Saviours on Playing Ozzfest: ‘Good Riffs Transcend Genre’

It's overstating things a bit to say you've 'arrived' once you play Ozzfest, but playing the (mostly) annual show is one of the most high-profile tours a metal band can get. So when Oakland's Saviours play the six U.S. Ozzfest dates, they'll be playing in front of more people than they ever have in America. That doesn't faze them, however.

"We're just doing what we've always done, trying to kick ass every night no matter if it's for 60 or 60,000 heads," drummer Scott Batiste tells Noisecreep. "Our recent run in Europe hit quite a few festivals, so we had a little taste of what's to come on Ozzfest."

And while the Ozzfest lineup contains everyone from commercial rock like Mötley Crüe and Drowning Pool to the extremes of Kataklysm and Goatwhore, Saviours' thrashy sound falls somewhere in between, more along the lines of fellow Oaklanders High on Fire. Batiste says it doesn't matter who they're playing with.

"I don't know how it works, but it just does somehow," he says. "It keeps things pretty interesting, shifting gears like that, and it seems like we go over alright with all of those crowds. We just did the first DevilDriver/Kataklysm date last night, and the crowd was awesome for us. Maybe part of it is that we don't really care about fitting in with anything. Good riffs come first for us, and good riffs transcend genre, so that's probably part of it."

That's not to say they saw themselves playing Ozzfest, either. "We never envisioned ourselves playing festival tours when we started, but I guess we've gotten to a point where it's time to check it out. And what better company than Ozzy, the Crue and Halford," Batiste says. When asked who they're looking most forward to seeing, he reveals, "Definitely looking forward to our sets and just getting as weird as possible with our buds in Skeletonwitch and Goatwhore."