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salvation wegaveyoudiamonds
Artist: Salvation
Title: We Gave You Diamonds… Live at De Casino
Genre: Alternative / Goth / Indie / Rock
Release Date: 12th November 2021
Label: Timeslip Records


Album Review

I have a special place in my heart for Leeds based bands. It’s my home-town, so I was excited when this little gem: ‘We Gave You Diamonds’ popped up in my inbox. SALVATION hail from the same post-punk era of the SISTERS OF MERCY. In fact, their frontman; Andrew Eldritch produced SALVATION’s first EP ‘Girlsoul’ on the Merciful Release label. ‘We Gave You Diamonds’ is a live album, recorded in Belgium, when SALVATION supported THE MISSION on tour. The tour was one of the last bastions of normality before the end of the world as we knew it.

I’m bleary eyed having just woken up, I need coffee. I decide to have a little listen - a sort of pre-listen. “Hi, we’re SALVATION and we’re from Leeds,” frontman Daniel Mass announces, before the band launches straight into ‘The Answer’. Two lines in and I’m reaching for my ear buds so I can fully appreciate this lively number. I’ve found the answer to my lack of coffee (pun intended) and I’m fully awake by the end of the track. SALVATION produces the upbeat, catchy tunes that linger in your mind long after they have finished. By the time I reach ‘(Clearing Out The) Debris’ my foot is tapping under my duvet.

‘We Gave You Diamonds’ delivers the type of vibrant, upbeat tunes that you play, whilst getting ready to get you in the mood to go out clubbing. I can imagine a bunch of heaving bodies, bobbing up and down to ‘The October Hour (Now)’. A few brave souls are balanced on their friend’s shoulders. Health and safety be damned! The audience appear eager to hear more - despite their anticipation for the headline act. ‘The Shining’ is next. I nod my head along with the beat.

“This is the last night of our tour,” announces Daniel. It was pretty much the last night of anyone’s tour for a long while. SALVATION is one of those bands who have amassed an army of die-hard followers throughout the years. It strikes me that for those people there, this gig might well be the memory of live bands, they have etched in their minds for the next twelve months or so and I’m sure it left many of them eager for more. The guitar riffs in ‘Payola’ have quite a rock vibe and wouldn’t be out of place in an LA Rock band.

‘All and More’ begins and I’m transported back in time to the blissful era of the Phono (legendary, Leeds alternative club). In my mind’s eye, the tiny dance floor is filled with goths doing the famous “two-step” that evolved from the lack of space that has become synonymous with the Gothic-Rock genre of music.

SALVATION is yet another band whose music, written some 30 years ago, is timeless. It’s just as good today as it was twenty-five years ago. I’ve never seen them live, now I certainly intend to! Live albums always strike me as more courageous than studio albums. There isn’t the capacity to say, “I effed that up, let’s go again.” They are also a testimony of a musician’s ability to perform on stage - judged in real time by a live audience. ‘We Gave You Diamonds’ passes with flying colours.

If you are into alternative music that is upbeat, lively and great for bouncing round the living room, this is for you.


Tracklist

01. The Answer
02. Ladyfaithe
03. (Clearing Out The) Debris
04. Paint It Rose
05. The October Hour (Now)
06. Puppet Master
07. The Shining
08. Pearl Necklace
09. Payola
10. All And More
11. Why Lie


Line-up

The current line-up is:
Daniel Mass - Vocals
Benoit Farvak - Guitar
Paul Lavender - Guitar
Nic Bate - Bass 
Stuart Owen - Drums


Website

https://SALVATIONhq.co.uk/


Cover Picture

salvation wegaveyoudiamonds


Rating

Music: 10
Sound: 9
Total: 9.5 / 10


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