Published on Feb 13, 1997
Today’s entry definitely falls into the “forgotten bands”
category. Formed in Florida by Jon and Criss Oliva in 1979, they
began their music career as Avatar before switching to Savatage
some time later.
Savatage was always a cult band, never fitting well into any
real category. (Which is why I like them so much.) They were a bit
too hard for mainstream radio, and too overproduced for the
metalheads to get into. In 1987 they released
Hall Of The Mountain King, the favorite of many Savatage
fans.
If you’re not into the heavier side of music, this album is not
for you. Jon Oliva’s strident vocals on “24 Hours Ago” sets the
tone that will be present for most of the album: Heavy, aggressive,
and powerful. Lyrically,
Hall Of The Mountain King is your standard metal fare.
“Beyond The Doors Of The Dark” and “Legions” are typical tales of
mystery and evil. Not that this should turn you away. After all,
most metalheads would agree that lyrical content is secondary to
music that you can head bang to.
No problem.
Hall Of The Mountain King is happy to oblige. The rhythm
section of “Doc” Wacholz (drums) and Johnny Lee Middleton (bass)
produces plenty of brain banging rhythms, while Criss Oliva burns
away on lead guitar. Meanwhile, Jon Oliva howls away on vocals,
insuring himself a spot amongst the era’s most unique voices.
Adding to this uniqueness are vocal harmonies that most metal bands
don’t bother attempting. The result is a very polished sound not
typical in metal circles.
If the album has a weak point, it’s “White Witch.” It doesn’t
contain anything interesting, and in my opinion, is just plain
boring.
The boredom doesn’t last long. The album winds down with
“Devastation,” a song which emphasizes two of their obvious
influences, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden.
Overall,
Hall Of The Mountain King is an enjoyable album, with enough
originality to distinguish Savatage from the rest of the metal
bands of the era. Unfortunately, this fact is probably caused most
of the die hard metalheads to accuse them of being glam. While
Savatage is definitely not glam, they do lean towards the “hair
band” end of things that was very popular in ’87. Ten years later,
Hall Of The Mountain King can step away from these
accusations, and take its place as one of the classics of the
period.