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Showing posts with label Savatage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Savatage. Show all posts

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Savatage - Hall of the Mountain King - 1987


Hall of the Mountain King

Hall of the Mountain King is an album by the progressive metal group Savatage, released in 1987 under the direction of Paul O'Neill. It is their first album produced by O'Neill, who was assigned to the band after their previous tour. This album shows the beginning of their progressive tendencies as they explore new forms of expression in their music. Many fans consider this album the original turning point in their musical identity, distinguishing between the old and new Savatage. As their first concept album, it has a constant tone (of darkness, in this case) and is more complex than their previous albums, with two entirely instrumental tracks that go beyond simple guitar riffs and solos, namely "Prelude to Madness" and "Last Dawn". Through Paul O'Neill's connections, he brought in Ray Gillen of Badlands fame to perform a vocal duet at the end of "Strange Wings".

Track Listing
01. 24 Hours Ago
02. Beyond The Doors Of The Dark
03. Legions
04. Strange Wings
05. Prelude To Madness
06. Hall Of The Mountain King
07. The Price You Pay
08. White Witch
09. Last Dawn
10. Devastation

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Savatage - Poets & the Madmen - 2001



Poets & the Madmen

Poets and Madmen is a heavy metal album released in 2001 by the band Savatage, the band's eleventh full-length release overall and as of 2011, their last studio album. The album has a loose concept based around real life journalist Kevin Carter, but has much less narrative in the lyrics than the previous two rock operas (Dead Winter Dead and The Wake of Magellan) penned by Paul O'Neill. Everything said in the album is fiction, except with regards to what is sung about Carter. The album is also noted as it is the only Savatage album to not feature a title song from the album, although the title was taken from lyrics to the track "Symmetry" from the band's 1994 album, Handful of Rain.

Track Listing
01. Stay With Me Awhile
02. There In The Silence
03. Commissar
04. I Seek Power
05. Drive
06. Morphine Child
07. The Rumor
08. Man In The Mirror
09. Surrender
10. Awaken
11. Back To A Reason


Savatage - The Walk of Magellan - 1997



The Walk of Magellan

The Wake of Magellan is a concept album by Savatage and is based on two real life events. The first, the Maersk Dubai incident, occurred less than a year before this album was released when the captain of a freighter threw three Romanian stowaways overboard in the middle of the Atlantic. A fourth stowaway was saved by the courageous action of a deckhand, who risked his own life to protect the youth.

Track Listing

01. The Ocean
02. Welcome
03. Turns To Me
04. Morning Sun
05. Another Way
06. Blackjack Guillotine
07. Paragons Of Innocence
08. Complaint In The System
09. Underture
10. The Wake Of Magellan
11. Anymore
12. The Storm
13. The Hourglass


Savatage - Dead Winter Dead - 1995



Dead Winter Dead

Dead Winter Dead is a concept album by Savatage, released in 1995 dealing with a Serb boy and a Muslim girl who fall in love. The story of the album also focused on the Bosnian War, which was ongoing at the time.

Track Listing
01. Overture
02. Sarajevo
03. This Is The Time (1990)
04. I Am
05. Starlight
06. Doesn't Matter Anyway
07. This Isn't What We Meant
08. Mozart And Madness
09. Memory
10. Dead Winter Dead
11. One Child
12. Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)
13. Not What You See

Savatage - Handful of Rain - 1994



Handful of Rain

Handful of Rain is a heavy metal album by Savatage that was released in 1994. The first album since the death of their lead guitarist, Criss Oliva, the music is often dark in reflection of brother Jon Oliva's loss.

Track Listing
01. Taunting Cobras
02. Handful Of Rain
03. Chance
04. Stare Into The Sun
05. Castles Burning
06. Visions
07. Watching You Fall
08. Nothings Going On
09. Symmetry
10. Alone You Breathe


Savatage - Edge of Thorns - 1993


Edge of Thorns

Edge of Thorns is an album by Savatage, released in 1993 on Atlantic Records. It was the last album to contain the talents of the late guitarist Criss Oliva. It is also the first Savatage album to feature Zachary Stevens on lead vocals, following the departure of Jon Oliva from the fore of the band.

Track Listing
01. Edge Of Thorns
02. He Carves His Stone
03. Lights Out
04. Skraggy's Tomb
05. Labyrinths
06. Follow Me
07. Exit Music
08. Degrees Of Sanity
09. Conversation Piece
10. All That I Bleed
11. Damien
12. Miles Away
13. Sleep

Savatage - Streets: A Rock Opera - 1991


Streets: A Rock Opera

Streets: A Rock Opera (often simply shortened to Streets) is a concept album by Savatage, dealing with the rise and fall of the musician DT Jesus. It was originally released in October 1991 on Atlantic Records. The album took almost a year to record, with pre-production beginning in October 1990. This would be the last Savatage album founder Jon Oliva would perform lead vocals on until the 2001 release of Poets and Madmen although he would remain active with the band as a composer and keyboard player.

Track Listing
01. Streets
02. Jesus Saves
03. Tonight He Grins Again
04. Strange Reality
05. A Little Too Far
06. You're Alive
07. Sammy And Tex
08. St. Patrick's
09. Can You Hear Me Now
10. New York City Don't Mean Nothing
11. Ghost In The Ruins
12. If I Go Away
13. Agony And Ecstasy
14. Heal My Soul
15. Somewhere In Time
16. Believe

Savatage - Gutter Ballet - 1989


Gutter Ballet

This album was a true turning point for the band, for after Jon Oliva watched The Phantom of the Opera in Toronto, he decided to change the sound of the band, from a heavy metal to a more progressive sound, which is reflected in songs such as "When the Crowds are Gone" and "Gutter Ballet". The final three songs ("Mentally Yours", "Summer's Rain", "Thorazine Shuffle") are a conceptual suite dealing with a single character as revealed by the band in interviews.

Track Listing

01. Of Rage And War
02. Gutter Ballet
03. Temptation Revelation
04. When The Crowds Are Gone
05. Silk And Steel
06. She's In Love
07. Hounds
08. The Unholy
09. Mentally Yours
10. Summer's Rain
11. Thorazine Shuffle


Savatage - Fight for the Rock - 1986


Fight for the Rock

Fight for the Rock is the fourth album released by the band Savatage, their first with new bass player Johnny Lee Middleton, who has since become the only ever-present member on each Savatage record released since.

Track Listing

01. Fight For The Rock
02. Out On The Streets
03. Crying For Love
04. Day After Day
05. The Edge Of Midnight
06. Hyde
07. Lady In Disguise
08. She's Only Rock n' Roll
09. Wishing Well
10. Red Light Paradise

Savatage - Power of the Night - 1985



Power of the Night

Power of the Night is the third album by the heavy metal band Savatage and was released in 1985. This record was produced by the hot producer of the time, Max Norman, who became better known as the producer of Megadeth's 1992 hit album Countdown to Extinction.

Track Listing
01. Power Of The Night
02. Unusual
03. Warriors
04. Necrophilia
05. Washed Out
06. Hard For Love
07. Fountain Of Youth
08. Skull Session
09. Stuck On You
10. In The Dream

Savatage - The Dungeons Are Calling - 1984



The Dungeons Are Calling

The Dungeons Are Calling is the second studio album by Savatage, released in 1984 on Combat Records. Though the album was not released until 1984, most of the songs featured on the album and Sirens had been in the bands set list since 1979, and were part of the Live In Clearwater and City Beneath The Surface EP's. Though it is a loosely based concept album, the title track, contrary to popular belief, is not about Hell or torture. The song is about the horrors of drug use. The song used many metaphors, which have been sometimes misunderstood.

Track Listing

01. The Dungeons Are Calling
02. By The Grace Of The Witch
03. Visions
04. Midas Knight
05. City Beneath The Surface
06. The Whip
07. Fighting For Your Love
08. Sirens [live]

Savatage - Sirens - 1983



Sirens

Sirens is Savatage's debut album released in 1983. It is much heavier than later Savatage albums, being closer to death metal than the band's more recent progressive style.

Track Listing
01. Sirens
02. Holocaust
03. I Believe
04. Rage
05. On The Run
06. Twisted Little Sister
07. Living For The Night
08. Scream Murder
09. Out On The Streets