Edge of Thorns is the seventh studio album by the American heavy metal band Savatage, released on April 2, 1993, by Atlantic Records. It was the last Savatage album to feature guitarist Criss Oliva, who died six months after its release, and their first release with Zachary Stevens on lead vocals, following the departure of Jon Oliva from his role as singer in Savatage, although he did produce and write songs for the album.
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 another 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 genres, such as power metal, progressive metal, speed metal, thrash metal, death metal and symphonic metal.
Handful of Rain is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Savatage, released in 1994. This is the first album since the death of the band's founding member and lead guitarist Criss Oliva who in turn had contributed to writing on two of its songs before his passing, namely "Taunting Cobras" and "Nothing's Going On".
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.
Zachary Trussell, known professionally as Zachary "Zak" Stevens, is an American singer, best known as the second lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Savatage. He currently performs with the heavy metal band Circle II Circle. Stevens also has a degree in psychology but is not, as is often reported, a licensed, practicing psychologist.
Circle II Circle is an American heavy metal band from Tampa, Florida. The band was formed by former Savatage lead vocalist Zachary Stevens and longtime friend and band manager Dan Campbell in 2001. They play varied genres of metal including traditional heavy metal, power metal and progressive metal.
Jon Oliva's Pain was a musical project of Savatage co-founder Jon Oliva.
Christopher Caffery is an American musician, best known for his work as a member of Savatage and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Chris has been releasing solo records singing and playing guitar for almost 20 years, releasing 9 albums and many singles since 2004.
Doctor Butcher was a side project involving Jon Oliva and Chris Caffery of Savatage which released one major self-titled studio album in 1994. The original album title, A Living Hell, was changed at the last minute.
Maniacal Renderings is a 2006 release by Jon Oliva's Pain. It was their first full-length studio recording released for new label AFM Records.
'Tage Mahal is a 2004 release by Jon Oliva's Pain. It was the first non-Savatage related release by Jon Oliva since 1994's Doctor Butcher.
Straight Jacket Memoirs is a 2006 EP by Jon Oliva's Pain. Distributed by AFM Records, it was the first release by the band for their new label. The release featured two new full songs from the then forthcoming album, Maniacal Renderings, and live renditions of two songs from the band's previous album, 'Tage Mahal. The other track featured on the release is an edited version of the song "The Evil Beside You".
Watching in Silence is the debut astudio album by the American heavy metal band Circle II Circle, released in 2003. It featured guest appearances from lead vocalist Zachary Stevens's former band mates from Savatage, Jon Oliva and Chris Caffery, who co-wrote most of the songs on the album.
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.
This discography relates to releases by Savatage only. See Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Jon Oliva's Pain, Circle II Circle, Chris Caffery and Doctor Butcher for other related works.
Burden of Truth is a 2006 release by Circle II Circle. It was the band's third full-length studio release so far, and is a concept album, with the songs telling a story based on The Da Vinci Code. Unlike the band's first two albums, this album does not feature a guest appearance from lead vocalist Zak Stevens's former Savatage bandmates, Chris Caffery and Jon Oliva.
Festival is the fourth and final release by the band Jon Oliva's Pain. Released in February 2010 in Europe, it peaked at number 87 in the German MRC Radio Charts.
Midnight was an American musician best known for being the vocalist of Crimson Glory. The band became known for Midnight's "ear-shattering screams", which drew comparisons to Geoff Tate, and "painfully strident delivery."
Bill Hudson is a Brazilian-American heavy metal guitarist, currently serving as the main composer, lead guitarist and founder for power metal supergroup NorthTale. He worked with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra as well German heavy metal bands U.D.O. and Dirkschneider, both fronted by former Accept vocalist Udo Dirkschneider and American death metal band I Am Morbid, featuring former Morbid Angel frontman David Vincent and drummer Pete Sandoval. As of 2021, he is the guitarist for German heavy metal legend Doro Pesch, after acting as a fill in guitarist since 2017.
