Savage Grace - Ride Into The Night (1987)

Can you imagine a band wanting this cover nowadays ? Savage Grace were one of those powerhouse of a bands who came up with some truly magical if a little sordid album covers. If anything, 'Ride...' has the archetype metal sleeve - women in distress, macho guys over-looking them, a a theme which features in several of their records, except for the bizarre 'The Dominatress.' 'Ride Into...' is a short EP that showcases the vocal talents of Christian Logue, who, despite having epic pipes, can at times grate on the soul. Even so, this is all pretty dramatic and melodic metal, the strongest tracks being the rushing energy of 'We March On,' which is a real tirade of burning guitars and crashing drums, whilst 'The Healing Hand' is equally stirring with its slow, tranquil intro which, after a minute, turns into a slab of molten metal complete with soaring solo, killer riff and rumbling bass. Very much straight-edged warrior metal very much of its time and yets till sounding fresh today. And that cover....! 7/10