Picture yourself listening to a song that gets your head moving almost immediately, with energetic drums, bouncing synths, guitars and a melody that makes you want to turn up the volume. You could easily mistake it for another exciting melodic metal release until you pay attention to the lyric and realize there’s a completely different meaning, and you realize that what you’re listening to is a heartbreak song.
That’s not what you expected right? Well, this is the rather unexpected experience that Savagegroup brings with their latest release “An Angel Had to Go Home.” It’s one of those songs where the production and the message seem to be pulling in different emotional directions yet somehow, they work beautifully together. The music is lively but the story being told is not cheerful.
This track is about a little angel who had reached the end of her journey. It is about the painful experience of losing someone dear, the helplessness of watching them go and the difficult emotions that come with learning to live without them.
Savage Group introduces the story in the most interesting way possible. Rather than opening with a guitar riff or an elaborate instrumental passage, the song begins with a child’s voice. There is no attempt to disguise the vulnerability in those opening words. “I’m so afraid, i know i’m going to die” is a particularly unsettling way to begin a song, especially when followed by the admission that the speaker’s soul is tired and her body hurts.
You can almost visualize the situation being described. Someone is approaching the end of their life, frightened by what is happening but strangely aware of something calling them from beyond. The mention of angels makes the moment more haunting and just when you begin settling into the sadness of this opening, Savagegroup does something quite unexpected. The music cuts out, and all that remains is a desperate scream.
The discomfort you feel at that short period is exactly the point: Dramatic and Intense. The scream gives the opening a cinematic quality and without warning, the instruments come crashing in. The drums become relentless, the guitars grow louder and the entire production suddenly opens up into a massive wall of sound. You can feel the band’s love for classic 90s melodic metal particularly in this moment.
Savagegroup doesn’t intend to keep things minimal. The production is deliberately expansive, with layers of instrumentation and backing vocals giving the track that larger than life quality associated with theatrical metal records.
Talking about it’s storytelling, the child’s voice returns before the chorus but this time something has changed. The fear has given way to a sense of calm. The speaker now describes her final journey as complete, imagining herself sitting like an angel on a cloud and looking down at the people she has left behind.
The same person who was initially afraid of dying is now speaking from what feels like the other side of life. There’s sadness in her words and maybe she has escaped the pain of her physical existence but she hasn’t forgotten the people who loved her.
“I Look up at the sky, tears run down my face. I’m sadly happy that you’re better off up there. I miss you, little angel, I miss you so damn much”
It’s particularly hard to miss the emotional weight this chorus carries. It captures a feeling that is difficult to explain unless you’ve experienced losing someone you desperately wish could have stayed. You are relieved that the suffering is over but that doesn’t make their absence any easier to accept. Finding peace doesn’t mean you forget the pain.
The song ends in the most touching way. The opening was filled with fear and uncertainty but the closing words feel much more comforting and accepting. The little angel is no longer afraid. She is ready to leave and the people she is leaving behind must somehow find the strength to let her go.
Away from the music itself, Savagegroup is an interesting project. The group consists of three longlife friends and metal heads: Daniel, Tommy and Tom. They operate strictly as a studio project, which means they aren’t particularly concerned with making their music suitable for live performances. They prefer having the freedom to experiment with arrangements, stack different musical layers and build detailed soundscapes.
The Trio brings different strengths to the creative process. Daniel handles the guitars, Tommy provides the bass foundation that keeps the arrangements grounded and Tom takes care of the keyboards and lead vocals. Interestingly, Daniel and Tommy also handle the backing choirs which explains the amount of vocal layering heard in the track.
With this release, Savagegroup makes it’s affection for 90s melodic metal very clear. There is a deliberate attempt to build a complete musical experience, one where the instrumental arrangements, vocal performances and lyrical concept all contribute to the same story. This is exactly what makes “An Angel Had to Go Home” stand out. You might have come for the guitar, the drums or the melodic sections but the story is what gives you a reason to return.
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