OFF: Savatage

[Alex S. Garcia]

While I was in Wisconsin, I discovered Savatage. I'd barely heard of them
before. And you know what ? With just the two albums I've heard from them
these last 2 weeks, they've already become one of my favorite bands !

I first heard "Edge of thorns" and I thought hey, that's a pretty cool band.
I didn't like all the songs, but I love the title track and - most of all -
"Follow me" is awesome. Progressive rock at its best, even though the rest
of the album doesn't sound much progressive. All the more reason for me to
be impressed.

Then I heard "Handful of rain" and that was it. I'm hooked. Didn't happen
right away. The first song, I still don't like much (way too heavy for me, I
guess) and most of the other tracks took a few listens for me to get into.
Others, like "Chance", "Castles burning" or "Symmetry", I instantly loved.
What surprised me the most here, is that this album is completely
progressive (except for 2 or 3 tracks). And the lyrics... the lyrics are
really fabulous.

"Chance" is without doubt my favorite Savatage song. And is quickly becoming
one of my all-time favorites, period (though it'll take a few months, maybe
years, to check if it really is). A perfect example of what prog is all
about - at least, to me.

I highly recommend this album to any prog rock fan. Every song on it works
for me (except for the first one, and "Nothing's going on", which is also a
bit too heavy for my taste). It's an amazing album.

For some reason, I keep thinking of Queensryche and Metallica when I listen
to Savatage. Maybe because of the singer's voice, I dunno. Reminds me also a
little of an obscure French hard rock band (Sortilège) from the early 80's
which only released two (fabulous) albums.

BTW, just for the heck of it, I tried www.savatage.com and it actually
worked ! Turned out to be the band's official website. Check it out if you
want to know more. It kicks ass. The band's material too, for that matter ;-)

Hey, if there's any Savatage fan reading this, what other album would you
recommend ? "Hall of the Mountain King" and "Gutter Ball" both sound very
interesting...



Alex S. Garcia.

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