...the latest Savatage news!

This page contains information and the latest news about Savatage and projects whatsoever related to the Florida-based band.
We get this information straight from bandmembers, the official Savatage Fan Homepage or the Legion (the American fanclub)... you can trust what you read ! ;-)

5 June 2002

"Sirens" and "Dungeons are Calling" has been remastered by Metal Blade. The "Silver Editions" are available in europe and cost about 13 €. They also have some bonus tracks. Sirens includes "Target" and "Living on the Edge of Time". Dungeons includes "Metalhead", "Before I Hang" and "Stranger in the Dark". These songs are the previously unreleased tracks from Gutter Ballet.

10 April 2002

An official statement on the savatage site has confirmed the latest news:

SAVATAGE AND AL PITRELLI REJOIN FORCES

NEW YORK/TAMPA, Fla. - Savatage would like to welcome back world renowned guitarist Al Pitrelli from his time in Megadeth.
"Me and the boys have remained friends in the past couple of years, touring together on a lot of the same bills last summer. I was also fortunate enough to work closely with Paul, Jon, and Bob as their musical director on one of the touring companies of Trans-Siberian Orchestra this past season. I can't wait to get back in the studio with the all the boys and make a great Savatage record!" says Al Pitrelli.
Founding member Jon Oliva says "For the past 5 years we haven't recorded without Al in either Savatage or Trans-Siberian Orchestra. When we heard Dave Mustaine was calling it quits we felt it was natural that he step up his involvement with us."
Bassist Johnny Lee Middleton continues, "We would like to thank Jack Frost for the time he spent with us. He was a wonderful friend and a total gentlemen, as well as a great performer and musician. We hope to work with him in the future.

Here is Jack Frost comment (it doesn't comes from the official site... read it and you'll understand!):

"Those guys lied to me. You can't lie to the fans. I loved playing in that band. I thought they were friends. We toured together, telling me how much they enjoyed me being in the band, made plans for the next record and the festivals this summer. If that's what you consider 'friends,' then be my enemy. They call me up and say I'm fired, just like that. I'm not a drunk or a drug addict. They never complained about the live performances, just the opposite, complimenting me, in the press, about how much renewed energy I brought to the show. So at the end of the day, it was just a decision to bring 'their boy' back."

I hope to see these grins again...

8th April 2002

News! UNOFFICIAL sources informed that, after Megadeth's dissolution, ex guitarist Al Pitrelli has come back in Sava-land! New guitarist Jack Frost has been fired and he seems to be quite angry...

31 January 2002

Durinf the TSO Christmas Tour Chris and Jon were both working on new material. "The break between TWOM and P&M has been too long" said Jon in an interview... so we are waiting for some official news. Do not hold your breath 'cause there won't be any news till the end of the tour.
Zak Stevens has a new band called CircleIICircle, he is working with Jon for the new material... when we'll know something more... we 'll write it right here! :-)

7 March 2001

• Savatage has finally announced the names of the new bandmembers: welcome Jack Frost and Damond Jiniya to the Sava-family! Here is the official Savatage press release: www.savatage.com/news/pressrelease.html

5 March 2001

• POETS AND MADMEN! It never seemed to be ready but now here it is, on the shelves in all music stores!  What can I say? IT ROCKS and that's all! the US tour should start on May 16th, while Savatage will hit Europe in the Summer to play at the festivals shown below, will then take the show to South America for 3 weeks in Augusta and finally to Japan before coming back to Europe when they'll tour for 8 weeks! 

05/26/01 Dynamo Festival - Holland
06/09/01 Gods Of Metal Festival - Italy
06/10/01 Mind Over Matter - Austria
06/23/01 Graspop - Belgium
06/24/01 Full Force - Germany
06/29/01 Bang Your Head Festival - Germany
07/01/01 Rockwave - Athens, Greece 

10 FEBRUARY 2001

Okay, some may say that "Commissar" is not the song that is going to redefine the meaning of the word "music" in the next millennium, maybe it's not the greatest masterpiece ever written on a music score... BUT.... my friends... IT ROCKS! And so I bet the whole album is going to be at least as good as that one... Jon is majestic and disquieting, his interpretation kind of reminds me of some "Streets" stuff (but don't expect those Dr. Butcher-like screams... no way, Jon has developed a more sinister ways to give you nightmares nowadays!). The rhythm section is a WAR MACHINE, the window panes are still shaking... and so are my neighbors! Above all I greatly enjoyed and appreciated the guitar work that culminates in an pretty impressing solo, the perfect balance of technique & soul... I believe Criss would have liked it! The second unreleased song off the new single, "Drive", has a heavier sound and in fact was originally written for Doctor Butcher... what can I say? We better beware, the new Savatage are going to blow us all away!!!

 

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20 JANUARY 2001

• POETS AND MADMEN! For those of you who live in Europe, there's very good news coming from SPV about the release date of P&M. According to the official SPV bulletin, the album is going to be released on March 3rd in 3 different formats: the classic Cd featuring 10 tracks (don't ask me what's with the other 2 or 3 more songs that were supposed to be on it, maybe they'll pop out later on some other edition... I dunno!), a limited edition in a special packaging including a bonus track and a 2 LP vinyl version with picture vinyl in limited edition. Besides, a single will be released very soon! On february 5th you can start hunting this CD "Commissar" in all music stores! It'll incldue the track "Commissar", and "Drive" off P&M and the unreleased acoustic version of "Voyage".
  

3 JANUARY 2001

ZAK STEVENS  LEAVES THE BAND Savatage lead vocalist Zachary Stevens had to leave the band due to familiar reasons. Savatage press release can be read at www.savatage.com/press.html Jon oliva did all vocals on the new album and a new vocalist will be hired for the tour, though no one was chosen already. Hounds wish Zak all the best for the future and really hope to have him back with savatage sometime in the future. Good luck Zak, we'll miss you!

• RECORDING OF POETS AND MADMEN IS FINALLY OVER!   I must say that I'm very glad to announce to those who may not know yet, that the much-longed new album is about finished! Yes, our Sava-guys made it! Release is scheduled for end of January or beginning of February 2001, Jon is singing on all tracks, Biff is playing all guitars and no names for replacements for Zak and Al have been made, so far.

• POETS AND MADMEN TOUR: the tour will start at the end of February, Savatge will play a few warm up gigs in Mexico (a couple of dates with Fates Warning, probably) and then will head for Europe weher they will tour for about 6 weeks before they fly back to the States for a 3 week tour that will take them to several cities, they should cover the whole US and play in many cities where they haven't ever been before. Thy'll be back to Europe in the summer to headline a few summer festivals and the tour will end in the Staes after the festival run in Europe. More details are coming after the release of the record.

• TRANS SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA TOUR: Those of you who live in the States or are planning to fly there for Chistmas will have the lucky chance to see TSO live on the Christmas Eve and Other Stories Tour 2000 according to the following schedule :

SAT. DECEMBER 2nd - WILKES BARRE, PA (Kilby Theater) On sale Nov. 11th
Online sale at http://www.wkrz.com prior to regular sale!

SUN. DECEMBER 3rd - CLEVELAND, OH (Palace Theatre) Sold Out

MON. DECEMBER 4th - CLEVELAND, OH (Palace Theatre) Sold Out

MON. DECEMBER 4th - GREEN BAY, WI (Vets Memorial) On sale Nov. 11th
Online sale at http://www.wixx.com prior to regular sale!

TUE. DECEMBER 5th - CLEVELAND, OH (Palace Theatre) On Sale NOW!
Very few tickets left...

TUE. DECEMBER 5th - MILWAUKEE, WI (Riverside) On sale Nov. 11th
Online sale at http://www.lazer103.com prior to regular sale!

WED. DECEMBER 6th - CLEVELAND, OH (Palace Theatre) On sale Nov. 3rd, 10:00am Final show in Cleveland, sorry, no online pre-sale!

FRI. DECEMBER 8th - ALBANY, NY (Palace Theater) On sale Nov. 11th
Online sale at http://www.pyx106.com prior to regular sale!

SAT. DECEMBER 9th - HARRISBURG, PA (Zembo Mosque) On sale Nov. 11th
Online sale at http://www.wink104fm.com prior to regular sale!

SUN. DECEMBER 10th - DAYTON, OH (Memorial) On sale Nov. 10th
Online sale at http://www.wmmx.com prior to regular sale!

MON. DECEMBER 11th - GRAND RAPIDS, MI (Devos Hall) On sale Nov. 11th
Online sale at http://www.wlav.com prior to regular sale!

TUE. DECEMBER 12th - DETROIT, MI (The Opera House) On sale Nov. 11th
Online sale at http://www.wrif.com prior to regular sale!

WED. DECEMBER 13th - ST LOUIS, MO (Pagent Theater) On sale Nov. 11th
Online sale at http://www.wvrv.com prior to regular sale!

SAT. DECEMBER 16th - PHILADELPHIA, PA (Tower Theater) On sale Nov. 11th
Online sale at http://alice1045.amfmi.com prior to regular sale!

MORE DATES WILL BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY, please refer to the TSO site for all updates
at http://www.trans-siberian.com . Thank you & hope to see you there!

Trans-Siberian Orchestra, for more info please visit: http://www.trans-siberian.com

Well, actually there will be TWO trans-siberian orchestras around! Because in order to play in about 40 cities in 20 days time Jon and Paul are working on a splitting process on TSO, this being allowed by having so many musicians in the band and so little time to tour (in the band's opinion there would be little point in starting the tour earlier, as a Christmas tour wouldn't make all that sense when it's still 2 months to go before Xmas). That's it, two different bands will be touring the States, Jon, Paul, Chris, Bob and Jeff are working hard rehearsing and making all necessary plans in order to grant high quality shows.

1 OCTOBER 2000

• SAVATAGE Vs TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA ? More and more fans, probably bothered by the continuous delays of the release of Poets and Madmen, have recently started to wonder if Savatage is still the top priority for Jon & company. Chris Caffery and Jon Oliva replied to this question on the Savatage Message Board. The point is, TSO and Savatage have a lot of bandmembers in common and it is very hard to keep up with the schedules, however everyone in the bands is working his ass off on the albums, recording day and night with both bands and they're doing their very best to make both albums worth the long wait. Both Jon and Chris stated clearly that TSO and Savatage are very different and separated projects, therefore none of them is in competiotion with the other nor has a special priority. So, let's just keep the faith and I'm sure they are not making promises in vain!

• TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA: TSO is recording the soundtrack for the forth-coming Hollywood movie "The Grinch". This is one of the reasons for Savatage recording for Poets And Madmen being delayed. Due to these "emergency recordings" (as Chris Caffery called them) the TSO tour scheduled for June was postponed, and the band and management are still trying to schedule a Christmas tour in the States. It was rumored that Al Pitrelli may join TSO for this tour: Al said he'd love to, but we still don't know if his schedule with Magadeth will allow him to... let's hope so! :)

• AL PITRELLI LEAVES THE BAND It's official. Guitar player Al Pitrelli, who joined the band back in 1995 during the recording of Dead Winter Dead and stayed till earlier this year, also taking part to the recording of the following album The Wake of Magellan and tour, has now left the band to join Megadeth. Earlier this year Al had replaced Megadeth's ex-guitarist Marty Friedman during theworld tour. Al didn't take part to the recording of the forthcoming Savatage album Poets and Madmen, and Chris Caffery will take care of recording all guitar parts. We still don't kow what will happen for the tour. The band says goodbye to Al and wishes him good luck with his carreer, as you can read on the official Press Release.

BEETHOVEN'S LAST NIGHT The album was published in the States on April 11, as scheduled. We already have a copy of the CD, which is still hard to find in Europe. Personally all I can say is TSO ROCKS!! Read our review here! Following the same link you can find how to get a copy right now. TSO has just shot a video for the first single, the song's called "Requiem- The Fifth".

• WHAT ABOUT POETS AND MADMEN? Nice question! As far as we know, Savatage are locked up in the studio, busy with the recording of Poets & Madmen... I mean, STILL busy with the recording of Poets & Madmen, YES! While the whole world is wondering what the heck they're doing in there, Chris said that their main concern at the moment is that they "have too many songs"... YUK!!  :)  Some may have heard from Nuclear Blast that the album is scheduled to be released in June, on the 25th... NOT! It seems we'll have to wait a little bit longer -Sava most surely taught us to be patient, but it's always worth the wait anyway! :)

BEETHOVEN'S LAST NIGHT, the third TSO album, will be released on April 11 and right now the band is scheduled for some TV shows in the US. You can order your copy in advance just by clicking on this link! -> 
 
 
 
 

• Megadeth's tour has been very successful so far and Dave & Dave were very happy with AL PITRELLI's work in the band, but their tour in South America was canceled (sorry guys!), which means Al will be back in the studio pretty soon... and he'll also take part to TSO's promotional shows. So there was really no need to be alarmed giving credit to those gossips about Al quitting on Savatage... NO WAY! Al's back in his place, and as far as we know, never meant to leave his sava-buddies... welcome back Al!

• Savatage's new album will be distributed by NUCLEAR BLAST, but now Savatage also have their own affiliate-label called WILD CHILD, which will grant them enough freedom and independence but still enjoying NB's economical support. NB will take care of all future merchandise, therefore be ready to an invasion of T-shirts, gadgets and cool stuff!

• TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA : the new album "Beethoven's last night" is scheduled for January 2000, Paul O'Neill had recently exèressed his enthusiasm and satisfaction for the new chapter of the TSO project. Meanwhile, busy times lay ahead for TSO! The first 3 live shows are already announced: December 11, NEW YORK (NY) "Beacon Theater", Dicember 17, CLEVELAND (OH) "Music Hall" and Dicember 18, CHICAGO (IL) "Riviera Theater". Tickets will be on sale from Nov. 1st, however you can book them already from the official TSO site located at: http://www.trans-siberian.com where you can also find more news and info.

• In September the band has finally entered the studio to start recording the new album, entitled "POETS AND MADMEN". The guys are working hard, and details are still top-secret: we only know that it shouldn't be a concept album, and that it'll see the light of day in the new millenium. Look for further updates here !

• METALIUM: visit their website: www.metalium.de where you can find info about the band and listen to some sound samples... The summer tour is over and was really successful, and so were the gigs Metalium played in Europe with Primal Fear. The line up wasn't, of course, the original one you can find on their debut album "Millenium Metal Part I", as drummer Mike Terrana was replaced by Jon Osborne (Dr. Butcher) and Chris Caffery, whose priority at the moment is, of course, Savatage, was rreplaced by guitarist Jack Frost.

• SAVATAGE PLAYED ONE LIVE SHOW IN EUROPE!Only gig, the only one this year.... how could you miss it?? Where? In Koln, at the Live Music Hall (Ehrenfeld, Lichtstr. 31). When? On August, 20th. Obviously HOUNDS was there! The complete report is published on this site... if you weren't there, READ THIS and you'll be mad with envy... ;-P

• SAVACON '99took place, as scheduled, on Sept. 4 in Secaucus, New Jersey. The event was amazingly successful and funny, as organizers and attenders all agree! All band memebers (except Jeff) were there, with Paul O'Neill and Doc Walchoz as well! Some memorial T-shirts are still on sale at www.savatage.com, and a complete report of Savacon can be found both on this site in the Reviews section or at: http://www.savatage.com/savacon99/ .

• HOUNDS ISSUE # 10will be released a bit later than usual this year: look for it in October! This issue will feature 60 pages of interviews, reviews, news & many surprises!

• Time for a TRIBUTE!The one dedicated to Savatage, that will be released in Canada and Noth America on Sept. 21sr by Conquest Music Group. The title is "OUT OF THE DUNGEONS - A TRIBUTE TO SAVATAGE". Here follows the list of the bands taking part to this project and the songs they chose to play:

            For further info go to:  www.musicgroup.com.
 

• Still talking about tributes, Chris Caffery will play on two new tribute albums: with Metalium on the album dedicate to ACCEPTand published by Nuclear Blast, where they will play "Burning" (this tribute will feature about 19 bands, among which are: HAMMERFALL, SACRED STEEL, THERION, PRIMAL FEAR, SODOM, ATROCITY, DIMMU BORGIR, STEEL PROPHET...), and he will also play on the tribute to Iron Maiden, with the excellent singer JOHN WEST (Artension), release scheduled for November. Chris & John will play the classic Iron Maiden tune "Run to the Hills" (among the other bands that will take part to the project:: WARDOG, SEBASTIAN BACH, HOLY MOTHER....)

• German label SPV will take care of THE EUROPEAN DISTRIBUTIONof "Poets and Madmen", while in Italy the album will be distributed by Audioglobe.

• Right now the band is in Florida, working in the studio on the third TSOalbum, entitled "Beethoven's Last Night". Still a concept album, this new release won't deal with Christmas topics anymore, instead it is about the German classical composer. Possible release date: January 2000.

• It's called METALIUM and it's a new side project featuring Chris Caffery, drummer Mike Terrana (Artension, Malmesteen, Axel Rudi Pell...), Lars Ratz (ex-Zed Yago), vocalist Heine Basse (from Brainstorm) and guitarist Matthias Lange. The songs embodied in their first album were partly recorded in November on Savatage's last day in Europe after the European tour, and partly between Feb./March this year in Hamburg. Their debut Cd entitled "Millennium Metal Part I" will be co-produced by Chris himself amd released by German label Massacre Records: look for it in June (exact release date in Italy:  June, 30th. Distributed by Self Distribuzioni). The band should be playing some summer festivals in Europe, already confirmed the Wacken Open Air Festival which will take place on August 6th and 7th in Wacken (north of Hamburg, Germany).

The second, much longed DOCTOR BUTCHER's album is finally planned to be recorded! But only after recording and touring for Savatage's new release... it's going to take some time, but... it's  definetely worth the wait, isn't it?!