Savatage
Formed: 1981
From:
Tampa,
FL,
United States
Last Known Status: Active
Latest Savatage News
Below is our complete Savatage news coverage, including columns and articles pertaining to the band. Some articles listed may be indirectly related, such as side projects of the band members, etc.
Note: We began associating news directly with bands in late 2003. Therefore, earlier band news may not be listed on this page.
Displaying records 1 - 20 of 43 1 2 3 Last
Jon Oliva To Release First Solo LP In 2013
Savatage/Trans-Siberian Orchestra/Jon Oliva's Pain founder Jon Oliva will release his very first solo album in 2013. While his band Jon Oliva's Pain continues to write the follow up to the 2010 LP "Festival," Oliva will release his solo LP in Spring 2013 via AFM Records.
The announcement reads as follows:
"Good day one and all,
"We thank you all for your patience with regards to announcing our new recording plans.
"While JOP is very much intact and focused on new music and future touring...JON OLIVA will release his first ever solo record in early 2013.
"Jon has assembled a collection of ideas from the past 4-5 years and wants the opportunity to present them as his own work. Jon will be recording nearly all the instrument tracks and vocals himself and also playing drums on several tracks. Once again, I have the honor of recording the bulk of the drum tracks on the new cd, but this record will have been created from start to finish with Jon being completely at the helm."
Jon Oliva commented on the album: "I’ve got some weird ideas that I wanna try and I’ve got some time to do it. I don’t want do just 'another' JOP record. I’ve done four of those already. I wanna do something different. I have some material that I’ve wanted to put out for a while, that I’ll talk with the record company about, maybe putting something out quickly, like in the next four or five months, to give me more time to do this JOP record. I want the next JOP cd to be very special. I’ve got some great friends from other bands that are going to be a significant part of the next JOP release. We are going to do a killer JOP record and then an additional bonus cd with guest stars... kind of like the AVANTASIA thing but not in a story line. Tobias Sammet does a magnificent job with it, but I don’t have that much time to write a whole story, so I’ll just have some powerhouse friends from various bands come in and take it over the top."
Drum recordings, handled by J.O.P. drummer Christopher Kinder, begin at the legendary Morrisound Studio's in mid December.
TSO To Release Narrated Version Of Beethoven's LN
Trans-Siberian Orchestra will release a narrated version of the band's first non-Christmas oriented LP "Beethoven's Last Night," which was originally released in 2000. The re-issue, dubbed "Beethoven's Last Night: The Complete Narrated Version" will be issued through Rhino Records and hit Walmart stores in the US on March 13, 2012. The album features performances from Savatage members Jon Oliva (Jon Oliva's Pain), Al Pitrelli, Chris Caffery, Johnny Lee Middleton and Jeff Plate.
The band is streaming the first few tracks with narration here:
Jon Oliva To Play With Chris Caffery At BYH 2012
Jon Oliva's Pain, led by the Mountain King himself, will play the classic Savatage release "Hall of the Mountain King" (1987) in its entirety along with Savatage guitarist Chris Caffery (Trans-Siberian Orchestra) at next years Bang Your Head Festival to be held in Balingen, Germany from July 13-14, 2012. The performance will mark the album's 25th Anniversary. The band will also perform some songs from Doctor Buther, the defunct project of Oliva and Caffery.
It was reported earlier that former Savatage vocalist Zack Stevens and Circle II Circle will perform Savatage's "Wake of Magellan" LP with Caffery at Wacken 2012 in August.
In other Jon Oliva's Pain news, Oliva and drummer Chris Kinder continue to demo songs for the next JLP album and the follow up to the 2010 release "Festival." In the latest update on the band's Facebook Page, Kinder states: "As for the 'band,' we have made no decisions on anything at this point. The first objective right now is the songs. So, we will continue the process as we have done since 'Maniacal Renderings' which is basically Jon's ideas and me crafting them into working songs and then we will worry about the rest of the details. Everything and everyone else involved with work itself out in the very near future. It's just nice to finally be back on that horse and riding a new wave of music for a JOP release in 2012."
Circle II Circle To Perform Savatage LP At Wacken
Power/progressive metal band Circle II Circle, which features ex-Savatage singer Zack Stevens, announced that it will perform the entire Savatage LP "Wake of Magellan" (1997) along with special guest guitarist Chris Caffery (Savatage, Trans-Siberian Orchestra) at the sold out Wacken 2012 event in August 2012.
Report
Trans-Siberian Orchestra Lights Up Hartford
It was 1996, New York City, in what was a converted church. That was the first and last time I saw Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I was 25 years old. A band, comprised mostly of my heroes since I was a child, took the stage, fittingly on the church's former altar. You see, this new incarnation of Savatage had erupted on the scene quicker than those same heroes did in all the thirteen years prior to that first show.
It seems that by incorporating Savatage material into Christmas material with Broadway type singers, the band, disguised as Trans-Siberian Orchestra, gained almost instantaneous commercial and mainstream notoriety. They had been "accepted." I knew then that Savatage was doomed to end and time revealed it to be true, as they released only two albums in what would be the band's final five years after. Now relegated to a side project with a terminal "on hold" status, Savatage can only be heard within Trans-Siberian Orchestra, who continue to this day incorporate song parts, whole songs and it's legacy with contributions from all members, including one of its main writers/composers, The Mountain King Jon Oliva. More...
Circle II Circle Issues Update From the Road
American power metal band CIRCLE II CIRCLE, featuring vocalist Zak Stevens of Savatage fame, are currently touring through the Midwest US, which is in support of their latest album "Consequence Of Power." The band will play Kenosha, Wisconsin tonight on their way to the final two shows in Chicago and Cleveland.
Stated Zak Stevens from the road this week, "We're still cruising along playing shows in the Midwest in Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota in November and December to finish off our initial world tour in support of our new CD Consequence Of Power. We'll be touring out across the U.S. supporting the new album throughout 2011. We're looking forward to seeing all our fans across the country in the coming year and we're very excited about the worldwide response to the new record."
Remaining CIRCLE II CIRCLE Midwest US tour dates are as follows:
12/04/2010 Hattrix Bar - Kenosha, WI
12/10/2010 Nitecap Chicago - Chicago, IL
12/16/2010 The Phantasy Nite Club - Cleveland, OH
Kamelot Signs with earMUSIC, New Album Details
earMUSIC, the international rock label of the Hamburg-based entertainment group Edel, has announced the signing of American/Norwegian melodic metallers Kamelot. The band's new studio album, "Poetry For The Poisoned," will be released in Europe on September 3, 2010.
"I think this album is by far our most diverse, fusing new ideas and elements along with the traditional Kamelot sound and style that we have established over the years," states Kamelot guitarist Thomas Youngblood.
"Poetry for the Poisoned" was mostly written in the remote woods of Norway to the final songwriting sessions in a remote region of Germany. Recordings took place in the familiar Gate Studios in Wolfsburg, Germany with producers Sascha Paeth and Miro. Additional tracking also took place in Tampa, Florida as well as various studios in Sweden, Greece and the U.S.
"Poetry for the Poisoned" features guest appearances by Simone Simons (Epica), Gus G. (Ozzy Osbourne, Firewind), Björn "Speed" Strid (Soilwork) and Jon Oliva (Savatage, Jon Oliva's Pain). The artwork was created by many great artists, including Seth Siro Anton, Natalie Shau and Michal Loranc.
"'Poetry for the Poisoned' is a mix of progressive elements, modern rock, dark arts and also power metal," states Youngblood. "It comes at a time where many people around the world are searching for something to grab on to spiritually, including myself. I recently lost my mother and to be honest it was very hard on me. So there are some melancholy moods reflected on this album."
Frontman Roy Khan assures that "Poetry for the Poisoned" will both please the band's existing following and expose the universe of Kamelot to a whole range of new fans. "'Poetry for the Poisoned' is our longest and toughest production so far, but when I hear the result I know it was well worth the struggle," he says.
Max Vaccaro, director of the earMUSIC label, commented: "If there is one thing that is absolutely clear with Kamelot, it's that the band has a unique vision of metal and they consider anything they do as the 'next step' to something bigger and better, constantly adamant to reach new ambitious artistic targets. We're happy about the fact that they have chosen earMUSIC as the partner to expand their audience with this new wonderful album."
"Poetry For The Poisoned" will also be available as a limited edition hard-cover digipak CD with a bonus DVD, LP and limited collector's edition featuring a bonus 45" vinyl with two rare songs only available on this strictly limited format, personally signed by the band.
Kamelot recently tapped Swedish director Owe Lingvall of Village Road Films for the video shoot and production of the song "The Great Pandemonium". The track, which was performed on the band's recently completed European tour, will appear on "Poetry For The Poisoned". Other songtitles set to appear on the effort include "House On A Hill"and "Hunters Season", the latter of which was also performed on the band's recently completed European headlining tour.
Kamelot recently inked a deal with Marquee/Avalon Records for the Japanese release of its next album. The plans for the North American release will be announced in the near future.
Circle II Circle Begins Work On New Album
CIRCLE II CIRCLE, featuring former Savatage singer Zak Stevens, has just started recording their 5th album. The album, entitled "Consequence Of Power," will be the band's 2nd concept album. The album is expected to be released in Fall 2010.
Sandalinas Posts Unreleased Music Online
Spanish metal band SANDALINAS has posted two unreleased tracks on their MySpace page.
"Battlefield Blues" is a track that belongs to the recording sessions of SANDALINAS first album called "Living on the Edge" (2005) as signed by current Firewind's singer Apollo Papathanasio. Gus G, guitarrist for Firewind is the new new Ozzy Osbourne's axe man.
The folowing track, which features current SANDALINAS singer, Rick Altzi (At Vance and Frequency), is called "No Matter What" which is a version of the so-called track as featured on SANDALINAS second CD "Fly to the Sun" (2008), edited by Metal Heaven Records. Also drummer Patrick Johanson (Yngwie Malmsteen) and bassist Mick Cervino (Yngwie Malmsteen, G3) are also featured in that track apart from SANDALINAS main man, Jordi Sandalinas. More...
Savatage Comments On Deceased Guitarist
Florida metallers Savatage have issued the following statement about asking fans to take a moment to remember their former guitarist Criss Olivia, who was killed in a car accident 16 years ago today:
"Sava fans,
"As most of you know, on October 17, 1993, the members of Savatage lost a brother, many people lost a friend, and the world lost a truly gifted musician. Please spare a thought for Criss Oliva and those who loved him today... may he rest in peace here, and rock hard with the angels up there!"
Savatage Bassist To Appear On Live Interview
Savatage has issued the following announcement about bassist Johnny Lee Middleton appearing in a live interview which will be streaming online:
"Hey Sava fans,
"This coming Sunday, August 23, at 4:30 PM Eastern (US) time, Sava bassist Johnny Lee Middleton will be joining DJ Savage of Infernal Rock Radio for a live interview. Expect Johnny Lee to talk about his current solo project, TSO... and maybe some of those pesky Savatage rumors?
"IRR streams in several different formats (Winamp, Windows Media, RealAudio, and QuickTime) from their website. They're also on MySpace. Don't miss it."
"Brutal Legend" Track Listing Revealed
GameDaily.com is reporting that the track listing for the upcoming heavy metal themed video game "Brutal Legend," which features the voice of Jack Black, has been revealed. The projected track listing can be viewed below. "Brutal Legend" is set to be released on October 13th in North America and October 16th in Europe. More...
Read the full article at GameDaily.com.
Crimson Glory Announces ProgPower Guest Vocalists
Crimson Glory is pleased to announce that they have confirmed the following special guest vocalists to perform with them during their headlining set at ProgPower USA X:
Wade Black (Crimson Glory/Leatherwolf)
Zak Stevens (Savatage/Circle II Circle)
Lance King (Pyramaze/Balance of Power)
Nils K. Rue (Pagan’s Mind)
Chris Salinas (Zero Hour/Power of Omens)
Ronny Monroe (Metal Church)
Andy B. Franck (Brainstorm/Symphorce/Ivanhoe)
Sean Peck (Cage)
Danilo Herbert (Mindflow)
Joakim Brodén (Sabaton)
Michael Eriksen (Circus Maximus)
David Vanlanding (Crimson Glory/Michael Schenker Group) More...
Single Bullet Theory Announces New Album Details
Guitarist/vocalist Matt DiFabio of Philadelphia's Single Bullet Theory has issued the following update regarding their upcoming album, "Divine ways of Chaos:"
"Single Bullet Theory is honored to confirm the fact that Jack Frost (seven witches, bronx casket co., Savatage) will be contributing a guest solo to the up in coming SBT disc 'Divine ways of Chaos.'"
"I’m happy to say that Jack and I have been talking about doing something together… Jack will be playing a solo on the track “Heretic”. Which is a very up tempo, heavy ass song that totally fits his vibe”. I can’t wait to get him in the studio for a day with us." More...
Circle II Circle Post New Song Online
"Fatal Warning," a new track from CIRCLE II CIRCLE — the band led by ex-SAVATAGE singer Zak Stevens — is available for streaming at this location. The song comes off the group's new album, "Delusions of Grandeur", which is scheduled for release on April 25 via AFM Records. The CD will be issued as a regular jewel case, a limited edition featuring bonus material, and on picture vinyl.
"Delusions of Grandeur" (cover artwork) track listing:
01. Fatal Warning
02. Dead Of Dawn
03. Forever
04. Echoes
05. Waiting
06. Soul Breaker
07. Seclusion
08. So Many Reasons
09. Chase The Lies
10. Every Last Thing
Digipack bonus material:
11. Revelations (live video clip)
12. Stay (audio)
CIRCLE II CIRCLE will release a new four-track single on March 28 via AFM Records. Entitled "Every Last Thing", it will include a non-album and a live video clip.
Circle II Circle Reveal New Album Details
CIRCLE II CIRCLE, the band led by ex-SAVATAGE singer Zak Stevens, will release its new album, "Delusions of Grandeur", on April 25 via AFM Records. The CD will be issued as a regular jewel case, a limited edition featuring bonus material, and on picture vinyl.
"Delusions of Grandeur" (cover artwork) track listing:
01. Fatal Warning
02. Dead Of Dawn
03. Forever
04. Echoes
05. Waiting
06. Soul Breaker
07. Seclusion
08. So Many Reasons
09. Chase The Lies
10. Every Last Thing
Digipack bonus material:
11. Revelations (live video clip)
12. Stay (audio)
CIRCLE II CIRCLE will release a new four-track single on March 28 via AFM Records. Entitled "Every Last Thing", it will include a non-album and a live video clip. More...
Circle II Circle Announce Brazilian Tour Dates
CIRCLE II CIRCLE, the band led by ex-SAVATAGE singer Zak Stevens, will play four shows in Brazil in June:
June 12 - Curitiba/PR - Opera1
June 13 - Campinas/SP- Hammer Rock Bar
June 14 - Sao Paulo/SP - Hangar 110
June 15 - Rio de Janeiro/RJ- Bar do Tom
CIRCLE II CIRCLE will release its new album, "Delusions of Grandeur", on April 25 via AFM Records. The CD will be issued as a regular jewel case, a limited edition featuring bonus material, and on picture vinyl.
Check out the cover artwork at HeavyLaw.com.
Chris Caffrey, Zak Stevens To Play Nightmare Fest
On Saturday March 22nd, Nightmare Metal Fest will be host to a very special show by Chris Caffery and Zak Stevens (SAVATAGE, DR. BUTCHER) also known greatly for their work with TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA and CIRCLE II CIRCLE. These two long time musical friends will reunite in the area of SAVATAGE's inception and will be performing a special set that may include songs from their SAVATAGE years, DR. BUTCHER and or other interesting moments of musical collaborations.
Here is the line-up for the Nightmare Metal Fest so far:
FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2008 - Doors at 6pm
CAGE
DISASTERPEACE (featuring Wade Black –Crimson Glory and Pete Blakk of King Diamond)
ORDER OF NINE
SACRED DAWN
SHADES OF TWILIGHT
SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2008 - Doors at 12pm
CHRIS CAFFERY & ZAK STEVENS and friends
X-THIRTIEN
AVIAN
WARMACHINE
DIMENSION
POWND
SIX MINUTE CENTURY
(Dinner break )
FAST TAKER
DECEPCION
NEGATIVE 1
SEVENTH BURNING
CHAOS ARCADE
The festival takes place at the Bourbon Street Nightclub, located at 4331 US Hwy 19, New Port Richey Florida 34652 (25 Minutes from Clearwater; 30 Minutes from Tampa).
Testament Guitarist Announce Solo Tour Dates
ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO, the experimental band led by TESTAMENT/ex-SAVATAGE guitarist Alex Skolnick, has scheduled the following dates:
March 08 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Dr. Watson's Pub
March 09 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Club Cafe
March 10 - Charleston, West Virginia - Empty Glass
March 11 - Atlanta, Georgia - Apache Cafe
March 13 - New Orleans, Louisiana - Igor's Check Point Charlie
March 15 - Austin, Texas - The Ale House
March 17 - Dallas, Texas - Poor David's Pub
March 20 - Chicago, Illinois - Martyrs'
March 22 - Jamestown, New York - Mojo's
March 23 - Albany, New York - The Red Square
Sandalinas Set Release Date For "Fly To The Sun"
Spanish/Swedish melodic metal band SANDALINAS has found a new home on Metal Heaven. Their new CD is called "Fly To The Sun" and is due on January 18, 2007. Next to mainman Jordi Sandalinas, "Fly To The Sun" also features the great vocal talents of singer Rick Altzi (AT VANCE), Patrik Johansson (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) on drums, Mick Cervino (BLACKMORE’s NIGHT) on bass guitar and Elias Holmild (DRAGONLAND) on keyboards. The album furthermore includes various guests such as Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER) on keyboards on the track “Seasons In The Sand” as well as Chris Caffery (SAVATAGE) and Andy LaRocque (KING DIAMOND) at various guitar solos.
You can listen to some advance music here:
- SANDALINAS - Bad Dreams (edit)
- SANDALINAS - Fly To The Angels (edit)
- SANDALINAS - Never Seen Before (edit)
The tracklist of "Fly To The Sun" is as follows:
FLY TO THE SUN
NEVER SEEN BEFORE
BAD DREAMS
BACK FROM THE LIGHT
NO MATTER WHAT
AS THE RAIN FALLS
DOUBLE CROSS
RING OF FIRE
THE WRONG SIDE OF ME
SHADOWS IN THE RAIN
THE HEALER TALKS
SEASONS IN THE SAND
