Savatage Slightly Overlooked Gems!!!

[axehomeyg]

Its very interesting to see your lists, since you are all such big fans! Here's mine which includes several ties (I know, its cheating)...

1. Wake of Magellan
2. Streets
3. Handful of Rain ( Alex Skolnick is a personal hero, and 'Chance' is fucking brilliant)
4. HOTMK (This is a 'raw' as I want my Sava.. WHITE WITCH, WHITE WITCH)

# There are genius bits here and there, but, they don't hold together as cohesive albums to me, as much as above
5. Dead Winter Dead
6. Poets and Madmen (Oddly, Morphine Child is my fav. Sava song. Don't know how to reconcile that with the blahness of the rest of the album)
7. Edge Of Thorns
8. Gutter Ballet

# This stuff is so dry to me, I am thrilled to have listened to them but they don't age well for me.
9. Sirens, PoTN, Dungeons are Calling, Fight For the Rock

I love Criss Oliva to death, and his playing, but I think Jon and Paul are the ones that created so much music that moved me. Even JOP's pain has all the thematic development and musical beauty that I expect out of Savatage, so you won't find me crying for a reunion anytime soon.

Edit: I a) can't count, and, b) decided that there can be no ties with Sava.

 

[edgeofthorns]

Check this out for grins...

I think Chris sounds great doing this, if you can just ignore the rest of the band. It's like he come over to your house to bs and wound up jamming to some Sava tunes!



~Brian~

 

[axehomeyg]

Thats amazing. There is no way that I could sing and play MWC songs simultaneously. Man, all the Sava guys are pros to the core. Nice find with Morning Sun, btw. That song has always been one of my favs. That whole metal/artsy waltz vibe of that song is probably one of the most unique songs. Even my g/f at the time of the album loved it (which is huge coming from an almost exclusive hip-hop lover). I mean, who the hell else sounds like that?? As much as I love Circus Maximus, Dream Theater, Symphony X, etc.. I don't think any of those bands take as many liberties with basic songwriting that Savatage takes.

I, maybe oddly, don't feel that WoM was overkill. I thought it was the beginning of something epic. They could have taken it so many directions, but instead they went the TSO route. As much as I love TSO, I think my imagination had them going some place totally differently. I guess when you find yourself wishing that your favorite band had gone a different way, its time to pick up the guitar and 8-track recorder and start painting your own destiny right!

 

[booB]

1) Edge of Thorns
2) The Wake of Magellan
3) Dead Winter Dead
4) Power of the Night
5) Hall of the Mountain King
6) The Dungeons Are Calling
7) Sirens
8) Poets and Madmen
9) Handful of Rain
10) Gutter Ballet
11) Streets
12) Fight for the Rock

 

[SavaVIDude]

Chris sang EOT and PotN at ProgPower a few years back wthth "Weapons of Mass Destruction". Here's my list:

1. STREETS (no contest here for me here!!)
2. Gutter Ballet
3. HOMK
4. EOT
5. HOR
6. WOM
7. Dungeons
8. DWD
9. Poets
10. PotN
12. Sirens
11. FFR

Criss was far and away my favorite rock guitar EVER. RIP, Bro.

Chris

 

[metalmusic]

Let's see, this tends to change around, but currently:

1. Edge of Thorns
2. Poets and Madmen
3. Hall of the Mountain King
4. Handful of Rain
5. Dead Winter Dead
6. Gutter Ballet
7. Streets
8. Sirens
9. Dungeons
10. WOM
11. PotN
12. FFtR

I'd like to say that though I find the music on WOM beautiful, the lyrics just kill it for me. Especially The Hourglass:


Standing alone by the edge of a river
He's traded his life for a glass full of tears
The bargain was quick for one's life is less dearer
When the sand's running out and the ending is near

Less dearer? Really? Just a little too cheesy for me.

(Sorry if I offended anyone with that-just my opinion, and I know it's a minority one. But I'm okay with that! )

 

[edgeofthorns]

Chris sang EOT and PotN at ProgPower a few years back wthth "Weapons of Mass Destruction".

Yep, I remember. That was my first ProgPower and what a way to start my tenure!

~Brian~

 

[ICEDEARTHFAN]

It never fails when I get ready to listen to some Savatage,I have to include the song "Holocaust" from Sirens.There is just something about the opening guitar to that song that I can't get enough of.

 

[Matt Crooks]

Here's my list, though #1 and #2 are almost a tie. I got HotMK when it came out and wore the tape out in the car, then I did the same thing with GB. The title track to Gutter Ballet remains my favorite song of all time...

1) Gutter Ballet
2) Hall of the Mountain King
3) The Dungeons Are Calling
4) The Wake of Magellan
5) Power of the Night
6) Sirens
7) Poets and Madmen
8) Edge of Thorns
9) Dead Winter Dead
10) Handful of Rain
11) Streets
12) Fight for the Rock

 

[edgeofthorns]

11) Streets

Ouch! I don't think I've ever seen Streets that far down on someone's list before.

~Brian~

 

[ICEDEARTHFAN]

Ouch! I don't think I've ever seen Streets that far down on someone's list before.

~Brian~

Sammy & Tex is my fave song from that album

 

[Matt Crooks]

Ouch! I don't think I've ever seen Streets that far down on someone's list before.

~Brian~

To be honest, it didn't click with me when it came out, and I have not gone back and revisited it since. If I gave it another chance, I might like it more, but generally I'm not a huge fan of anything from Streets until Wake of Magellan.

 

[edgeofthorns]

To be honest, it didn't click with me when it came out, and I have not gone back and revisited it since. If I gave it another chance, I might like it more, but generally I'm not a huge fan of anything from Streets until Wake of Magellan.

When you get the chance, go back and revisit it, listening to it through your headphones. Really sit down, listen, and follow along. The title track is one of the most "erie" sounding songs ever! It's so dark, I love it!

~Brian~

 

[Rycher]

Streets bores the hell out of me.

 

[axehomeyg]

When you get the chance, go back and revisit it, listening to it through your headphones. Really sit down, listen, and follow along. The title track is one of the most "erie" sounding songs ever! It's so dark, I love it!

~Brian~

The first song on Streets to hook me was Strange Reality. That vibe at the end of the song is so trudging and awesome. Its one of those fading solos that I wish I could hear the original for. And then it was, of course, Jesus Saves with its explosive riff.

 

[Angrafan]

The stretch from Hall of the Mountain king to Wake of Magellan is the most consistent I've EVER seen from any band! Seriously, I can't think of any band that put out so many good discs in a roll.. I really can't rank Savatage albums.

My ranking would be something like:

1. Gutter Ballet/Streets/Edge of Thorns/Handful of Rain/Dead Winter Dead/Wake of Magellan
2. Hall of the Mountain King
3. Poets and Madmen
4. Sirens
5. Power Of The Night
6. Dungeons are Calling
7. Fight For the Rock

 

[DarkOne]

When you get the chance, go back and revisit it, listening to it through your headphones. Really sit down, listen, and follow along. The title track is one of the most "erie" sounding songs ever! It's so dark, I love it!

~Brian~

'Streets' is my favorite album of all time, but the title track is my least favorite song on the album. It's okay, but it's the crunching guitars on Jesus Saves and then the piano driven 'Tonight He Grins Again' that hooks me in.

Steve in Philly

 

[axehomeyg]

'Streets' is my favorite album of all time, but the title track is my least favorite song on the album. It's okay, but it's the crunching guitars on Jesus Saves and then the piano driven 'Tonight He Grins Again' that hooks me in.

Steve in Philly

I agree 100% about streets, the title track. I like to pretend the album starts with Jesus saves. The live version of js with the thousands of Japanese voices cracks me up. It's a powerful track for sure!

 

[edgeofthorns]

'Streets' is my favorite album of all time, but the title track is my least favorite song on the album. It's okay, but it's the crunching guitars on Jesus Saves and then the piano driven 'Tonight He Grins Again' that hooks me in.

Steve in Philly

I agree 100% about streets, the title track. I like to pretend the album starts with Jesus saves. The live version of js with the thousands of Japanese voices cracks me up. It's a powerful track for sure!

Guys, you're killin' me here!

~Brian~

 

[mel_progson]

What's the Savatage video that has all the boobies in it lol? I saw it once only and can't remember which song it is.