Savatage is an American heavy metal band founded by brothers Jon and Criss Oliva in 1979 in Tarpon Springs, Florida. The band was first called Avatar, but, shortly before the release of their debut album Sirens (1983), they changed their name to Savatage, as Avatar was already taken by at least one other band. Savatage is considered to be an integral part of the American heavy metal movement of the early-to-mid-1980s and has been cited as a key influence on numerous subgenres of metal.
Elvenking is a heavy metal band from Sacile, Italy. They have released one demo and eleven full-length studio albums. Elvenking's music draws inspiration from different genres such as metal, folk, hard rock, pop, prog, and classical music.
Turisas is a Finnish metal band from Hämeenlinna. They were founded in 1997 by Mathias Nygård and Jussi Wickström, and named after an ancient Finnish god of war.
Ensiferum is a Finnish folk metal band from Helsinki. The members of the band label themselves as "melodic folk metal".
Wintersun is a Finnish heavy metal band from Helsinki originally formed as the side project of Jari Mäenpää, then-vocalist and guitarist of folk metal band Ensiferum.
Poets and Madmen is the 11th studio album by American heavy metal band Savatage, released in 2001. It was their last album before their 12-year hiatus, which lasted from 2002 to 2014. The album has a loose concept inspired by the career and death of journalist Kevin Carter, but has much less narrative in the lyrics than the previous two rock operas penned by Paul O'Neill. Everything said in the album is fiction, except with regards to what is sung about Carter. The album is also noted as it is the only Savatage album to not feature a title song from the album, although the title was taken from lyrics to the track "Symmetry" from the band's 1994 album, Handful of Rain.
Gutter Ballet is the fifth full-length album produced by the American progressive metal band Savatage. This was the second album created under the direction of producer Paul O'Neill and was initially released in December 1, 1989.
John Nicholas "Jon" Oliva is an American singer and musician. He is best known as the co-founder, keyboardist and lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Savatage, which he co-founded with his younger brother Criss Oliva. Since 1996 he has also been a songwriter, musician and vocalist in Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Producer Paul O'Neill referred to Oliva in numerous interviews as the single greatest vocalist/musician he has ever worked with.
The Winter Wake is the third studio album by Italian folk/power metal band Elvenking. It features the return of original vocalist, Damnagoras, and the departure of guitarist, Jarpen. The lyrical content of the album centers around fantasy, folklore, fairy tales, and feeling alone and being an outsider or an outcast as well as hints at the music industry with songs such as the Skyclad cover, "Penny Dreadful".
Jon Oliva's Pain was a musical project of Savatage co-founder Jon Oliva.
Dead Reckoning is the eighth studio album by progressive metal band Threshold. It is their first album since the departure of founding member Nick Midson and the last to feature long time vocalist Andrew "Mac" McDermott. It is also the only one to feature guest vocals and their first album on their current label, Nuclear Blast. The song "Pilot in the Sky of Dreams" appeared on the 2008 film soundtrack In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale.
The Middle of Nowhere is a 2005 release by American heavy metal band Circle II Circle. It was the band's second studio release, but the first featuring the new band assembled after Stevens fired the original band in 2003. Like the band's first record, it features guest appearances and writing credits for Stevens's former Savatage band mates, Jon Oliva and Chris Caffery. The Japanese edition of the album features three bonus tracks. One track was a live performance of the title track from the band's previous release, Watching in Silence. The other two tracks were previously released on the All That Remains EP.
The Scythe is the fourth studio album by Italian folk metal band Elvenking. The Scythe was released on September 14, 2007, through AFM Records in all European countries, and November 7 in the US by Candlelight Records.
Two Tragedy Poets is the fifth studio album by Italian folk/power metal band Elvenking. It was released through AFM Records on November 14, 2008. The album is mostly acoustic; it includes acoustic versions of two older tracks, "The Winter Wake" and "The Wanderer", both from The Winter Wake. The Japanese edition also includes a remake of "Skywards", originally released on the album Heathenreel. Although Elvenking's website says otherwise, instead of "The Wanderer " being a digipack bonus track, it's "My Little Moon".
Call To Arms is the nineteenth studio album by British heavy metal band Saxon. Call to Arms was released 3 June in Europe; 6 June in Denmark, Finland, and the UK; 8 June in Greece and Poland; 10 June in France. Previously, it was due to be released on 23 May 2011. The album was released on 27 September in North America by EMI. Current Deep Purple keyboardist Don Airey made a guest appearance on the album.
Red Silent Tides is the sixth album by Italian folk/power metal band Elvenking. It was released on September 17, 2010, through AFM Records in both standard and Deluxe Editions. The Deluxe Edition of Red Silent Tides included a second disc which contained their first demo album To Oak Woods Bestowed as a bonus disc. This album would also feature Raffaello "Rafahel" Indri on guitars alongside Aydan. Also this album would not feature Elyghen on Violins due to his trip out of Italy and was replaced by session player Fabio "Lethien" Polo for the remainder until Elyghen's return.
Steel is the first full-length album recorded by the heavy metal band Battle Beast. It was released on January 27, 2012 and reached No. 7 on the Finnish Album Chart. It is also the first album and only album to feature Nitte Valo on lead vocals.
The Pagan Manifesto is the eighth studio album released by the Italian folk/power metal band, Elvenking. The album is a return to the band's pagan roots and sees a return to their original idea, concept and sound both lyrically and musically.
The Forest Seasons is the third studio album by Finnish heavy metal band Wintersun. It was released on July 21, 2017 via Nuclear Blast. The band cited Antonio Vivaldi's violin concerto The Four Seasons as an inspiration for the album title.
