''Saviour Machine I'' is the 1993 debut album of the American metal band

Saviour Machine Saviour Machine is an American Christian gothic metal band that formed in 1989. They have released five studio albums and two live albums on Frontline and subsequently on MCM Music, distributed through Massacre Records. Saviour Machine's music ...

. In 2010, ''

Heaven's Metal Magazine ''HM Magazine'' is a monthly, digital and print on demand publication focusing on hard music and alternative culture of interest to Christians. It is based in Houston, Texas. Originally published as ''Heaven's Metal'', it was renamed to ''HM'' i ...

'' ranked it 72nd on the top 100

Christian metal Christian metal, also known as white metal, Jesus metal, or heavenly metal, is heavy metal music distinguished by its Christian-themed song lyrics and the dedication of the band-members to Christianity. Christian metal is typically performed by ...

albums of all time list.

Recording history

''Saviour Machine I'' was recorded after the band signed a record deal with the Christian music label

Frontline Records Frontline Records was a Christian rock record label, founded in 1986 by James Kempner in Santa Ana, California. The label focused primarily on modern rock, rap, dance-pop and hip-hop. The label closed in the early 1990s, and then resurfaced in ...

at The Green Room and The Mixing Lab. The album was produced by

Terry Scott Taylor Terry Scott Taylor (born May 24, 1950) is an American songwriter, record producer, writer and founding member of the bands Daniel Amos and The Swirling Eddies (credited as Camarillo Eddy). Taylor is also a member of the roots and alternative ...

and co-produced and arranged by Eric Clayton. ''Saviour Machine I'' was mixed at The Mixing Lab by Gene Eugene and Bob Moon, and additional engineering was done by Drew Aldridge. The album was mastered by Doug Doyle at Digital Brothers, Costa Mesa, California. On this album the band's line-up consisted of the quartet Eric Clayton (vocals), Jeff Clayton (guitar), Dean Forsyth (bass), and Samuel West (drums). Bob Watson played piano, keyboard and conducted the orchestration, and backing vocals were sung by

Jimmy P. Brown II Deliverance is an American Christian metal band. A progenitor of Christian thrash metal, they later shifted more towards progressive metal and alternative rock. The band was founded by Jimmy P. Brown II in 1985, who has been the only constant me ...

(

Deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American thriller film directed and produced by John Boorman from a screenplay by James Dickey, who adapted it from his own Deliverance (novel), 1970 novel. It follows four businessmen from Atlanta who venture into th ...

), Love Larrimore, Riki Michelle, and Terry Taylor.

Reception

According to Eric Clayton, a certain line in the song "Legion" was partially responsible for ''Saviour Machine I'' being banned from Christian book stores throughout the United States in the summer of 1993, only weeks after its release. The song's lyrics deal with apocalyptical themes about the rise of the Beast with a gothic horror approach. Because of the controversy surrounding "Legion" in particular, ''Saviour Machine I'' is still not distributed in the United States as of today. As a statement to this, since 1993 whenever the band has performed live, Eric Clayton has worn the flag of United States during the performance of "Legion". Unlike the reception in the United States, ''Saviour Machine I'' achieved more notice in the Europe. Few gothic metal albums like this existed in the early 1990s, and ''Saviour Machine I'' is considered as some kind of landmark in that genre especially in the

movement. The British magazine ''Cross Rhythms'' rated the album a nine out of ten, opining that it was slightly better than the follow-up release, ''Saviour Machine II''. ''

Rock Hard Rock Hard may refer to: * "Rock Hard" (song), a 1984 song by the Beastie Boys * ''Rock Hard'', a 1980 album by Suzi Quatro * ''Rock Hard'' (magazine), a German music magazine ** Rock Hard Festival, a heavy metal festival sponsored by the above maga ...

'' rated the album a full ten-out-of-ten as they could not find a mediocre song on the album. In 2005, ''Saviour Machine I'' was ranked number 329 in ''Rock Hard'' magazine's book ''The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time''. Stefan Lang from Powermetal.de, in a retrospective review, considered the album one of the best from the 1990s. Also in a retrospective review, Tom Kernbichler of Darkscene.at lavished praise on the album, citing the band as the last revolutionary musical revelation in their life. The album was re-released on Massacre Records in 1996 with different packaging.

Track listing

Lyrics by Eric Clayton. Music by Eric Clayton and Jeff Clayton.

Personnel

;Saviour Machine *Eric Clayton – vocals *Jeff Clayton – guitars *Dean Forsyth – bass *Samuel West – drums ;Additional musicians *Bob Watson – piano, keyboard and orchestration *

– backing vocals *Love Larrimore – backing vocals *

Riki Michele Riki Michele (born Michele Bunch, currently Michele Palmer) started her musical career as a female Christian alternative rock artist. Best known as one of the vocalists for Adam Again, she has also recorded four eclectic solo albums. A reviewer fo ...

– backing vocals *

Terry Taylor Paul Worden Taylor III (born August 12, 1955) is an American retired professional wrestler better known by his ring name Terry Taylor and for his time as an in-ring performer in National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling, and Wo ...

– backing vocals

References

{{Authority control 1993 debut albums Saviour Machine albums