Savatage

Savatage is an American heavy metal band that started in Tarpon Springs, Florida, in 1979, founded by brothers Jon and Criss Oliva. They originally called themselves Avatar, but had to switch names just before putting out their first album, *Sirens* (1983), because another band already had that name. The group is seen as a key part of the early-to-mid-1980s American heavy metal scene and has been named as a major influence on several metal styles. Over their career, they have put out eleven studio albums, three live albums, five compilations, and three EPs. For their fourth album, *Hall of the Mountain King* (1987), Savatage began working with producer and songwriter Paul O'Neill. This partnership brought the band a lot of critical praise, and O'Neill continued to work with them on every album after that until his death in 2017. The band kept up its success with *Gutter Ballet* (1990) and *Streets: A Rock Opera* (1991), which marked their shift from an earlier power metal sound into progressive metal, while also trying out opera-inspired lyrics. Their seventh album, *Edge of Thorns* (1993), produced the band's only single to chart, the title track "Edge of Thorns." Six months after that album came out, on October 17, 1993, guitarist Criss Oliva died in a car crash. Following his death, Jon Oliva and producer Paul O'Neill decided to keep Savatage going as a tribute to Criss. The band released four more studio albums and went through many lineup changes before taking a long break in 2002. During those years—and even before the hiatus—members started several new projects, including Jon Oliva's Pain, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Circle II Circle, and Doctor Butcher. On August 2, 2014, Savatage announced they would reunite for the 2015 Wacken Open Air festival; although they talked about doing more shows and new music, they went back on hiatus afterward. In interviews from 2020 and 2021, band members said they were working on new material together, and Jon Oliva confirmed in April 2023 that the band had reunited. They are currently working on their first studio album in over twenty years, tentatively called *Curtain Call*, with a planned release in 2026. Criss Oliva and his brother Jon formed their first band together, Avatar, in 1979. Before that, Criss had been in Tower and Jon in Alien. In 1980, they met drummer Steve "Doc" Wacholz and started practicing in a small shack behind the Oliva home, which they called "The Pit." Wacholz had originally tried out for Jon's band Alien, but when the first Savatage lineup came together, Jon—who had been playing drums—handed those duties over to Wacholz. They gave Wacholz the nickname "Doctor Hardware Killdrums," often shortened to "Doc" or "Doc Killdrums," because of his hard-hitting style. Criss, Jon, and Wacholz played clubs in the Tampa and Clearwater areas for years (the family had moved there in the late 1970s). In 1981, Keith Collins joined to take over bass guitar from Jon. In late 2006, footage from an early Avatar show in a Clearwater parking lot appeared online, featuring an early version of the song "Holocaust" (later on Savatage's first album) and covers of Van Halen's "Eruption" and "You Really Got Me." In 1982, Avatar appeared on several heavy metal compilations, most notably *The YNF Pirate Tape*, a promotion by Tampa rock radio station 95YNF for local Florida bands. Shortly after that release, Avatar had to change its name due to copyright issues. The band combined "Savage" and "Avatar" to come up with Savatage. Their first album, *Sirens* (1983), and the EP *The Dungeons Are Calling* (1984) came out on the independent label Par Records. In 1984, they signed with Atlantic Records and released their second full-length album, *Power of the Night*, in May 1985. Produced by Max Norman, the album showed the band's unusual approach to metal, with Jon using keyboards freely on songs like "Fountain of Youth" and Broadway-style structures on tracks like "Warriors." Critics liked it, but sales were lower than expected. Atlantic offered to fund a video for "Hard for Love" if the band retitled it "Hot for Love" for broadcast. The band refused, and the video was never made. To promote *Power of the Night*, Savatage went on the Monsters of the Universe Tour with Rogue Male and Illusion, and also played with Mötley Crüe, Quiet Riot, Exodus, Raven, Overkill, and Armored Saint. In 1986, after releasing their third album, *Fight for the Rock*—a commercial attempt pushed by the record company that the band themselves called *Fight for the Nightmare*—Savatage toured with Metallica, Kiss, and Motörhead. The band was unhappy with the album, especially since the label pressured them to include two cover songs. Jon Oliva had also been kept on to write material for other Atlantic artists, like John Waite and other pop-rock musicians.