The almost non-descript cover of Army of the Trees by Savage Lands is a contradiction of the musical savagery that is unleashed whilst remaining highly symbolic of what Army of the Trees stands for.
Savage Lands was founded by Sylvain Demercastel and Dirk Verbeuren (Megadeth) in 2022; stemming from a friendship that dates back to their time in the 1990s thrash band Artsonic. As well as a band, Savage Lands is a non-profit that collaborates with individuals, businesses, other non-profits, volunteers and others to help with replanting trees in deforested areas of Costa Rica. All the royalties from the debut album Army of the Trees will be donated to projects in Costa Rica and elsewhere. As the renowned scientist Dr Jane Goodall has commented “Savage Lands are using their music to support projects that promote biodiversity, which will help make the world better for future generations”.
As well as in the studio, Savage Lands are also out on stage. On the main stage at last year’s Hellfest, they were joined by other musicians to perform Sepultura’s iconic “Roots Bloody Roots” as well as receiving further support from the Hellfest organiser in the form of a significant donation to non-profits.
All the tracks on Army of the Trees have been written by Savage Lands, composed of Demercastel (guitars) along with other core band members, Poun Treton (vocals) and Etienne Treton (bass) from the metalcore band Black Bomb A, along with Florian Pons (drums) from LocoMuerte and special band member Verbeuren who drums on some of the tracks.
As well as Savage Lands members, other performers/collaborators on the album include:
- Chloe Trujillo (Boulevard Of Eyes)
- Kai Uwe Faust and Maria Franz (Heilung)
- Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy)
- Kenneth Andrews and John Tardy (Obituary)
- Andreas Kisser (Sepultura)
- Chris Harms and Pi Stoffers (Lord of the Lost)
- Steeven Corsini (LocoMuerte)
- Aura Jager (Akiavel)
- David and Viber (Sidilarsen)
- Niko Jones (Tagada Jones)
- Julien Truchan (Benighted)
- Stéphane Buriez (Loudblast/Sinsaenum)
- Nils Courbaron (Bloodorn/Sirenia/DDC)
- Aurelien Ouzoulias (The Beat Factory/Mörglbl)
- Aldebert (Les Tambours Du Bronx)
Army of the Trees was recorded, mixed and mastered by Adair Daufembach at his studio in Los Angeles.
The seamless fusion of genres (metalcore, death, sludge and black groove just to pick a few!), the variety of musicians and vocalists along with heavy riffs, powerful bass and drum lines, excellent production, fury and more, all come together on Army of the Trees to offer an astounding listening experience that also has a conscience.
With the focus on environmental issues, the lyrics are angry and even apocalyptical at times. There is a chance that this sort of approach could end up sounding insincere, but I think that in this case Savage Lands have hit the sweet spot in which the lyrics can still be enjoyed while remaining aware of the underlying and powerful messages.
Taking a more detailed look at the album itself, the Black Rock opener with the almost ghostly vocals of Faust paired with Trujillo starts the album as it means to go on. Moving into Ruling Queen, the gentle opener soon kicks up to power-driven riffs which are well supported with a variety of vocal styles from White-Gluz and others along with seriously catchy hooks. This and the subsequent tracks also demonstrate how easily Savage Lands blend melody with rage.
Paying homage to endangered Howler Monkeys, the melodic opener of The Last Howl soon transcends into something nearer to death metal with the accompanying vocals of Tardy. No Remedy really showcases melody and the genre fusing Out of Breath is also worth a mention as once more, the ability to meld the different vocal and instrumental styles is prominent within this track. The pace of the album slows somewhat with Better Man but the track still packs a real punch with its guitar line and riffs.
The tempo picks up once more with the quite bluesy/hard rock Never Be Up and then the subsequent Army of the Trees returns to the heavyweight format once more. Like some of the earlier tracks there is a lot going on vocally and this along with some great guitar lines produce a worthy title track. You can catch the official video for it here:
For me Visions of Life has one of the best riffs on the album and keeps the pace up as the album moves into its last track, Addicted. This is also a heavyweight but does have some breathing space within it that allows you to reflect not just on the track itself, but also on the remainder of the album.
As a debut album, Army of the Trees is a musical tour de force and I have to say this is my first “must have” album of 2025. I would also say that wherever your loyalties lie in terms of genre you will still find something on this album to really sink your teeth into. And, in the same way that a non-profit works, Army of the Trees also shows what can be produced when a group of extremely talented and hard-working folks come together for a common cause.
Track Listing
- Black Rock Heart
- Ruling Queen
- The Last Howl
- No Remedy
- Out of Breath
- Better Man
- Never Be Up
- Army of the Trees
- Visions of Life
- Addicted
“The seamless fusion of genres………………. the variety of musicians and vocalists along with heavy riffs, powerful bass and drum lines, excellent production, fury and more, all come together on Army of the Trees to offer an astounding listening experience that also has a conscience.”
Check out Savage Lands Facebook or you can find out more about the band and non-profit here as well as order vinyl, CDs and merch. The Army of the Trees is released on Friday 14th February 2025 and will be available through the usual streaming platforms.
Special thanks to Season of Mist.
