Battle Beast - Madness

I really like Nuclear Blast. It is the only record label on youtube.com. I follow. At first it was the obvious place to go to keep on news on bands like Blind Guardian, Edguy and Sabaton, but it is has also proven to be a great way for me to discover bands and songs I would not have heard otherwise; speaking of which, Battle Beast.

In December Battle Beast released their first official video for their third album “Unholy Savior” and the song is “Madness.”

“My name is madness,
And I’m the light you need,
In darkness,
You can’t escape from me,
Cause I’m madness,
And I will tear your soul apart.”

Yeah that rocks.

This is my first exposure Battle Beast and I am impressed. I am very confident the grungier, angrier, more “brutal” metal fans may consider Battle Beast a pop sort of metal, but I have no time for such pretension, this song rocks. The guitar solo is not going to win any awards but is serviceable. The rhythm sections is solid and heavy but nothing world breaking. Everything is good, but what might make Battle Beast truly special is the front woman, Noora Louhimo. She just sings her ass off.

Noora Louhimo

There is intensity from Noora’s singing that we have come to expect from metal but we rarely see from female singers. Most notable female lead singers have been operatic in their vocal approach, and I love that, and those that have taken to the hard angry shouting/singing have been mostly male. Noora nails the shouting angry lead singer thing; in fact I think she is one of the best I have ever heard, and this spice of life and energy really shows off the importance of a strong front person.

Battle Beast kind of remind me of Warlock only with more energy, which is saying something since Warlock was fairly energetic power metal band. Hey does anyone else remember Warlock? Because I do.

The new album “Unholy Savior” is coming out January twenty-seventh of this year, and enough goodwill has been earned by the song “Madness” to convince me to pick up the album. I also intend to pick up their second album, the self titled “Battle Beast,” when I make my amazon purchase because I also really like the song “Out of Control.” To me it is a little crazy but apparently the first Battle Beast album had a different female lead singer, Nitte Valo. Now obviously I am just learning about this band for the first time so it is not as if I have much knowledge about the topic, but it is hard to imagine this band existing without Noora. After listening to some tracks from Battle Beast’s first album it is impossible to deny that Nitte was also fantastic, but, even with limited knowledge on the subject at hand I am already partial to Noora and I love the addition she makes.

Out of Control

Browsing over Battle Beast’s songs I could not help but notice the reoccurring theme of, wait for it, madness.

I mean clearly the song “Madness” is about madness, and that is great fun, but it also comes up in “Out of Control” with the opening line “Welcome to my kingdom madness,” and the chorus makes reference to fighting a madman, as well as “defying the gods of hell” which is just such a bad ass thing to say, makes me want to go slay demons. The other released track from “Unholy Savior” thus far is “Touch in the Night” and it has the line:

“Here I am in the dark chained to demise and agony,
Madness is creeping in,
'Cause what I see cannot be real,
Or can it?”

So maybe insanity will be the primary subject matter for this power metal band, that will be fun, also it might make “Madness” a potential flagship song. Also insanity can fit in well with the band’s other reoccurring themes, such as, dark adventure and fighting demons and machines; basically pure fun. Battle Beast is pure fun. Listen to the new track “Madness” and hear for yourself, great fun is upon you, all you have to do is listen.

It looks like Finland has done it again. They really know how to rock out in Scandinavia. It just seems like all the metal I enjoy nowadays comes from central Europe and lucky for me there is so much of it.

Until next month, keep on rocking in the free world.

- King of Braves

The Who - Baba O'Riley

The British Invasion in the music industry is among one of the best things to ever happen. When we think of the British Invasion of the sixties we typically think of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, but they were hardly the only two rock bands coming out the United Kingdom at that time, in fact the obvious third band that should be remembered and acclaimed for the movement is The Who. There is a reasonably strong argument that despite failing to capture the sort of dominate commercial success The Beatles and The Stones enjoyed during the sixties The Who might be the best of the three. Taste is subjective so however anyone chooses to rank these titan bands of classic rock is rather arbitrary. What makes The Who special, even in comparison to The Beatles and Stones, was everything that made The Who special in the first place. They were a progressive band, arguably more so than anyone at that time. They wrote controversial songs all of which seem super innocent today. They experimented with sound and song perhaps more so than any popular band at the time. They dared to arrest people’s attention by being the loudest band on Earth (at the time, all hail Manowar) and they destroyed their instruments at the end of the set in what was considered an almost unholy act of rebellion. The Who were just more badass then just about anyone else in the sixties, and that makes them, in my opinion, important to include when talking about Great Britain’s dominance as the greatest rock and roll country in history.

The Who are very British

The Who had success right from the beginning but it was not until 1969 when Pete Townshend wrote the rock opera “Tommy” that The Who really took over. As good as an album as “Tommy” is the general consensus, and I agree, is that The Who’s next album “Who’s Next” (1971) was and is The Who’s very best work. The entire album of “Who’s Next” is loaded with hit songs including, “Bargain,” “Love Ain’t for Keeping,” “Getting in Tune,” “Behind Blue Eyes,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” and my favorite “Baba O’Riley.”

When answering the classic question, “if you were on a deserted island and could only bring ten albums what would you bring?” I always include “Who’s Next.”

The song “Baba O’Riley” is uniquely famous. It is like a piece of classical music that everyone has heard a multitude of times and everyone really likes but comparatively few know the artist or the correct name of the song. The most common incorrectly believed name for the song “Baba O’Riley” is “Teenage Wasteland” this is because the ending bridge of lyrics has Roger Daltrey singing;

“Teenage wasteland.
It's only teenage wasteland.
Teenage wasteland.
Oh, yeah,
Teenage wasteland.
They're all wasted!”

This inspired me to nominate “Baba O’Riley” as our highschool gradating theme, because after all many of us would be wasted and we were naturally teenagers. Alas I was not part of any extracurricular group and no one took me very seriously then... or now. Still it would have been awesome if The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” was our class song.

When you think about it, “Baba O’Riley” seems like a completely illogical name for this song, but apparently it is named after Meher Baba and Terry Riley. Baba was a spiritual leader who believed himself to be the “Avatar” and Riley was an American composer and musician, so I guess we can assume The Who was influenced directly by these two. If I am being honest I do not know much of anything about either gentleman. At least we know where the title “Baba O’Riley” comes from now, it was bothering me for years.

Meher Baba and Terry Riley.

The other way in which “Baba O’Riley” is famous is void of lyrics and is purely instrumental. The opening keyboard is fast paced and intriguing. The guitar solo in the middle is a perfect bridge between verses and a great accompaniment later during the final verses. Lastly the outro is just as memorable as the intro. Because the keyboards, drums and guitar all stand out as incredibly catchy, instantly identifiable and infinitely memorable “Baba O’Riley” was used a lot for movie trailers when I was young, but the only one that I can distinctly remember is “American Beauty.”

Great movie, great song, good trailer:

The Who have a lot of really good songs, and one of the reasons they were among the greatest of the greats was that every member of The Who was a big deal. Roger Daltrey was an excellent singer, surprisingly good actor, and among the very best front men of all time. Pete Townshend is one of the very best guitarist ever, and an incredible song writer. Somewhat forgotten in the shadows of his friends John Entwistle was a solid bass player, and keyboarder, case in point “Baba O’Riley” is among some of his best work, in fact without John on keyboard the song would be nowhere near as good as it is. Lastly we have crazy man Keith Moon on drums, everything Keith Moon did was extraordinary and with a well listened ear you can discover that just about ever Who song has much activity going on in the drums then any typical rock song. When we pause and look at the individual elements of a song like “Baba O’Riley” we see a heroic performance by all four men, we see an amalgamation of great talents coming together in perfect harmony for what most should consider a perfect song.

- King of Braves

Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Old City Bar

“Old City Bar” is one of the few original songs by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, who are primarily known for their Christmas themed rock operas, they also have a bulk of songs that are rock and roll adaptations of classical music. Since most Christmas songs are in fact modifications of old folk songs and classical music, I believe it is fair to say that the vast majority of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s music is rock opera versions of classical music. While “Old City Bar” is undeniably Christmas themed it is one of the few completely original tracks by the group.

I was curious just how few Trans-Siberian Orchestra songs were original after writing the above paragraph and I was surprised to find just how many songs were attributed to O’Neill, Oliva and Kinkel, but they take credit for songs like “Mephistopheles' Return” and "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24” which I know for a fact are collections of various classical pieces glued together. While going through each song and figuring out the percentage of Trans-Siberian Orchestra songs that are one hundred percent original is the sort of thing I am want to do, I will decline doing so at this time, I am not made of free time. Sorry Internet, I failed you. The point remains however, I am very confident that “Old City Bar” is one of the very few completely original songs created by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

I mean no real criticism when I point out that the vast majority of Trans-Siberian’s songs are quasi covers, after all just about the only thing I like about the holiday season is the music of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I would not be caught dead listening to Christmas music until “Christmas Eve and Other Stories” came out in 1996. This tiny bit of information however does help support what makes a song like “Old City Bar” special however.

The guitar is the instrument that speaks to my soul, and there is little I love more than a nice guitar melody, acoustic or electric. Like any simple charming acoustic song I always get it in my head that I can learn to play it myself, and “Old City Bar” is such a nice song it would be advantageous to know how to play it, but being layman I struggled terribly. This is not too surprising really, many of the acoustic songs I have sat down to learn have turned out to be much more intricate and complicated then they sound; which should really give us all a greater appreciation for the sheer talent of the professional guitar players out there who make it look so easy. If you really want to learn how to play “Old City” bar, this girl explains it pretty well I think: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEwaX71VjM4

The real charm of “Old City Bar” is the quaint nature of the story and the uplifting message there within. A quick synopsis of the story is a women is stranded in the cold streets on Christmas Eve and a child recruits the help of a bar keep to help her get home safe and sound. The child suddenly vanishes after the good deed is done and the rumor emerges that the child was an angel. In a turn of great generosity the bar keep lets everyone drink for free, and the bar is like home to those to dwell inside. These two verses perfectly capture the spirit of the song;

“If you want to arrange it,
This world you can change it,
If we could somehow make this,
Christmas thing last.

By helping a neighbor,
Or even a stranger,
And to know who needs help,
You need only just ask.”

I think we have all heard a variety of explanations as to what constitutes the true meaning of Christmas. We technically have two primary cultural influences that dictate two completely different messages. The various Pagans of Europe would celebrate their Winter Solstices as the rebirth of the sun and the coming of new life as the deepest days of winter were passing. The Christians, who effectively stole the holiday from the Pagans, celebrate the rebirth of their savior Jesus Christ. The commonality is the theme of rebirth, that is not a coincidence and also not important to a discussion about “Old City Bar.” A lot of people have come to terms to with the idea that the Holiday season is about “peace on earth,” which is a nice try, but more pragmatic people are forced to recognize the truth that the holiday season has become more to do with commercialism than anything else, but perhaps the healthiest message we should believe in is the one O’Neill and company are encouraging for us to share, and that is charity and kindness.

I would be lying if I pretend to care about the “reason for the season” I do not even like Christmas, I’d rather be working. Can you imagine how much work I could get done around the office if no one else was there to sideline me with unpredictable problems? It would be so nice. However as much of a scrooge you may qualify me as, I really like “Old City Bar” and I really like the message it invokes. If you want to make a better future, go make it; be the difference you want to see in the world; help a stranger; pay it forward; and other clichés. Every day is the future. We are the future, all of us.

Until next year, keep on rocking in the free world.

- King of Braves

Bloodbound - Moria

Bloodbound is a Swedish power metal group that formed around 2005 and since that time they have already gone through two drummers, three bass players and an impressive four lead vocalist. What’s all the more impressive is that they have released six studio albums which means they manage to replace the lead singer once every one and a half albums on average, which is pretty fucking crazy when you think about it. Still congrats to Tomas Olsson (lead guitar), Fredrik Bergh (keyboard) and Henrik Olsson (rhythm guitar) for keeping the dream alive and sticking it out with such volatile line up changes in such a short period of time.

The original vocalist Urban Breed actually performed on the first and third studio albums, which only raises more questions about the coming and goings of band members. Finally on their forth studio album Bloodbound found their most consistent lead singer to date Patrik Johansson.

This seems to be a very common thing in Europe, band members hopping from one band to another. I mentioned this before when talking about musicians like Michael Kiske, Kai Hansen, and Jorn Lande, and how they have managed to be in approximately half a dozen different metal bands each. Like Skwisgaar from Dethklok they have basically been in every band ever. The past and current members of Bloodbound have been involved in a number of bands I have never heard of before and could barely find any information about any of them online, which in this day in age is a shock, but this does explain why I have heard so little about Bloodbound despite them having several decent songs, and there is still a lot I do not know about Bloodbound, but one thing I am confident in saying is “Moria” is a damned awesome song.

Coming off of their 2011 album “Unholy Cross,” the first album to include current lead singer Patrik Johansson, “Moria” is my favorite song I have heard from Bloodbound so far. I am very big on song structure, now admittedly I am untalented fool of a musician so I likely miss a large variety of subtle details in the music I listen too, but I think I listen well enough to pick up on the big picture. The songs I have always enjoyed the most have set pieces, verses, chorus, and bridges with a logical, simple gluing together of these things. “Moria’s” intro is a nice slow crawl towards excitement and the verses have one rhythm pattern and the choruses another. We have a nice guitar solo in the middle, like every great rock song should have, and the outro repeats the chorus into gradual departure of the instruments until only Johansson’s voice remains. And it is a really, really, I can’t emphasize this enough, really good chorus.

Not all metal songs are catchy, in fact, sometimes it is frowned upon in the metal community to be so, but I love the hook “Moira” has with its chorus. The lyrics are simple but meaningful and they are sung with the exact right amount of intensity, and it helps the guitars leap out with the vocals.

“Bang your head to hell and back,
Shaking the ground of Moria.
Raise the dead our time has come,
Show me the horns of Moria.”

Show me the halls of Moria, oh he said "horns?" Well that makes less sense.

Of course it is impossible for me to ignore the obvious “Lord of The Rings” reference. For those of you who missed it (somehow) Moria is the underground Dwarven kingdom the fellowship travel through in the “The Fellowship of the Ring.” The same place Balin led a group of dwarves into who met their doom at the hands of the goblins and orcs within, you should remember Gimli morning the dead as Gandalf read the journal of their fate. The same place Gandalf fought the Balrog, you know “You shall not pass!” that place; Moria. Presumably everyone would agree that the battle in the halls of Moria is a perfect event to write a metal song about, however... it is doubtful to say the least that Tolkien’s “Moria” is literally being referenced in this song. I mean the “horns of Moria?” It is as though they are referring to a demon named Moria or something. Maybe they thought the Balrog was named Moria? Maybe not, or maybe no one should care?

Despite expecting fantasy literature reference the lyrical content of “Moria” is actually rather agnostic or atheistic. The bridge into the chorus is;

“The night has fallen,
And the sky is clear.
You feel the darkness,
Surround you.
I’ll pray for mercy,
When I’m six feet underground.
I’ll pray for mercy,
When Eden’s found.”

And then slightly modified the second time around;

“The light is crawling,
And the time is near.
A touch of evil,
That bind you.
I’ll pray for mercy,
When my heart has stopped to pound.
I’ll pray for mercy,
When hell is found.”

And both bridges conclude with this fantastic little bit;

“Heavenly pictures try to rape your mind.
Tormented creatures you will find.”

Whoa!

I am very partial to these lyrics. It is a sort of “fuck you” to people threatening non-believes with hell and bribing them with heaven. Effectively all that is being said is, “I will believe you when there is a valid reason to believe you,” and also “I will not be intimidated,” in a very powerful manner. I really like the “tormented creatures” line, it could mean that those obsessed with “heavenly” ideas will become tormented, or it could be that they search so desperately for validation for their absurd believes they project horror onto everything and will either create or falsify the hell they so desperately feel the need to believe in as a counter weight to their imaginary heaven. Good stuff.

I like the guitars, I like the energy, I like the Tolkien reference, I like the song structure, and I like the whole atheistic theme; basically a perfect song for my subjective tastes. Good work Bloodbound, I hardly know anything about you, but I think “Moria” is among one of the best songs I have heard in recent years. Keep up the good work and good luck keeping your lineup intact.

- King of Braves

Uriah Heep - The Wizard

Uriah Heep is many things. They are a largely forgotten progressive rock band from the greatest era of music ever (the sixties and seventies). They are an endearing band that has existed for over forty years, thank you Mic Box for keeping the dream alive. They are a fun band that frequently visited themes of fantasy and science fiction. Also Uriah Heep is a prime example of what the seventies were. While largely forgotten in time, Uriah Heep did enjoy a splash of success in the early days of their career and part of it probably had something to do with just how well they fit in with the peace and love movement.

There are few things more relaxing and easy going then mellow hippie music, and some of Uriah Heep’s early tracks fit that moniker well, perhaps most notably “The Wizard.” Like many early Uriah Heep songs “The Wizard” is very simple, all you need to play it is the C, D, and G on a string guitar. In fact “The Wizard” is one of the few songs I learned to play adequately well, and I am but a dabbler.

This ties in directly to what I would consider the two culture primary points of a song like “The Wizard.” There is the obvious fantasy theme, which I love and there is also the overlap of the seventies hippie moment present throughout.

The music video is soooooo nineteen seventies:

Everyone seems so happy in that video.

The first instinct most people is to assume anything about a kindly old wizard is based off of Gandalf or possibly Merlin, I do not feel Uriah Heep is singing about any such specific individual in “The Wizard.” As described in the second verse;

“He had a cloak of gold and eyes of fire,
And as he spoke I felt a deep desire,
To free the world of its fear and pain,
And help the people to feel free again.”

Gandalf never wore a cloak of gold. The wizard in question comes off like some kindly old hippie which directly ties into the second primary cultural inspiration.

“He was the wizard of a thousand kings,
And I chanced to meet him one night wandering.
He told me tales, and he drank my wine,
Me and my magic man, kinda feeling fine.”

Basically the song is about getting drunk and stoned with a hippie, who happens to be a sorcerer, which is amazing. If I was foolish enough to indulge impossible things on the bucket list of my life, it would include getting drunk and stoned with a wizard.

It is easy to see just how strongly this all ties into the peace and love moment, after all the message of the Wizard is about cooperation and understanding:

“Why don’t we listen to the voices in our hearts?
Because then I know we’d find were not so far apart.
Everybodys got to be happy, everyone should sing,
For we know the joy of life, the peace that love can bring.”

So spoke the wizard in his mountain home.
The vision of his wisdom means well never be alone.
And I will dream of my magic night,
And the million silver stars,
That guide me with their light.”

It is simple notion that likely is invoked constantly but is nearly thought of in such terms, why don’t we listen to the voices in our hearts? The truth is, no matter for culturally different we are, with open hearts we will always find we are not so far apart. It is a really message in a really mellow song, and I find it so completely calming.

“The Wizard” is the first track off of Uriah Heep’s 1972 album “Demons and Wizards” evidently “The Wizard” along with “Paradise/The Spell” satisfy the “wizard” half of the album title. Meanwhile “Rainbow Demon” one of my favorite songs of all time which obviously is the “demon” side of the equation. The theme of wizards and magic would carrying on to Uriah Heep’s next album, released the same year “The Magician’s Birthday” and I suspect the magician and the wizard are the same lovable hippie, but perhaps I will discuss more on that another day.

- King of Braves

P.S. Also fun, the Blind Guardian cover:

Black Sabbath - The Wizard

When I was a kid discovering music I was drawn primarily to classic rock from the sixties and seventies, and one of my first loves was Black Sabbath. Like most young men of my time I feel in love with Black Sabbath through the songs I heard on the radio, their big hits like “Paranoid,” “Iron Man” and “War Pigs.” For the longest time my affinity for Black Sabbath resided entirely on the “Paranoid” album, the only CD of theirs I owned for a long time. Back in my youth I was very dependent on the radio and friends to introduce music to me, and without the sufficient funds it was often a gamble to buy a whole album without first knowing what was on it, I needed a hook, I needed an incentive, and for me in my dire need to expand my Black Sabbath catalogue the next step was introduced by Sabbath’s fourth big radio hit, at least where I live, “The Wizard.”

“The Wizard” is basically a perfect song for young me’s sensibilities. It had a highly unique intro that my brother and I could recognize after only the first note during a trivia contest (true story). It had blues influence which tied in with my love of the music of that time, most notably Led Zeppelin. The harmonica is a fantastic and underused music instrument. The distortion on Toni Iommi’s guitar is the exact amount necessary to create a unique sound that is catchy and fun and does not cross the line into distracting from the rhythm section. The song is about a wizard and fuck yeah wizards!

So without much hesitation the second Sabbath album young me purchased was their debut self titled album “Black Sabbath.” This was a good purchase, obviously, because the entire first half of the album is amazing with songs like “Black Sabbath,” “The Wizard” and “Behind the Wall of Sleep/N.I.B.” while the second half of the album is also really good. It was also a chronologically logical place to start discovering Black Sabbath, you know, at the beginning.

"Paranoid" and "The Wizard" that
would have been a really good single.

“The Wizard” is infinitely memorable. The way it opens with the long notes from the harmonica and allows Iommi, Ward and Butler to be introduced one at a time and then coming together in the first movement is... “magical.” It is probably the most blues inspired song by Sabbath and it gives a very unique sound even when compared to other Black Sabbath tracks. It is not a very heavy song, at least not by today’s standards but being “metal” does not by itself make a song good, style and pose; levels and variety of sound are “The Wizard’s” strong suites.

In many ways “The Wizard” is a silly song. Black Sabbath had a lot of intense songs about death, darkness, the devil and other dangerous themes beginning with a “d,” including dreams. So a song about a magic man making every one joyful with his presence is rather calm in comparison, but I like it. Not only is “The Wizard” a charming upbeat song it is very humorous when we pause to consider the lyrics.

The two immediate possible interpretations for “The Wizard” are literal and metaphorical; obviously, what other options do we have really? “The Wizard” is quite possibly, literally about a wizard spreading his magic and making everyone happy, or “The Wizard” could be, metaphorical be about a drug dealer spreading his unique form of “magic” and naturally making everyone happy. Judging from Ozzy’s attitude on both subjects I think it is fair to suggest that it is both, a wizard who is a drug dealer.

A psychedelic adventure?

It is often sited that, “The Wizard” is inspired by famous “The Lord of The Rings” sorcerer Gandalf the Grey. It is not too far of a stretch to imagine Gandalf as a drug dealer, after all he was found of the halfing’s leaf, and the whole walking by element fits well with Gandalf’s wandering ways. I think it is fun to imagine Gandalf as a haphazard drug dealer, spreading the joy of his “magic,” but truth be told I am not convinced Black Sabbath’s “The Wizard” is necessarily inspired by, or at all about, Gandalf the Grey. I think our cultural perceptions of the fantasy theme wizards are fundamentally inspired by Gandalf and Arthurian lore’s Merlin, so much so, that everything wizard related harkens back to them. So in a weird way every wizard, ever, is inspired by, or based on, Gandalf and/or Merlin, either directly or indirectly, but in this case I think the connection may be the later, indirect, and I do not know how much that really counts as being inspired by, or at all about, Gandalf, really.

Oh well, who cares? Gandalf selling pot is a great idea for a song and I am sure Ozzy would be happy if all just assumed “The Wizard” is about exactly that. That is what I like to believe anyway.

Image taken from some youtube video.  I could have just as easily made my own, but I didn't.

The important thing is “The Wizard” is one of Sabbath’s most unique songs both in style and theme and in my humble one of their best. I hesitate to say “The Wizard” is my favorite Black Sabbath song, but only because Black Sabbath have so many great songs. In the end, I think “The Wizard” is my favourite, but perhaps that just my affinity for Gandalf and pot talking.

- King of Braves

P.S. Also fun, Pride and Glory cover:

Savatage - The Hall of The Mountain King

Savatage is a band with a lot of history. Forming in 1978 it would be five years before they released their first album “Sirens,” and after that they remained very active by releasing an album every year for five years. It was the fifth year of this workmen’s approach that changed and defined Savatage with the release of their best known album “The Hall of The Mountain King.”

Savatage’s early works were fantasy related rock and roll, but they drifted away slightly from that theme in years three and four with their albums “Power of the Night” and “Fight for the Rock” and enthusiasm for the band was starting to wane, not just commercially, Savatage was largely ignored by the mainstream, but even the members of Savatage were starting to get distraught and disinterested in their own work. At one point the band broke up and the primary reason was because they were not making enough money to stay alive. Times were hard for Savatage.

The Oliva brothers, Jon on vocals and Criss on guitar, were the leaders of Savatage, they wrote basically every song and performed arguably the two most important functions. I have always been under the impression that they grew up with Paul O’Neill, all three are from New York, but regardless their friendship was established forever when O’Neill was brought in to produce Savatage’s fifth studio album “The Hall of The Mountain King.” With O’Neill’s help Savatage returned to fantasy and embraced the power metal stylization they had intended to be all along. The future of progressive metal was born, and most critics consider “The Hall of The Mountain King” as the first ever progressive metal album, yet one more unique subgenre of metal had come to forefront of human musical imagination, much to the betterment of all humankind.

O’Neill is a hell of a producer, rarely is the producer credited for primary song writing but in the case of “The Hall of The Mountain King” O’Neill is credited for co-writing four of the tracks, including the two of my primary admiration, “Prelude to Madness” and the title track. Evidently O’Neill’s creative efforts were very welcomed by the Oliva brothers and he is considered by some to be a member of the band insofar. I believe it was O’Neill’s influence more than anything else that helped shape “The Hall of The Mountain King,” as well as what Savatage would become thereafter, and obviously he was fundamentally important in the creation of The Trans Siberian Orchestra.

Before there was the Trans Siberian Orchestra there was Savatage, and I think this is an important point in retrospect, because a lot of people, including me, discovered Savatage retroactively after discovering the Trans Siberian Orchestra. The combination of hard rock and classical music is a great glorious idea, and it is the 1987 Savatage album “The Hall of The Mountain King” where we see perhaps some of the earliest endeavors by O’Neill and Oliva (Jon) in creating this specific style of music.

The song “The Hall of The Mountain King” would become Savatage’s flagship song, and it is arguably the best guitar work by Criss Oliva, and it is this song along with its intro “A Prelude to Madness” where we see the direct crossover of classical music with rock and roll for the first time (I think) in Savatage’s history. I think it is pretty obvious that Savatage’s “The Hall of The Mountain King” is connected to Edvard Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” why am I so confident in saying this, because the interlude “Prelude to Madness” is a instrumental that is an rearrangement of Grieg’s classic piece with the exception of the intro which is based on Gustov Holst’s “The Planets.” The primary song “The Hall of The Mountain King” has less in common with Grieg’s classical music but in many ways fits together perfectly. “The Hall of The Mountain King” feels like the appropriate rock and roll extended version of Grieg’s classical piece. There are not very many examples of rock bands and guitarists reimagining, reworking, and expanding classical music like this before 1987, so this album and song are not just important because it rocks the world but also because it was an important link in the development of the high art that would later became The Trans Siberian Orchestra as well as hundreds of other inspired talents.

Edvard Grieg - In The Hall of The Mountain King

Savatage - Prelude to Madness

I have often imagine “The Hall of The Mountain King” might just maybe be about Thorin Oakenshield from “The Hobbit,” he was after all the king under the mountain after Smaug was dispatched, but I think it is safe to say that this song is not about anything so specific. Most interpretations of Grieg’s “In The Hall of The Mountain King” suggest that the song is about a troll, or a king of trolls. This makes sense, Grieg was Norwegian and the troll is a mythological creature from that area of the world. In Savatage’s song though I believe it is a being of their own creation. Judging from the cover art and the music video, the Mountain King is a big old dude with a big white beard, and I think it is safe to assume he is meant to be some sort of earthen god. It does not really matter though, what makes “The Hall of The Mountain King” special, at least for me, is the connection to classic music and Criss Oliva’s electric and lively guitar licks.

One of many animated interpretations of Grieg's "In The Hall of The Mountain King"

Savatage is soon to begin another reunion tour, and I hope they come to Calgary. The bucket list of my life is long and Savatage is on it, and the way they keep breaking up and reuniting makes me wonder how many more reunion tours they plan on having.

- King of Braves