Of all the bands to play Ozzfest, Oakland’s Saviours may have the most to gain. Even though they have three albums out (the most recent being last year’s Accelerated Living) it’s not like they’re a household name yet. However, their mixture of Motorhead style uptempo punk swagger and Sabbathian grooves should prove palatable to any old-school Ozzy fan. Metal Insider spoke to drummer Scott Batiste about touring
What can people expect from your set at Ozzfest?
We put together a killer set that spans form the Warship EP to the new stuff. I think people will dig it. And we kicked up the visuals a bit!
This will be the first time many people hear you. What are you hoping they’ll take away from the show?
A good time, some light bruising and some killer riffs in their heads!
You released Accelerated Living on vinyl. How important do you think vinyl is in the age of digital downloading?
To us its really important. We all listen to vinyl primarily, we sequence our records for vinyl, we master our recordings for vinyl, we think of album art for vinyl first. How important is it in this age? Probably not very, but that’s of little concern to us.
Like High on Fire, you come from Oakland. You’ve toured together and are kind of sonically similar. What’s the metal scene like in Oakland?
Its cool. Oakland is a good place filled with bad people and the music scene reflects that. From Neurosis to High on Fire to Stormcrow, Asunder,Ccold Grave, Lecherous Gaze to us, you’ll find a common thread. There’s definitely something about it that is dark and weird.
What are your thoughts on touring, specifically touring in a van versus a bus?
Van tour is way more fun than bus tour. We’ve done both and while the bus is cozy, its not really conducive to partying or doing anything fun. Its kind of like being on a land-submarine that leaves town when all the interesting stuff starts happening. As far as thoughts on touring in general, there are way too many shitty bands, way too many reunited bands, the Internet ruined everything else and whatever’s left is already on its way to the sewer!
