Dead Winter Dead

The Wake of Magellan Japanese edition of their 1997 & 11th album. Contains 13tracks, including 'The Ocean', 'Welcome' and 'Turns To Me'.A Victor release.	Edge of Thorns 1997 reissue on Edel of their 1993 Concrete album with anacoustic version of 'Believe' added as a bonus track, for atotal of 14 selections.	Streets: A Rock Opera Includes Never Before Released Bonus Track: 'desiree'.	Hall of the Mountain King Swedish release of strictly limited edition LP picture disc (1000 copies) of the progressive heavy metal band's classic 1989 album features 11 tracks. Vinyl Maniacs. 2004.	Gutter Ballet 1997 reissue on Edel of their 1989 Concrete album with anacoustic version of 'All That I Bleed' added as a bonustrack, for a total of 12 selections.
Handful of Rain	Beethoven's Last Night Trans-Siberian Orchestra's first two recordings, a pair of late-'90s Christmas albums, hinted that some day TSO might evolve into a latter-day ELO or even an ELP. Instead, this overwrought concept album shares more common ground with ALW (Andrew Lloyd Webber) or Meat Loaf. TSO, i...	Power of the Night 1997 reissue on Edel of their 1985 Concrete album with anacoustic version of 'Sleep' added as a bonus track, for atotal of 11 selections. The album also carries a 'ExplicitLyrics -- Parental Advisory' disclaimer on the back.	Sirens	Christmas Eve and Other Stories Is the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas Eve and Other Stories a holiday rock opera? Or perhaps just a holiday prog-rock disc? Or maybe it's New Age? Whatever the case may be, this isn't your typical Christmas album. Filled with electric guitar solos, plenty of synthesized key...

Dead Winter Dead - From The Gutter to the Battlefield
Albums about war are a dime a dozen, but war as witnessed through the eyes of a gargoyle tells a different story. Savatage's least-heaviest album, probably - this is a far cry from the band that recorded "Sirens" and "Hall of the Mountain King", although its got some serious rockers on it all the same - but emotionally their most gripping ("This Isn't What We Meant" and "Not What You See") and inspiring ("This Is The Time (1990)".

Feel The Chill
It's that time of year again-Time to go and buy some eggnog(most of it you'll end up throwing out), buy a tree, go into debt buying gifts and pulling out those copies of Silent Night, Deadly Night and the Trans Siberian Orchestra. And as much as I like TSO, I still tend to go for this, a much bleaker view of the holiday season. The criminally underrated Savatage's second full concept album is really something special. It centers around war in Bosnia around Christmas. Not the most cheerful of holiday subjects, but it does have a positive ending and should maybe make you think about just how good you have it around Christmas regardless of how bad things may seem. Guitarist Al Pitrelli is brought into the fold and can definitely hold his own. Musically it's the big, emotional, orchestral and Broadway-esque type of hard rock/metal we've all come to expect from these guys. Stevens is still one hell of a vocalist and pours it all out here while Savatage founder Oliva makes an appearance on two songs(two of the more uppity numbers). I like listening to this album in the winter, it certainly has a wintery feel about it even without the Christmas Eve(Sarajevo 12/24) track. Speaking of which, as you may or may not already know, this track was of great importance, as it singlehandedly gave birth to the Trans Siberian Orchestra, which as we all know is now a household name, and a commercial giant. Funny how an experimental track off of a little known metal band's album could become something as big as it has. I didn't know about TSO right away and when this song started getting radio play and people started talking about TSO, at first I kept saying, "this is a Savatage song, what the hell are you talking about?"(the exact same track from Dead Winter Dead was used on TSO's debut album) So, many years later Savatage finally achieved commercial success, just maybe not the way they had always planned. But Dead Winter Dead is not a holiday album exactly. Like most of producer/writer Paul O'Neill's stories and lyrics, it's a dramatic and emotional story of tragedy and redemption. Folks might consider this over the top approach as being a bit far out and corny even for a metal band, but hey, it's Broadway type stuff, and that goes with the territory. Some folks even call it pretentious and/or pompous, but personally I wouldn't say that. I always tend to think of a pretentious band as a band that puts good songs and songwriting as a secondary priority while making pseudo intellectual concepts and showing off their musical abilities their first. Savatage is hell bent on making catchy and memorable songs. Musically they don't go too overboard or flashy, but keep things fitting to the story being told. Most of the album is mid paced. Pretentious, no. But pompous, I'd agree with that more. Like a metal Meatloaf if you will. But this is a great album, as are most of Savatage's. It's different, it's unique, and it makes you wonder how in the hell such a band has eluded commercial success for so many years. It's something you definitely have to be in the mood for, but what a good experience when the mood hits.

Excellent rock opera
This is an excellent album! It grabs you and takes you on a journey. Worth having and checking out. However, if you're not into concept albums or rock operas this might not be for you.

Rock opera at its best
Excellent album. Worth buying and listening to repeatedly. Intelligent and engrossing, for fans of classical and metal.

well...
Overall, pretty solid album. Nice sound, instrumentally especially. Vocals could use some work in certain areas (straining, slightly off key, forced?). Would recommend though, if anthem or orchestral rock/metal interests you.