In this section, projects by past, present, and future members of Savatage are reviewed.
ENCYCLOPEDIA SAVATAGICA
DR. BUTCHER (page on the Official Savatage Site): a side project of Jon Oliva (vocals, piano, bass) and Chris Caffery (guitar), along with some guy named John Osborn (drums). Parallel to working on a semi-sweet "Dead Winter Dead" Savatage album and the molasses of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Jon has started this bitter and thrashy project. Discography includes demos (1994) and a self-titled album (1995).
TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA (Official Site): Savatage's most profitable project that originally focusing on Christmas themes, performed in the hard-rock-and-orchestra fashion but later moved on to other topics. At different points in time, it featured Zach Stevens (vocals), Al Pitrelli (guitar), Jeff Plate (drums), Caffery, Oliva, and scores of other musicians. The discography consists of "Christmas Eve And Other Stories" (1996), "The Christmas Attic" (1998), "Beethoven's Last Night" (2000), and "The Lost Christmas Eve" (2004). When Christmas is around the corner, look out for this dog-and-pony show in your local town theater.
CIRCLE II CIRCLE: Since Zachary Stevens is still officially out of Savatage, this project has its own section.
JON OLIVA's PAIN (Jon Oliva's Official Site): Jon Oliva's latest project that features practically the entire Circle II Circle lineup: Matt LaPorte (guitars), John Zahner (keys, vocals), Kevin Rothney (bass, vocals), and Chris Kinder (drums). Now has two albums under its collective belt.
CHRIS CAFFERY (Official Site): In 2004 Chris released a double-cd debut, entitled "Faces," where he not only handled all guitars, but all vocals as well. Savatage drummer Jeff Plate did all the drumming on that album. That was soon followed up with "W.A.R.P.E.D." (2005) and a brand new "Pins & Needles" (2007).
DR. BUTCHER: S/T (1995)
RATING: ****1/2
BEST SONGS: "Reach Out & Torment Someone," "I Hate, You Hate, We All Hate," "All For One, None For All"
Simply put, an outstanding Savatage album. While all properly labeled 90s Savatage albums were outstanding works in arrangements, melody, and emotion, this side work is outstanding in crunch and anger. This is Jon Oliva's thrashiest work since Dungeons, and possibly -- his thrashiest work ever. You just can't get much more vicious than this, and every song is a lesson in frustration and fury: from the opening licks in "The Altar" to the closing crushing chords of "All For One, None For All." Virtually every track is good: "The Altar" (subject -- child abuse in Catholic church), "Don't Talk to Me" (child abuse and domestic disputes), "Seasons Of The Witch" (general evil), "Reach Out And Torment Someone" (annoying phone calls; this one just kills), "The Chair" (yes, you guessed it), crunchy "Picture's Wild" (sounds like "the bitch is wild"), and finally -- a dual attack of "I Hate, You Hate, We All Hate" and "All For One" (two enormously cynical pieces, dealing with all of the world's problems at once). This is the first time (on a proper time scale) that we can experience Chris Caffery's much improved guitar playing, as he briefly steps out of the shadow of Criss Oliva, before going back again into the shadow of Al Pitrelli. His thrashy sound and nasty chops compliment Jon's shrieks perfectly. My copy comes with several bonus demo tracks, and they are also quite cool: "Born Of The Bored" (this one would totally belong on Streets in its piano-ladden depression), "Help! Police!" (one wicked social commentary that everybody who's ever been pulled over for speeding can relate to), and a couple of others. Overall: top notch power thrash, and if you see it, don't let it slip by. I realize that the musical direction of Dr. Butcher was far from what Jon wanted Savatage to take, but a part of me still love to hear a Savatage album where the melody of Handful Of Rain, Dead Winter Dead, and The Wake Of Magellan would meet the cutting-edge thrash of Dr. Butcher.
Chris Caffery: FACES / GOD DAMN WAR (2004)
BEST SONGS: title track, "Pisses Me Off," "Bag O'Bones" (CD1), "Fool, Fool," "I," "Piece Be With You" (CD2)
If you get a 2CD version, you get 25 tracks! That is a lot of material from the emerging star of Savatage. I have first heard Chris sing on the ProgPower USA 5.0 Festival in September 2004, where he stepped up to the mike twice to relieve Jon Oliva (Zach Stevens suffered a bad accident two days prior to the festival, and Oliva delivered a blistering two-and-a-half-hour performance) and did a commendable job on "Edge Of Thorns" and "Power Of The Night." Now, listening to Caffery's solo debut, I see that that was no accident: the man can sing. No, he is not Stevens or Oliva or any of the modern day vocal gods, but he delivers a very strong and spirited performance. Actually, his voice is not unlike Oliva's, circa 1994 and Dr. Butcher. In fact, Dr. Butcher and Poets And Madmen would be two decent reference points to describe this album. It is very angry, raw, dirty-sounding, and unpolished work, but full of late 'Tage's signature riffs. Better yet, it is dripping with attitude, something that was not seen a lot on Stevens's albums, but Caffery is clearly taking the edgiest road possible. Tunes like "Pisses Me Off," "The Mold," "Jealousy," and "Beat Me, You Never Beat Me" are simply overflowing with rage and fury, with both music and lyrics molding into the rusty shovel of sonic assault. "Pisses Me Off" ("My life pisses me off! I'm fucking sick of the human race!") is a perfect diagnosis for any beginning psychiatrist, and it would fit right next to such pearls of anger as "Reach Out And Torment Someone" and "I Hate, You Hate, We All Hate," from Dr. Butcher. Overall, there is simply a lot of very strong material, and virtually every track puts something good on the table, starting from the speedy, almost power metal-lish title track. There are several excellent mid-tempo cynical pieces: "Fade Into The X," "The Fall," "So Far Today," and "Piece Be With You." I especially dig the last two. "Music Man," on the other hand, sounds like something Billy Joel (or Martin Walkiyer) would do (not just because of the title): it is a sweet, light-hearted, acoustic ballad. Semi-acoustic "Bag O'Bones," reminiscent of both Alice In Chains and Tarot's "Painless," is one of my favorites: it is really cool and tasty. Btw, another song that is not dissimilar to Skyclad is "The Mold": it is very politically angry. And, naturally, you cannot have an album from the Savatage camp that would not feature a multi-vocal harmony piece: first disc concluding "Abandoned" has just that. Let me say that Chris is, again, not as impressive as either "Chance," "One Child," or even "Fields Of Sorrow," but the main melody ("What is love, it never knew me…") is pretty cool.
The second disc, God Damn War, is a little weaker, mostly due to the absence of clear highlights, except a mid-paced cynic fest, "Piece Be With You." Still it is quite good. "Fool, Fool," "Edge Of Darkness," and "I" all have their moments, and sarcastic rendition of "Amazing Grace" will leave you grinning. No lyrics to this part is included, but the booklet does have a very long collection of insights from Chris on the subjectf of war, terrorism, and so on, and so forth, which is not particularly well written, which, in combination, with a blind font, make it impossible to read. What this album does not have is a lot of shredding, surprising, if you ask me, because on P&M, Chris has established himself as a very competent axeman. Some cool lengthy solos can be found in the outro to "Never," in "Jealousy," and in the "Preludio" instrumental. Nonetheless, the emphasis is clearly on songs and attitude: nothing wrong with that. The lyrics are a bit uneven, but clearly some thought has gone into them, and that is all I can ask for, and certain lyrical passages are fairly interesting. One complain I have is that "Preludio" and "Abandoned" should go one right after another, but instead there is a long pause between tracks here, breaking the mood. Another complaint is that the lyrics to "Jealousy" disgust me and the "jealousy, jealousy, jealousy" outro is extremely annoying (although the chorus is still pretty cool). Overall: an excellent album, well worth whatever the price they ask, and full of great metal.
Jon Oliva's PAIN: 'TAGE MAHAL (2004)
RATING: ****
BEST SONGS: "Walk Alone," "Father, Son, Holy Ghost," "All The Time"
Savatage is currently in the contract dispute with Paul O'Neill, and there is no end in sight, therefore do not expect any albums under this moniker any time soon. Which does not mean the members of the Sava-camp can be stopped from releasing music. In 2005 we have a second album from Circle II Circle on the way, and in 2004 we were treated with solo projects from Chris Caffery and Jon "Die Hard" Oliva. I guess it kinda leaves Diamond Jiniya hanging, but hey -- what can we do? Anyway, "Jon Oliva's Pain" project also includes the entire Circle II Circle lineup, making the whole situation pretty incestuous. Add to that none other than Steve "Dr. Killdrums" Wacholz playing on "No Escape" and "Nowhere To Run" and Jon himself playing guitar. I think you all know well what to expect here. This is very similar to P&M, albeit not quite as sharp in the sound department and without Chris Caffery, but Jon is Jon, and there are certain things he sticks to, no matter what: dominant keys with very characteristic melodies, heavy-but-not-too-heavy-and-not-too-complicated guitar riffs, rapidly spoken words, massive background singing, and Jon's own trademark grating voice. His singing is actually better than on P&M, and he is not afraid to scream.
Opening "The Dark" belongs straight on P&M, from the piano intro to the catchy chorus. Next comes the song that every band with fabled history and dedicated fans should have: a tribute to oneself, an acknowledgement of one's achievements through the use of song titles, most famous examples being Manowar "Blood Of A King" and Megadeth "Victory." So "People Say -- Gimme Some Hell" is just that, taking on the entire Savatage catalog, from "City Beneath The Surface" to "The Hourglass." I think it would be more fitting if there were other Savatage members doing guest work, but the song is cool nonetheless. The piano-and-riffs work continue for the duration on the album, at times speeding up, at times slowing down, sometimes better, sometimes worse, but always with Oliva singing on top of his lungs (whatever is left of them), making up in emotion where he lacks power. "Guardian Of Forever" is similar to the opener, with some "Streets"-recalling melodies and sounds. Resemblance to Streets gets more and more evident with each consecutive track: "Slipping Away" reminds me of "You're Alive," and "Walk Alone" conjures "Can You Hear Me Now" and "If I Go Away" -- Streets emotionality monsters -- immediately making it one of the album's top spots. And so on, and so forth. Mid-tempo "Father, Son, And Holy Ghost" is a highlight, and so is Queen-influenced "All The Time" (which would not be out of place on The Wake Of Magellan). "Nowhere To Run" has a nice thumping main riff, but it disappears in the most inappropriate moment: as soon as you actually start rocking out.
What about the lyrics? Well, they are definitely still decent. Most of them display a general feeling of confusion and helplessness in the face of the problems that dominate our planet and realization that there is very little that one man can do. While not quite as thought-provoking as in the days gone by, they are still head and shoulders above the crap that we hear every day on the radio. Verdict: not the fabulous album that other Savatage side projects turned out to be, but still a good, solid, piano-driven metal album.
Chris Caffery: W.A.R.P.E.D. (2005)
RATING: ****
BEST SONGS: "Erase," "Piece Be With You," "State Of The Head"
A full set of war-themed songs, half of them already appearing on the God Damn War cd. If you liked Faces (or God Damn War), you should not think twice about getting this baby, because it brings seven more excellent songs, in the same style as the debut. I even confess to liking the new songs more than the original GDW material, although "Piece Be With You" is still the top spot of the album. It starts out with the plodding, Sabbath-y stomp of "Home Is Where The Hell Is" (with memorable lines like "The land of the free, the home of your graves" and "The 50 million in WWII ... I wonder what the toll will be / When I'm done with Number 3?"), and proceeds to the now-familiar "God Damn War." The new and old tracks are inter-dispersed throughout the album. "Election Day" is a bitter, almost punk, spoof of election propaganda, layered over the obnoxious "Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote!" sample, repeated ad nauseum. Chris takes no prisoners here, spitting his "pick your poison!" attitude to elections straight at our faces. "Erase," with its anthemic chorus, is one of the album's highlights. "Iraq Attack" is a Dr. Butcher song (sung by Jon Oliva), and it is mind-blowing how accurately the song written in 1994 describes the events that took place in 2003. The new title track features some Zach Stevens-like vocals in the beginning, as well as the drilling-sounding chorus. There is a different version of "Amazing Grace" here, different in a sense that, in addition to Chris's sarcastic singing, we get the barrage of special "battlefield" effects. For other songs, see the Faces / GDW review. It is curious that Caffery keeps away from shredding, concentrating instead on arrangement changes and the message. Overall, a fine addition to your "cynical day" collection.
Jon Oliva's PAIN: MANIACAL RENDERINGS (2006)
RATING: ****
BEST SONGS: "Through The Eyes Of The King," "Time To Die," "Timeless Flight"
Before I talk about the album, just one question: why exactly does Jon Oliva need six people in his band? The music does not require two guitars and he himself handles keyboards like few can. I just don't know… Anyway, Jon claimed that the second "Pain" album will be less like the debut, but more like early Savatage. For the duration of the first track, "Through The Eyes Of The King," it indeed sounds like the shredding power metal of Power Of The Night or HOTMK. The title track sounds like something from the Gutter Ballet era, and after that the music goes back to the ever familiar Queen-like piano orgy of later ‘Tage and Tage Mahal ("The Evil Beside You," "The Answer," "Who's Playing God," "Timeless Flight," "End Times"). That is, of course, far from being a bad thing. Just don't expect any significant "return to the roots." The tracks that Jon claims to contain "newly found material, written by Criss" are not that different from Jon's own stuff (title track, "The Evil Beside You," etc.). But that's the album that Jon made, so deal with it. Besides "The Eyes Of The King," the rockers include: title track, "Time To Die" (a mid-tempo neck-snapper, with the text that may very well pertain to G.W. Bush), and "Push It To The Limit" (this speedster is an attempt to sound like early Savatage is, in fact, closer to "Drive" from P&M). "Timeless Flight" starts as a typical unmemorable piano ballad but then it just explodes: a great addition to the legacy! "Holes" is good but would have benefited from Zach Stevens' vocals. And the rest is along the same lines. My version comes with an 11-minute bonus track, "Reality's Fool," which is an OK song plus several minutes of guitar noodling, courtesy of Jon's nephew. Oliva's voice gets stronger and stronger with each release; this phenomenon is simply inexplicable. Overall, this album is almost exactly like its predecessor. If you liked that one, you'll like this one too. If not – forget it. Oh, and the cover art reminds me of Ozzy's No Rest For The Wicked.
Chris Caffery: PINS & NEEDLES (2007)
RATING: **1/2
BEST SONGS: "Walls," "Chained," "Temple"
It's hard to pinpoint just why is Chris's third full-length release is so much weaker than either of the previous two. The tightness, the intensity, and the spirit are all there. Stylistically it's not that different from the predecessors. A little less caustic, but there is still enough anger here to match any thrash release. The sound is darker and overall more mature, but that hardly ever takes away from the quality of the music. So it's gotta be the songwriting. It is merely "OK." Chris is not breaking new ground on any of his songs, he uses a lot of the same arrangements and tricks as on the first two albums, and most of the tracks are indistinguishable from each other. What kills this album is the lack of catchy melodies and the grooves that made songs like "Abandoned" click so well. I barely remember any of them after several repeated listens. The best songs are the atmospheric ones: "Walls" (dark, depressing, with a nice piano break in the middle) and "Temple." "Chained" is another good melodic piece with a strong potential mainstream appeal. This deficit of strong material pushes forth Chris's main limitation: vocals. Maybe for this reason they grate me more than ever. The lyrics are decisively vaguer than before. What "Sign Of The Crossed" and "S-A-D" about, I cannot even guess, although the chorus of the latter sounds like something a high school senior would be happy to sing along to ("SAT" – Scholastic Aptitude Test). Naturally, the title of the album implies drugs, but I couldn't find too many references in the lyrics. "Reach Out And Torment Again," which immediately recalls the track by Dr. Butcher, has nothing to do with telephones. I don't even know what does it have to do with, but I don't like it. It just does not sound good, which, in fact, rings true for the rest of the album as well. Also "You Gotta Be Fuckin' Kidding Me" gives the unconquerable "packaged rebellion" sensation. To sum up: I hope this is just a lapse and not a sign that the coffer of Chris's creativity only contained ideas left over from ‘Tage and has dried up after two albums.
Jon Oliva's PAIN: GLOBAL WARNING (2008)
RATING: ***
BEST SONGS: "Firefly," "Stories"
I don't care how many "re-discovered" Criss's demos Jon uses on this disc: the songwriting is the weakest I've ever heard from him. Even this album's brightest moment, "Firefly," would have a hard time cracking Top 3 on any of Savatage / DrButcher / JOPain releases. The "political awareness" element is also kept very general, without a shred of specific viewpoint / suggestion / philosophy. Every time Oliva mentions "drugs," it seems disingenuous: by his own admission he still smokes dope. The songs try to be angry, but come out insipid. Such is a piano-friendly rocker, "Look at the World": hello, Billy Joel! "Adding the Cost" (the chorus sounds like "We are Anna Nicole's", as if it's a custody battle after Mrs. Smith's death) and "Stories" have nearly identical parts, but the latter is more intricate and overall better. "Firefly" is a definite highlight, and the story behind it is actually thought-provoking – two soldiers duel in the forest to discover they are the same man – recalling just what made Savatage the best American band of 1990s (some moments resemble "If I Go Away"). "Before I Hang" is a reworked tune from the "Gutter Ballet" sessions: Jon dramatically reduced its energy, added lyrics very similar to "Strange Reality" (another "Streets" moment) with a "modernized" edge, and in the end I just wish he has rerecorded the original. "Master" pretty much sucks. Terrible lyrics, and the industrial sound a-la Depeche Mode simply doesn't suit Oliva. Plus, when he yells: "I am computah!" he doesn't sound menacing, just funny. "The Ride" has a Led Zep feel, as advertised, and, since I don't care for Led Zep, it's more a minus in my eyes than a plus. The rest is pretty much forgettable. In short, there is nothing "global" about this album. It will reach few people and touch even fewer. Yes, I completely agree, trying to "warn the world" is a noble idea, but one needs to back it up with some solid songwriting to catch on. I cringe every time I hear another "open up your eyes." Luckily, the Mountain King has several truly "global warnings" in his catalog, so I wouldn't be upset at him if he were to seek his inspiration elsewhere. In fact, one thing this album makes me do is want to re-listen to "Streets".
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