Decadence - Savagery and Grace. 1980 USA

Decadence were a band from Chicago, who managed to get out this one album and are now the sole fodder of obscure archivists like moi. On paper this one looks irresistible. The black and white private-looking cover alone indicates a masterpiece awaits. It possesses long tracks, has female vocals, and the titles of the songs point toward a more thoughtful release. Obviously it's a creative early metal album - or perhaps a grandiose progressive hard rock piece? Bzzt.

It's definitely not prog rock, and it certainly isn't metal. The music belongs to hard rock, primarily due to the extended guitar soloing and lightweight chord structures. There's an overarching pop theme within the lyrics, yet the album doesn't feel commercial at all. It's definitely a private press underground type recording. The band has talent to spare, as the female vocals are strong yet sultry, the guitarist can hold his own within those lengthy solos, and I really enjoy the woody bass sound and he's more than up to the task of driving the music forward. So what's the problem? A familiar one: Songwriting. There's not enough ideas in these songs to justify the lengths. Especially on 'War of the Roses' where one begins to look at the clock for when will it finally end. It's very rare that I recommend the short tracks on any given album, but in this case, that's exactly what I'm going to do. Decadence would have been better off crafting 3 to 5 minute songs rather than lengthy opus'. On the whole, a good album, but it's really hard to identify the target audience here.

No reissues exist.