Savatage is a pretty cool band, nothing mind blowingly terrific, but nice every once and a while when I want something from the U.S. While they are far from the heaviest metal around, and don't constantly showcase their musical skill, they do excel in is creating complete "albums". They've been around for a long time and have been through all sorts of lineup changes, most notable the tragic death of lead guitarist Criss Oliva. Criss's brother, Jon, was the original vocalist of the band with his trademark rasp, but he faded from the forefront after Streets. He still provides most of the music and creativity for the band, but does so invisibly.
Hall of the Mountain King ('87) **1/2
The highlight of this album is the song, "Hall of the Mountain King." The piece just before the title track is called "Prelude to Madness," and is a metal version of the original "Hall of the Mountain King," a classical piece by Grieg. The two together provide a great song, and also signals the change of Savatage from a straight-ahead metal band to a more progressive group. Savatage had a few albums before this one, but I've never heard good enough things about them to go out and buy them. The rest of the tracks are decent, but nothing really jumps out. This album is considered a bridge between two eras of Savatage, and as such is a key point in their musical history.
Gutter Ballet ('89) ***
The band has definitely "progressed" in their next effort. Jon Oliva plays a whole lot of piano and keyboards on this disc. The title track is once again the best, and Iron Maiden fans will clearly hear "Hallowed Be Thy Name" in the main riff. There are a couple of cool little instrumentals, which really highlight Criss Oliva's skill on the guitar. This album has a really cool cover, as does Hall of the Mountain King, both done by Gary Smith.
Streets: A Rock Opera ('92) ***1/2
Savatage continues to get better with each album. Some say this is a semi-autobiographical story by Jon Oliva. The story, written in the liner notes, basically outlines the rise and fall of a rock star, named D.T. Jesus. You'll find plenty of examples of the classic Savatage "jerking" rhythm on this disc, which is slightly reminiscient of a car running out of gas. It fits well, since the main character is somewhat of a jerk, he gets jerked around a bit, and by the end, this disc could nearly jerk a few tears. There's a bunch of songs on this album, and like D.T. Jesus's life, they run the gamut, from fast to slow, light to heavy. Probably a good Savatage album to start out with.
Handful of Rain ('94) ***
Savatage had another album between these two, Edge of Thorns, which I've yet
to pick up. Criss Oliva passed away after that album, and was replaced by
Alex Skolnick (ex-Testament). Also, Jon Oliva quit singing after Streets, and
the frontman position was taken by Zachary Stevens. He's a better technical
singer than Oliva ever was, but in sounding like a cross between Oliva and
Jon Bon Jovi, changes the tone of Savatage a bit. This album has some great
songs on it, but it is the worst Savatage "album." Usually, Savatage excels
in creating contiguous musical compositions, but this one's all over the
place. The first song, Taunting Cobras is the heaviest Savatage song I've
ever heard. Then comes a good slower emotional one, Handful of Rain. Next
comes Chance, my favorite Savatage song. It's very orchestral and
majestic and runs through all types of sounds throughout its eight minute
length. Unfortunately, the rest of the songs can't compare with the first
three, except maybe the final track, Alone You Breathe, which is dedicated
to Criss.
Dead Winter Dead ('95) ****
The story in "Dead Winter Dead" is about two soldiers on opposite sides of the war in Sarajevo. Savatage does a very current and tangible topic, and pulls it off well. Highlights of this album include Jon Oliva's return to vocals on two tracks, as well as the classical instrumentals. "Mozart and Madness" was even being played on adult contemperary radio for a while. The quality music, along with the well-done story make this Savatage's best album yet.
Other Savatage Sites:
Savatage Multimedia:
I'm not including any sounds here, since the link above has quite a library of sounds already.
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Questions, comments, complaints? Let me know:
gregie@students.uiuc.edu