The Wake of Magellan | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 15, 1997 (Europe, Japan) April 7, 1998 (US) | |||
Recorded | 1996–1997 | |||
Studio | Soundtrack Studios and Studio 900 (overdubs), New York City | |||
Genre | Progressive metal, power metal | |||
Length | 60:06 | |||
Label | Concrete/Edel (Germany) JVC Victor (Japan) Lava/Atlantic (US) | |||
Producer | Paul O'Neill, Jon Oliva, Robert Kinkel | |||
Savatage chronology | ||||
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The Wake of Magellan is the tenth studio album released by the American heavy metal band Savatage. The album was released in September 1997 in Europe and Japan, and in April 1998 in the US.
This is the first Savatage album to have the same lineup as the previous album since Hall of the Mountain King in 1987 and also the last to feature vocals from lead singer Zachary Stevens. The progressive metal band Dream Theater are thanked in the album's liner notes. Dream Theater keyboard player Derek Sherinian and Al Pitrelli went to college together, were both in the band Ethyl Mertz and toured with Alice Cooper for the Trashes the World tour. Pitrelli and John Petrucci also played together on a Japanese release called Guitar Battle. [1]
The Wake of Magellan is a concept album based on two real life events. The first, the Maersk Dubai incident, occurred just over a year before the album was released, when the captain and officers of the ship threw three Romanian stowaways overboard in the middle of the Atlantic. A fourth stowaway was saved by the courageous actions of the ship's boatswain, Rodolfo Miguel, who risked his own life to protect the youth after witnessing the other three murders. The second event regarded the Irish reporter Veronica Guerin, who died fighting the growth of the drug trade in her country. Her death may accomplish what she could not in life. These events are combined into the story of an old Portuguese sailor, Fernão de Magalhães (Ferdinand Magellan in English), who has decided to end his life by sailing his small boat out into the Atlantic until it sinks. In his mind he has romanticized this decision as a glorious, Vikingesque way to die. When the ocean winds push him into a great storm, and he believes that his wish is about to be granted in a great dramatic fashion, he suddenly sees a man drowning in the ocean. In an instant he finds himself taking back every wish for death's embrace, and fights to save this soul. After many twists and turns, he is able to save the stowaway that had been thrown overboard. Returning to land, he now realizes that not only every life is precious but also every hour of that life. [2]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 8/10 [4] |
Metal1.info (GER) | 9/10 [5] |
Metal Hammer (GER) | 7/7 [6] |
Metal Rules | 5/5 [7] |
Rock Hard | 9.5/10 [8] |
Matthias Breusch of Rock Hard praised the album for being "a super-melodic, varied, one hundred percent song-oriented concentrate opus, precisely made without visible weld seam", which conquered his heart after repeated listenings. He lauded Savatage for "consistently carry through their unmistakable style and yet constantly change". [8] Metal Rules reviewer was happy to find Jon Oliva still active as lead vocalist in two songs, but considered Zak Stevens' performance that of "a vocal genius". [7] AllMusic Stephen Thomas Erlewine's review lingered on the ambitious narrative by Paul O'Neill and remarked how "Savatage's surprisingly graceful music not only does fit the story line, but it has sweeping melodies, intricate arrangements and stunning solos that are compelling on their own terms", showing how "the group continued to improve in the '90s". [3] Canadian journalist Martin Popoff found The Wake of Magellan "quite thick plot-wise", but appreciated how the album got "right to the metal, a decidedly raw and basic metal oddly enough", despite the band remaining "king of piano-to-riff dynamic", more in the way of Kansas than of Queen, which Savatage had been compared to. [4]
All lyrics are written by Paul O'Neill
No. | Title | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Ocean" (instrumental) | Jon Oliva, O'Neill | 1:33 |
2. | "Welcome" | J. Oliva, O'Neill | 2:11 |
3. | "Turns to Me" | O'Neill, J. Oliva, Al Pitrelli | 6:01 |
4. | "Morning Sun" | J. Oliva, O'Neill, Chris Caffery | 5:49 |
5. | "Another Way" | O'Neill, J. Oliva, Pitrelli | 4:35 |
6. | "Blackjack Guillotine" | J. Oliva, O'Neill, Caffery | 4:33 |
7. | "Paragons of Innocence" | J. Oliva, O'Neill | 5:33 |
8. | "Complaint in the System (Veronica Guerin)" | J. Oliva, O'Neill | 2:37 |
9. | "Underture" (instrumental) | J. Oliva, O'Neill | 3:52 |
10. | "The Wake of Magellan" | J. Oliva, O'Neill, Caffery, Johnny Lee Middleton | 6:10 |
11. | "Anymore" | J. Oliva, O'Neill | 5:16 |
12. | "The Storm" (instrumental) | J. Oliva, O'Neill | 3:45 |
13. | "The Hourglass" | O'Neill, J, Oliva, Pitrelli | 8:05 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
14. | "Somewhere in Time / Alone You Breathe" (acoustic version) | Criss Oliva, J. Oliva, O'Neill | 4:38 |
15. | "Sleep" (acoustic version) | C. Oliva, J. Oliva, O'Neill | 4:16 |
16. | "Stay" (acoustic version) | C. Oliva, J. Oliva, O'Neill | 2:48 |
Total length: | 71:42 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
14. | "This Is Where You Should Be" | J. Oliva | 4:55 |
15. | "Desirée" (acoustic version) | C. Oliva, J. Oliva, O'Neill | 3:53 |
Total length: | 68:48 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
14. | "Desirée" (acoustic version) | C. Oliva, J. Oliva, O'Neill | 3:54 |
15. | "Stay" (acoustic version) | C. Oliva, J. Oliva, O'Neill | 2:48 |
Year | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|
1997 | German Albums Chart [9] | 11 |
Japanese Albums Chart [10] | 44 | |
Dutch MegaCharts [11] | 79 | |
1998 | Billboard Heatseekers Albums (US) [12] | 26 |
2010 | Greek Albums Chart [13] | 30 |
Chart (2022) | Peak position |
---|---|
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [14] | 99 |
Hall of the Mountain King is the fourth studio album by the American heavy metal band Savatage, released in 1987 under the direction of producer Paul O'Neill. It is their first album produced by O'Neill, who was assigned to the band after the tour in support of Fight for the Rock. O'Neill's influence pushed Savatage to adopt a conceptual progressive metal style beginning with this album.
Dead Winter Dead is the ninth studio album by the American heavy metal band Savatage, released in 1995. It is a concept album, that tells a story from the perspectives of a Serb boy, a Bosniak girl and an old man. The story of the album is set during the Bosnian War, which was ongoing at the time.
The Dungeons Are Calling is an EP by the American heavy metal band Savatage, released in 1984 on Combat Records. Though the EP was not released until 1984, most of the songs featured on it and the debut album, Sirens, had been in the band set list since 1979, and are part of the Live in Clearwater and City Beneath the Surface EPs. The Dungeons Are Calling is a loosely based concept album and the title track, contrary to popular belief, is not about Hell or torture, but about the horrors of drug use. The song used many metaphors, which have been sometimes misunderstood.
Edge of Thorns is the seventh studio album by the American heavy metal band Savatage, released on April 6, 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.
Streets: A Rock Opera is the sixth studio album by the American heavy metal band Savatage and is a rock opera dealing with the rise and fall of the fictional musician DT Jesus. It was originally released in October 1991 on Atlantic Records. The album took almost a year to record, with pre-production beginning in October 1990. It was also Jon Oliva's last album as lead vocalist until 1995's Dead Winter Dead and 1997's The Wake of Magellan, where he shared lead vocal duties with Zak Stevens. He resumed lead vocal duties exclusively on 2001's Poets and Madmen.
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 heavy metal subgenres.
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Al Pitrelli is an American guitarist, best known for his work with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Megadeth, Alice Cooper and Savatage. He has performed with various acts as a band member, session musician and touring member, including Michael Bolton, Celine Dion, Asia, Dee Snider, Kathy Troccoli, Taylor Dayne, Blue Öyster Cult, Exposé and Joe Lynn Turner.
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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.
Robert Kinkel is an American professional session keyboardist and music engineer most known for his role as a co-creator/co-producer/co-composer and touring keyboardist with Trans-Siberian Orchestra along with extensive studio work with the progressive metal band Savatage. He attended Hamilton College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in music with a minor in physics.
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.
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Christopher Caffery is an American heavy metal guitarist, best known for his work as a member of Savatage and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Caffery has been releasing solo records singing and playing guitar for almost 20 years, releasing nine albums and many singles since 2004.
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