Artist:  Savatage
   Title: Still The Orchestra Plays - Greatest Hits Volume 1 & 2
   Label: earMusic   

Well before the realms of Power Metal and Symphonic and Progressive Metal genres, one of the most iconic Metal bands of the twentieth century was turning out album after album of titanic metals overtures, and that band's name was Savatage.

If you haven’t heard of Savatage before then I’d like to know where you’ve had your head in the sand for over twenty five years?  The band led by the larger than life persona of Jon Oliva on vocals and keyboards and brother Cris, who was just a fantastic guitar player and with Jon, these two brothers were the masterminds behind the whole Savatage sound.

The band release superb albums the defined the band as one of the most individualistic of the 80’s metal scene.  Now earMusic have announced that they have signed up the band to re-release the bands entire back catalogue, right from the bands debut album ‘Sirens', right on through to ‘Poets and Madmen’, the bands final album from 2001.

But before those albums are re-released, they're about release this "best of" album.  It's a double disc album containing some re-mastered songs and three brand new acoustic versions of songs recorded by Jon in July last year.  There will also be a limited edition of the album released, which will include the bands anthology, plus the bands full Japan Live show from 1994 on DVD!

If that doesn’t entice you enough then the tracks listing on the CD’s certainly will.  Even though these are just the tips of the icebergs from the bands albums, there is enough to wet the lips of every Savatage fan out there.

With such classic cuts like ‘Hall Of The Mountain King’, ‘When The Crowds Are Gone’, ‘Edge Of Thorns’, ’The Wake Of Magellan’ and what best of album wouldn’t be complete without mine and many Savatage fans all time favourite ‘Gutter Ballet’.  These just few of my favourites but this double album collection is so much more, as the inclusion of those three acoustic versions really provide you with a deeper insight into the band.  Oliva really excels on ‘Anymore’, ‘Not What You See’ and ‘Out On The Streets’, so much so you can almost feel the passion on these songs as the Mountain King himself shows he more than has the voice to carry a proper rock ballad.

If you like me can't wait for the release of the bands classic albums then this collection will keep you satisfied until those albums are made available.  It really is a must for the millions of Savatage fans out there and for those of you not familiar with the band, a great insight into a band that made there mark on the metal world for all the right reasons, their music, and for those reasons this has to be my album of the month for March.

CD1: Greatest Hits Vol.1
Power Of The Night
Hall Of The Mountain King
24 Hours Ago
Legions
Gutter Ballet
Summers Rain
When The Crowds Are Gone
Ghost In The Ruins
If I Go Away
NYC Don‘t Mean Nothing
Edge Of Thorns
All That I Bleed

Bonus tracks (recorded by Jon Oliva in 2009):
Anymore (acoustic)
Not What You See (acoustic)
Out On The Streets (acoustic)

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