Trans-Siberian Orchestra
American neoclassical metal band known for rock operas and arena tours.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American band that blends classical music with heavy rock, formed in 1996. The group was the brainchild of Paul O'Neill, a producer, composer, and lyricist who assembled a core creative team that included Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli from the band Savatage, along with keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel. TSO began to build a following after they started touring in 1999, following the release of their second album, *The Christmas Attic*, the year before. In 2007, *The Washington Post* called them "an arena-rock juggernaut" and compared their sound to "Pink Floyd meets Yes and the Who at Radio City Music Hall." The band has sold over ten million concert tickets and more than ten million albums. Their catalog includes several rock operas: *Christmas Eve and Other Stories*, *The Christmas Attic*, *Beethoven's Last Night*, *The Lost Christmas Eve*, the two-disc *Night Castle*, and *Letters from the Labyrinth*. TSO is also well-known for its charitable work and for putting on elaborate shows that feature a string section, a light show, lasers, moving trusses, video screens, and effects timed to the music. Both *Billboard* and Pollstar have ranked them among the top twenty-five best-selling ticket acts of the first decade of the 2000s. Their rise was unusual: according to O'Neill, TSO is the first major rock band to go straight to theaters and arenas, never having played a club, never having been an opening act, and never having had an opening act.
Quick Facts
- Landscape
- yes
- Background
- group_or_band
- Origin
- Tampa, Florida, United States
- Genre
- Symphonic metal · progressive rock · progressive metal · neoclassical metal · Christmas · rock opera
- Years Active
- –present
- Alias
- TSO
- Label
- Lava · Atlantic · Rhino · Republic
- Spinoffs
- Jon Oliva's Pain
- Spinoff Of
- Savatage
- Current Members
- Jon Oliva / Al Pitrelli / Robert Kinkel / Chris Caffery
- Past Members
- Paul O'Neill / Touring member list
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Trans-Siberian Orchestra was founded in 1996 by Paul O'Neill, who had previously managed and produced bands including Aerosmith, AC/DC, and Scorpions, and had worked with Savatage. O'Neill accepted an offer from Atlantic Records to start his own band, building on a foundation of classical and rock music inspired by artists such as Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Queen, Yes, the Who, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, and Led Zeppelin. He brought in Jon Oliva, Robert Kinkel, and Al Pitrelli to help start the project. The band's name was inspired by O'Neill's visit to Russia in the 1980s, where he saw the beauty and harshness of Siberia and the Trans-Siberian Railway, drawing a parallel to music as a safe passage through life.
Reader's Guide
Trans-Siberian Orchestra's significance lies in their unusual path to success: according to O'Neill, they are the first major rock band to go straight to theaters and arenas, having never played at a club, never been an opening act, and never had an opening act. Their debut album, *Christmas Eve and Other Stories* (1996), remains among their best-selling albums and launched a trilogy of Christmas rock operas, completed with *The Christmas Attic* (1998) and *The Lost Christmas Eve* (2004). They also released *Beethoven's Last Night* (2000), *Night Castle* (2009), and *Letters from the Labyrinth*. Both *Billboard* Magazine and Pollstar ranked them among the top twenty-five ticket-selling bands in the first decade of the new millennium. In 2007, *The Washington Post* described their music as 'Pink Floyd meets Yes and the Who at Radio City Music Hall.' Their legacy includes over ten million albums sold in the United States and a reputation as one of the most commercially successful touring acts combining rock and classical music.
Did You Know?
- Trans-Siberian Orchestra has sold more than ten million concert tickets and over ten million albums.
- The band's debut album, *Christmas Eve and Other Stories*, contains the instrumental 'Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24', which originally appeared on Savatage's rock opera *Dead Winter Dead*.
More in American symphonic metal musical groups 1-22
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