Hey edgeofthorns........

[edgeofthorns]

Handful of Rain is easily the darkest and most overlooked Savatage album. Songs like "Watching You Fall", "Symmetry", "Chance", "Stare into the Sun" and of course the godly "Alone You Breathe" are simply incredible. This album may be Zak at his most expressive.

I love Handful of Rain. I always say that it stands out like a sore thumb amongst the rest of the Sava-catalog. I agree that it's a dark album.

Oh, and Streets is the best album in the history of music. So if you wanna hear some Jon-era Tage, get Streets first. Then get Gutter Ballet as well.

I remember that it took me awhile to warm up to Streets believe or not, then one day it just hit me. I haven't looked back since. The title track's chorus is one of the best....EVER! You talk about dark! It sounds like it should be on the soundtrack of the movie, The Omen!

Whoa! I had never heard of Doctor Butcher and then I heard some samples on Amazon. Some killer stuff.

I have to be in the mood for that album, but it is great.

Doctor Butcher is one of Jon's finest efforts, a personal fave of mine

It's not among my favorites of his, but it's a fun listen for like I said, when I'm in the mood to be pissed off! The Altar is my favorite cut.

~Brian~

 

[SavaVIDude]

Oh, and Streets is the best album in the history of music. So if you wanna hear some Jon-era Tage, get Streets first. Then get Gutter Ballet as well.

What he said...

Quote:
Originally Posted by nomisofsiman
Whoa! I had never heard of Doctor Butcher and then I heard some samples on Amazon. Some killer stuff.
I have to be in the mood for that album, but it is great.

Dude - I pretty much have to be ready to KILL someone to be in the mood for The Butcher!!!!

Originally Posted by Jasonic
I suppose this thread deserves a follow up.
Ok, here is my one criticism, which I know is NOT going to be popular, esp with this crowd. From this live collection, to be quite blunt, I would say Jon's vocals are the weakest link.

You have a valid point here. Part of this is the mix and the lack of post-show overdubs. Anyone that has heard Jon sing live, even recently, knows his voice is as strong as ever. I even heard hin sing "Beyond the Doors of the Dark" a couple of years ago and he NAILED it!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by SavaVIDude
I do.

I know that you do, that's why I said that! You showed it to me one time down at ProgPower, but you probably don't remember. It stood out to me, because they're aren't too many people with those tats.
~Brian~

Brian -Please introduce yourself to me (again) this year. I've GOT to remember you!! I'll be in a Six Minute Century shirt at the showcase, in front stage left. Otherwise, I'll be the long-haired dude in a black Savatage shirt!!!

Peace out,
Chris

 

[Jasonic]

You have a valid point here. Part of this is the mix and the lack of post-show overdubs. Anyone that has heard Jon sing live, even recently, knows his voice is as strong as ever. I even heard hin sing "Beyond the Doors of the Dark" a couple of years ago and he NAILED it!!

Cool, yeah ,I am regretting now skipping JOP when they toured a couple years back. Esp after seeing their setlist.

I have sampled some JOP solo stuff. Pretty much my same assessment as with Savatage. Some appeals to me, and some doesn't.

Either way, I would like to see the Mountain King live someday.

Does anyonne know with the new JOP disc out if their are plans for a N American tour?

 

[edgeofthorns]

Brian -Please introduce yourself to me (again) this year. I've GOT to remember you!! I'll be in a Six Minute Century shirt at the showcase, in front stage right. Otherwise, I'll be the long-haired dude in a black Savatage shirt!!!

Peace out,
Chris

Chris, if I make down this year, I'll do that. It's still up in the air whether I'll be able to come down or not.

Does anyonne know with the new JOP disc out if their are plans for a N American tour?

I sure hope so and I'm assuming they will.

~Brian~

 

[BenMech]

The only inessential 'Tage albums are Poets and Madmen, Streets, and Fight For the goblinCock.

I still haven't heard JO's P albums, and I gave up on C2C after the first album.

Doctor Butcher's self-titled is essential. It's the missing other half of Handful of Rain

 

[Harvester]

The only inessential 'Tage albums are Poets and Madmen, Streets, and Fight For the goblinCock.

Streets?!?!?

 

[SavaVIDude]

The only inessential 'Tage albums are Poets and Madmen, Streets, and Fight For the goblinCock.

I still haven't heard JO's P albums, and I gave up on C2C after the first album.

Doctor Butcher's self-titled is essential. It's the missing other half of Handful of Rain

STREETS?!?!??!?! uke::Smokin::zombie:

It took two years to grow on me. But since I have LIVED STREETS, it has become my #1 all time favorite CD. I can even understand where you are coming from; it was boring to me at first.

A suggestion to anyone: Read the story in the liner. Then think of ANY difficulty you have had to live through - it could be a death a divorce - anything that is extarordinary and saddening. Then, listen to the entire CD all the way through and substitute DT's drug and guilt problems with your own. If you are not a spiritual person, you may not like the message. The mssage is: All things are possible if you truly BELIEVE in a higher power.

Peace,
Chris

 

[edgeofthorns]

Streets?!?!?

Is there anyway we can have BenMech admitted into therapy for this statement?

...I'm joking of course. It's just that I've never heard anyone say that about Streets before. Granted, Fight for the Rock deserves a good, after school ass kicking from time to time!

~Brian~

 

[Pellaz]

A suggestion to anyone: Read the story in the liner. Then think of ANY difficulty you have had to live through - it could be a death a divorce - anything that is extarordinary and saddening. Then, listen to the entire CD all the way through and substitute DT's drug and guilt problems with your own. If you are not a spiritual person, you may not like the message. The mssage is: All things are possible if you truly BELIEVE in a higher power.

Peace,
Chris

Bingo.
That's pretty much the reason why Streets is automagically "inessential" to BenMech.

 

[batmura]

The only inessential 'Tage albums are Poets and Madmen, Streets, and Fight For the goblinCock.

Ben, usually I'll agree with your posts, but to me, Poets is Sava's most underrated work. It is easily a masterpiece right there with albums like EOT, GB and of course Streets. I agree FFTR is awful. Also, anything pre-HOTMK is just a worthwhile listen if you like good guitar work, but even that doesn't make any of them amazing. The Paul O'Neill era makes Tage by far the greatest band on the planet for me.

 

[BenMech]

I'll amend that comment: "Ghost in the Ruins" is a kick your ass from Nome to Rome kinda song.

The rest of the album is a non-story based on Born Again Christian bullshit, I think.


Btw, For all you know, I could be a "spiritual" person, except that word's always phony used by phony "christian" assholes., who don't consider other mono/non/polytheistic concepts

As I've said elsewhere, Atheism only doesn't work because that would make deicide less fun.

 

[killingfield]

Although there are some religious, spiritual, and catholic/christian themes throughout the album I never saw it as a religious or newborn christian album. Yes, with songs like Jesus Saves, the lyrics to St. Patrick's Day, and the obvious Believe it may appear as christian record, but I always loved this album because it could be applied to any event or hardship in life. IMO is an essential album not just for Sava fans, metal fans, but one that can be enjoyed by everyone because I feel the album touches a theme that everyone can relate to at some time in life. Whether one questions God, or Allah, some kind of higher authority like a parent, a teacher, a boss, or even political figure. As for believe, I always saw it as a love song or a song that was meant to be more about...mmm...protecting the innocence within. No matter how many times life treats us as shit we gotta "Believe" and keep our drams intact and fight to reach them. At least that's the context I took the album, since I'm in no way associated with the church/organized religion.

Hope is universal.

 

[Metalmilitia2000]

I'm not Christian, in fact, I am very anti all organized religion. I think it is a tool to control the masses, but that aside, being an absolutely non-spiritual person in every sense of the word, I fucking LOVE Streets. Definitely in my top 3 Sava albums.

Brent

 

[edgeofthorns]

I think people tend to blow Streets' concept out of proportion. I honestly don't think O'Neill or Oliva was trying to preach Christianity in this album. With that said, I think the overall story is about a musician finding his way out of being a junkie. The song Jesus Saves isn't about Christ, rather than about a guitarist. I think that you can interpret the Streets concept in any way you want. So, BenMech if the concept is the only thing that bothers you, I honestly don't think it's "Christian" message. That's just my two cents worth.

~Brian~

 

[BenMech]

Maybe. It's a harsh struggle to get through that album. Most of the songs are just a blur.
However, I've always enjoyed Wake of Magellan and DWD

 

[edgeofthorns]

Maybe. It's a harsh struggle to get through that album. Most of the songs are just a blur.
However, I've always enjoyed Wake of Magellan and DWD

DWD is my all time favorite Sava-album. It's not where I'd tell someone new to them to start out at, but my favorite nonetheless.

~Brian~

 

[metalmusic]

Funny how so many see Streets as a Christian album. As an atheist, I like to quote these lines:


Surely you must care
Or are you only air
Built in our minds
When we're in binds
Never really there


Pretty much sums it up!

 

[BenMech]

DWD is my all time favorite Sava-album. It's not where I'd tell someone new to them to start out at, but my favorite nonetheless.

~Brian~

Funny. DWD was my first Tage disc. Pretty sure that had to do with the mainstream rock news reports about "the rock opera set in the war torn streets of Bosnia" back when Bosnia was at the top of the nightly news