2. Savage Grace is a heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. founded in 1981 by Christian Logue. The first official line up was Dwight Cliff-Vocals, Brian East-Bass, Dan Finch-Drums and Christian Logue-Guitars.
Savage Grace performed several live shows with this lineup and recorded several demos.
One track from these early demos, Scepters Of Deceit was featured on the Metal Massacre 2 compilation album.
In 1983, John Birk replaced Dwight Cliff on vocals and Kenny Powell was added as a second lead guitarist. This line up recorded The Dominatress E.P., released on Metal Blade Records. This version of the group played live shows in Los Angeles and San Francisco thru 1983.
1984 saw new vocalist Michael Smith join the band and Kenny Powell depart to form Omen. Former Witchkiller guitarist Kurt Phillips replaced Powell for several months. This incarnation of the group played several live gigs in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas.
While recording Master Of Disguise, Kurt Phillips was sacked. Christian Logue cut all the guitars on the recording.
After the completion of recording Master Of Disguise, Mark Chase Marshall, formerly of Agent Steel was brought on board as second lead guitarist.
Shortly before the first Savage Grace tour of Europe, which included a slot on the Metal Hammer Festival in September 1985, Michael Smith left the band. Christian Logue became the new vocalist and sang on all the European dates.
In late 1985, Dan Finch left the group. He was replaced in early 1986 by Marc Marcum.
Marcum, Logue, Marshall and East recorded After The Fall from Grace in the spring of 1986.
Savage Grace did a European tour with Heir Apparent in June 1986.
Upon returning to the states, Brian East left the group. He was replaced by former Heir Apparent bassist Derek Peace. This ensemble recorded the Ride Into The Night E.P. in early 1987.
In April 1987, Savage Grace supported Motorhead on twenty dates across the U.S.
Derek Peace left the group in the summer of 1987. The band went thru several bass players from 1987-1988. Marc Marcum left the band in 1988.
In 1989, Marshall Lee Dickerson was brought in on drums. In December of 1989 the band relocated to New York after signing with a new management company. Mark Marshall chose to stay in Los Angeles.
Mike Branning joined the band on bass in December 1989. Several guitarists filled in with the band in New York and on tour dates throughout the U.S.
Savage Grace recorded ten demo tracks while in New York.
The band left New York to head back to L.A. in April 1992. The band played a handful of dates in L.A and was officially disbanded.
Founder Christian Logue is currently writing a book about Savage Grace to be published in 2014.
Discography:
1983
MINI-LPTHE DOMINATRESS-METAL BLADEMBR1006
1985
LP-MASTER OF DISGUISE-IMPORTANTIMD-004
MASTER OF DISGUISE (Picture) IMPORTANTIMPO-0041985
MASTER OF DISGUISE-BLACK DRAGONBD0011985
1986
AFTER THE FALL FROM GRACE-METAL BLADEMBR1075
AFTER THE FALL FROM GRACE-BLACK DRAGONBD012
AFTER THE FALL FROM GRACE-VAP35175-2
1987
RIDE INTO THE NIGHT-FLAMETRADER1012
Christian Logue - guitars, vocals- (1981-Present)
Dwight Cliff- Vocals-(1982)
John Birk- Vocals- (1983)
Marshall Lee Dickerson- Drums- (1988-1992)
Michael John Smith- Vocals- (1984-1985)
Keith Alexander (R.I.P.)- Guitar-(1991)
Eugene Pink- Guitar- (1992)
Michael Branning- Bass -(1989-1992)
Mark "Chase" Marshall - guitars- (1985-1989)
B. East- Bass- (1982-1986)
Neal Delaforce- Bass (1987-1988)
Derek Peace - Bass- (1987-1988)
Mark Marcum - Drums- (1986-1988)
Dan Finch- Drums- (1982-1985)
Sons of Iniquity
Savage Grace Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dogs of war that surround me
Curse them all and lead them into hell
Bittersweet, the thrill of battle, ringing ears
The clash of metal, raise the banner high
Into the sky
Battle cries, blood stained armor
Slaughtered hordes, fearless martyrs
Die at my hands, vengeful with hate
Die for thy sins, bestowed unto fate
Sons of iniquity
Sons of iniquity
Metal maces show no mercy, savage graces
Swift with fury, crush the skulls that meet
A fatal blow
Swords of steel, slicing leather
Axes grind, surging legions
Fight for glory, vie for victory
Shields gleam, piercing lances, iron stings
Strikes and shatters, force destruction,
The battlefield is mine
Light of day, brigs new promise
Heavens shine down upon us
Life's struggle is past and far away
Corpses lie, rotting bodies
Stench of death that engulfs me
War smiles with pain and misery
The song Sons of Iniquity by Savage Grace describes the horrors of a battle, with the singer finding themselves in the midst of advancing armies and war dogs. There is a bitter thrill to the battle as they raise their banner high and clash swords and armor. The lyrics describe the chaos and violence of war, with blood-stained armor, slaughtered hordes, and fearless martyrs meeting bitter ends. The singer revels in their role as a vengeful warrior, killing their enemies out of hate and delivering them to their fates as sons of iniquity.
The second verse continues the theme of brutal violence, describing the weapons used in battle such as metal maces and swords of steel. The fighting is intense, with surging legions and forces battling for glory and victory. The battlefield is filled with destruction and the singer claims it for their own. The last two lines offer a bleak contrast to the battle, describing the aftermath of corpses and the stench of death. The war has brought pain and misery, but the singer remains victorious.
Line by Line Meaning
Dark of the night, advancing armies
The armies are advancing and it is a dark night.
Dogs of war that surround me
Enemies are surrounding the singer, comparing them to dogs.
Curse them all and lead them into hell
The singer curses the enemies and wishes to lead them to hell.
Bittersweet, the thrill of battle, ringing ears
The happiness and sadness of battle is apparent, and their ears are ringing from the noise.
The clash of metal, raise the banner high
The sound of metal colliding can be heard, and the banner is raised high.
Into the sky
Possibly referring to the banner being raised high into the sky.
Battle cries, blood stained armor
There are battle cries as well as blood stained armor.
Slaughtered hordes, fearless martyrs
There are many who have been killed, and the artist calls them martyrs.
Scream out as they meet a bitter end
Those who have been killed are screaming as they die.
Die at my hands, vengeful with hate
The artist was filled with hate and kills their enemies.
Die for thy sins, bestowed unto fate
The singer thinks that their enemies are dying for their own sins and blame it on fate.
Sons of iniquity
The enemies are being referred to as the sons of iniquity.
Metal maces show no mercy, savage graces
The maces made up of metal show no mercy and are savage.
Swift with fury, crush the skulls that meet
The weapons are quick and they crush the skulls that they meet.
A fatal blow
The weapons deliver a fatal blow.
Swords of steel, slicing leather
The steel swords are slicing through leather.
Axes grind, surging legions
The axes are grinding and the legions are surging forward.
Fight for glory, vie for victory
They are fighting to gain glory and to win.
Shields gleam, piercing lances, iron stings
The shields are shining, and the lances are piercing through everything, and the iron causes pain.
Strikes and shatters, force destruction,
The weapons strike and shatter, causing destruction.
The battlefield is mine
The artist considers the battlefield to be theirs.
Light of day, brigs new promise
The new day brings new hope.
Heavens shine down upon us
The singer believes that God is shining down on them.
Life's struggle is past and far away
The struggles of life are in the past and don't matter anymore.
Corpses lie, rotting bodies
There are many corpses with rotting bodies.
Stench of death that engulfs me
The singer can smell the death around them.
War smiles with pain and misery
War brings pain and misery to the singer.
Contributed by Charlie R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.