignant tribute to howler monkeys and the tragic decline of their habitats, the lyrics evoke a sense of impending loss. Aided by another heavyweight of the metal fraternity - Andreas Kisser of Sepultura, Savage Lands unleash a song of crushing, sludgy riffs that also makes use of dark melody, particularly during the central section.
As promised by Sylvain Demercastel, more of the album’s variety is unveiled on No Remedy which allows the band to play a little more with melody, although by no means could this be called a light track in terms of groove and the riffs it delivers. The voices of Poun and Maria Franz of Heilung intertwine effectively during the sombre and sometimes disquieting narrative. Heilung are also working with Savage Lands outside of the recording studio. The world-famous Nordic collective donated $1 for every ticket sold during their most-recent U.S. tour to support their Season of Mist labelmates. “Supporting Savage Lands was an easy decision for us,” says Maria Franz.
Out of Breath – one of my favourites on the album - steps up the aggression once more as Dirk Verbeuren’s drums ignite straight out of the starting blocks. With staccato, bristling riffs, Out Of Breath – which states how we are in effect suffocating our own world by destroying the rainforest - also benefits from the involvement of Chris Harms and Pi Stoffers of Lord of the Lost, and another contribution from Chloé Trujillo. These various guests allow the track to move through a range of atmospheres with the cleaner vocals sometimes alternating with and sometimes sitting alongside the spewing, guttural vocals. The latter are delivered with particular viciousness during a central angst-ridden section. Lungs are collapsing / We can not return / There is no hope anymore / Lungs are collapsing / We are left to burn / There is no hope anymore.
As we reach the second half of the album, Better Man and, in particular, the riotous hard rock pound of Never Be Up, continue to display the array of styles that can be found on Army Of The Trees. The album’s title track is a hulking behemoth that benefits from the talents of a huge range of artists including Julien Truchan of Benighted. Partly sung in English and partly in French, it opens with rapid-fire riffs that mirror the determined, resilient, battle-cry declarations of the lyrics. When you see the forest disappear / Everything around you becomes grey / Now is the time to take a stand / Another chance, another day / Now is the time to take a stand / One last chance not to fade away.
Due to their environmental stance, the band have been praised by world famous zoologist Dr. Jane Goodall. “What Savage Lands is doing is fantastic,” says Dr. Goodall, whose global institute is partnering with the metal non-profit’s European branch on preservation projects in France and Africa (read about this here). “Nature is music. Trees have music, but when we lose species after species, our ecosystem collapses. Savage Lands are using their music to support projects that promote biodiversity, which will help make the world better for future generations.” The monumental footprint of human activity on our world defies overstatement and Sylvain Demercastel and Dirk Verbeuren believe they can make a real difference. “Our goals are attainable. By converting the land that we purchase into nature sanctuaries, Savage Lands will help set a precedent for environmental activism. But we must work together and quickly. Ecosystems are still under attack. If we don’t, then there won’t be any wildlife left to save.”
On the surface, penultimate track Visions of Life is the most straightforward track on the album – it certainly has one of the most memorable choruses here; however, there is a still a belligerent, ceaseless heartbeat and some wonderful guitar work from Demercastel – including a blistering solo - driving the song forward. Groove laden and almost grungy in approach Addicted ends the album with a final defiant statement, a challenge to the listener and an interesting lyrical approach that symbolises our destructive relationship with nature. I take the blows, I’ve come out of my box / The silent noise covers my voice / I am a toy laying on the floor / I fall and break, always stumble. Etienne Treton’s bass throughout the album is stirring and unrelenting and nowhere is that more apparent than his throbbing bass lines on Addicted. Another contender for the best track on the album.
While Savage Lands will draw some attention due to their overriding message, there is more than enough in the music of Army Of The Trees to make it worthy of the time of any self-respecting metalhead. With the support of range of guests, each of whom contribute in their own significant way, the band have made an album which should appeal to fans of various sub-genres of metal from heavy to thrash to blackened. The album’s appeal is augmented by its variety of stars and styles, not lessened. If the appearance of one particular guest encourages any one fan to investigate Army Of The Trees, so much the better. However, all of this should not overlook the band at the centre of it all and Savage Lands themselves are the pulsating core of this project and on every song, they more than hold their own on an album that grows in the mind and soul (both in the musical and philosophical sense) with each listen. Join the cause here…
Army Of The Trees is released on 14th February 2025
Pre-order & Pre-save: https://orcd.co/savagelandsarmyofthetrees
Follow Savage Lands:
Official Website: https://savagelands.org/
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