Before the arenas, before DEF LEPPARD, before he traded riffs with RONNIE JAMES DIO, VIVIAN CAMPBELL was a teenage guitarist in a Belfast heavy metal band called SWEET SAVAGE. Now, nearly 45 years later, he has gone home again.
CAMPBELL has reunited with the NWOBHM pioneers to record two brand-new SWEET SAVAGE songs — his first studio contribution to the band since he left in 1982 to join DIO. He had co-founded the group with frontman Ray Haller as a teenager, playing with them from 1979 until that fateful departure that launched one of metal's most storied careers.
The new recordings will sit alongside previously unreleased and rare SWEET SAVAGE material from the 1980s as part of an archival project with Universal. Originally earmarked for a 2026 release, the collection is now targeted for early 2027 to accommodate CAMPBELL's DEF LEPPARD touring schedule.
Haller could barely contain his enthusiasm. "The two new songs are absolutely amazing," he said. "It's Viv, and it's the Viv that we know." For longtime fans, that's the dream — the guitarist who helped shape SWEET SAVAGE's early sound returning to it with decades of hard-won mastery in his fingers.
SWEET SAVAGE occupy a unique place in metal history. Though they never broke through commercially in their original run, their reputation was cemented when METALLICA covered "Killing Time" in 1991, introducing the Belfast band's songwriting to a global audience. The group remains active, having released the album "Bang" in 2025.
For CAMPBELL — a man who has played some of the biggest stages on earth — the return to his first band is a reminder of where the journey began. Early 2027 cannot come soon enough.