Born
in Florida 11 years ago, Savatage released five blistering collections
to date, garnering worldwide legions of fanatical followers with their
intense, explosive rock. With last year's departure of lead vocalist Jon
Oliva, Savatage went through a wrenching change that would have ripped
most bands to shreds.
Undaunted, the group used this opportunity to crank it's sound up to the next level. "EDGE OF THORNS," Savatage's gripping new album, is living proof that this dynamic outfit was tested in the furnace of change and renewal and has come out better and heavier for it.
"Jon's stepped aside to do other things," explains Savatage's new vocalist Zachary Stevens. "He just got to that point. Jon's still writing for other artists, and he's starting to write another rock opera."
As the new guy in a twelve-year-old band, Zach, who formerly fronted Boston's Wicked Witch, had his work cut out for him, especially following a vocalist as distinctive as Jon Oliva. The band knew the most important thing was to find a true successor to their long-time co-leader, rather than a mere replacement.
"I didn't want to replace Jon with a singer who tried to sound like him," Criss explains. "If Jon wasn't going to be singing, we had to make a total change, get something different. There's no question about that. Zach definitely doesn't sound like my brother. He sings the old stuff very well, but it's going to sound different."
Savatage was formed by brothers Jon and Criss Oliva and drummer Steve Wacholz a dozen years ago in Tampa, Florida. Originally called Avatar, they released one record under that name and got a lesson in the business of rock.
"We had all kinds of legal hassles, so we decided to change the name for the next album," Wacholz recalls. "We wanted to keep some of the name Avatar, so we kept the 'avata,' added an 's' and a 'g' and an 'e,' and there you have it -- Savatage."
On the strength of countless live shows and their first indie EP, 1983's "CITY BENEATH THE SURFACE," Savatage began creating a major buzz with metal fans in the South and beyond. By the release of their 1985 Atlantic debut, "POWER OF THE NIGHT," the band had developed a worldwide following. 1986 saw the group release "FIGHT FOR THE ROCK," and Kerrang! gave Savatage's 1987 release "HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN KING," their highest rating, saying: "By rights, Savatage should now be firmly rooted amongst the biggest Heavy Metal bands in the world."
Their next album, "GUTER BALLET," was named the metal record of the year by both The Hard Report and Concrete's Foundations, and the song "Of Rage and War" topped the metal charts in both CMJ and The Friday Morning Quarterback. The title track energized MTV's Headbanger's Ball for three staggering months. Savatage's latest album, the 1991 rock opera "STREETS," earned the band a top ten metal radio hit with "Jesus Saves." Over time, they have developed from a raw, thrashing death metal band to one of the hardest progressive metal bands ever.
"Savatage started in the death metal scene and has moved on to bigger and better things," Zach exclaims. "Starting with 'HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN KING,' Savatage has been able to go in and pick up a chunk of every level of metal fan. This record will get another chunk. We want all the people who bought the very first albums to buy this record and like it, too. With that goal in mind, we've put together elements of the older songs plus a whole new thing, covering all the old ground and trying to add a little more. I think we've succeeded in that."
"Every song has a real life story behind it," Criss adds. "'Skraggy's Tomb' is about alcoholism, crawling into a bottle. 'He Carves His Stone' is about carving your own epitaph on your tombstone. 'Damien' tells the story of a big, fat, rich man that comes across this poor kid, and lets him know how life is. That one and 'Conversation Piece' are pretty strange."
Co-produced and co-written by Jon and Criss, "EDGE OF THORNS" was produced and co-written by long-time studio collaborator Paul O'Neill. The album boats a leaner, meaner, guitar-driven sound, without taking away the progressive adge the band has been honing since "HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN KING." "Degrees of Sanity," for example, gets an exotic sound from the riffs that Criss plays on the electric sitar, while open chords give many songs a dark feel. Clearly, Savatage has come a long way from thrash.
"The end result on "EDGE OF THORNS' was based totally on believability and passion," Zach asserts. "That's how one learns to perform in Savatage."
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