By JAY ROBERTS

The Cassette Chronicles is a continuing series of mini reviews and reflections on albums from the 1980’s and 1990’s. The aim of this series is to highlight both known and underappreciated albums from rock, pop and metal genres from this time period through the cassette editions of their releases. Some of the albums I have known about and loved for years, while others are new to me and were music I’ve always wanted to hear. There will be some review analysis and my own personal stories about my connection with various albums. These opinions are strictly my own and do not reflect the views of anyone else at Limelight Magazine.

SAVATAGE – EDGE OF THORNS (1993)

The 7th studio album for Savatage was a bit of a sea change from the two previous releases the band had put out. While Savatage had aimed for a more progressive rock/metal sound on those albums, the arrival of singer Zachary Stevens saw the band’s sound edge (no pun intended) towards a more straightforward metal sound. Yes, there were moments that recalled those other recent records but for the most part, it was straight ahead metal.

On a despairing note, the other big change for Savatage came six months after the album was released. Guitarist extraordinaire Criss Oliva was killed in a car crash with a drunk driver (his wife Dawn was critically injured as well). Edge of Thorns tracks like “Exit Music”, “Conversation Piece” and “Sleep” took on unintended additional overtones for me when I learned of the news.

And how did I learn about the news? Believe it or not, 31 years ago I didn’t have such great access to online information. Instead, I was reading a magazine that had an interview with someone in the band. I think it was an issue of Hit Parader but don’t hold me to that. Anyway, I didn’t notice it on the first read, but when I read the interview a second time, I saw a little box that included the information that the interview had been conducted before Criss was killed in a car crash. UGH! What a terrible way for anyone to find out that information. And since Criss Oliva had become my favorite guitar player (my photo with him on the Gutter Ballet tour remains a prized possession), it was particularly gutting for me on a fan level.

Just last weekend I was listening to my CD edition of this album as I was traveling around doing errands and I was even wearing my album cover artwork T-shirt. So on the occasion of the 250th article in The Cassette Chronicles series, I thought it was fitting that I take a look at the Edge of Thorns album.

Having written about the Hall of the Mountain King, Gutter Ballet and Handful of Rain albums, I’ve had a lot to say about the band, but with Savatage being my favorite band, there’s always more to add to the conversation.

The album opens with the title track and that opening piano riff does immediately lend itself to a very haunting thematic sensibility. As the vocals kick in, the song maintains a steady methodical pacing until just before the lead in to the guitar solo. The vocals from Zachary Stevens immediately make you sit up and take notice. I know there is somewhat of a split between Jon and Zach vocal loyalists but for me, I don’t differentiate that way. I enjoy both styles so it is all Savatage to me. As the song moves in a far more lively direction through the guitar solo and beyond, I liked how the band brought things back to a more direct conclusion by bringing back the keyboard/piano riff to wrap up the song. This was also the single release (with an accompanying video) from the album.

The immensely rocking track “He Carves His Stone” starts out rather understated but quite soon enough, the band explodes into a molten bit of music that is only further fueled by the aggressive vocal take from Stevens. But listening to Criss Oliva riff his way through this song also helps make it one of my favorite tracks on the album. I love that song’s third lyrical stanza when the music first bursts forth from the speakers: “Well a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do / But I’ll never give my soul to you / No fallen angel’s prophecy / Will ever take hold of the man you see”. And the leads that Oliva is playing at the end of the song…AWESOME.

There’s not much of a table setting intro on the song “Lights Out”. It’s fast and furious, a relentless sonic assault, from start to finish. The way the band sounds on this one only further deepened my appreciation for the ability Criss Oliva had. He’s an underrappreciated guitar maestro in my book and this song has always struck me as a fury-filled example of that belief.

On “Skraggy’s Tomb”, you get a brief little set piece in the opening as you hear someone opening a bottle (of whiskey it would seem by the theme of the song) and taking a swig before the song kicks off in full. The song isn’t quite as fast as the previous two tracks but it is still has a pretty lively uptempo pace to it for the most part.

The first side of the album comes to a dramatic conclusion with its last three songs. Two of the songs are instrumentals. The first is “Labyrinths” which is only about 90 seconds long. It’s got a soft and gentle almost ethereal feel to it at the start but then the guitar comes in over the piano and you get a much more dramatic vibe coming off the song. As the song looks to wind down, the music briefly gets even more intense as it leads into one of Savatage’s most incredible tracks.

That song is called “Follow Me” and it starts off in a bit of a restrained manner but good gawd, when the band kicks up the musical intensity, it is a thing of beauty. “A man only sees what he wants to see/ When he’s in his mind/ Where he is what he wants to be / Living in a world where he’s safe from reality / Won’t you take a chance on this night child and follow ME”. There’s a stupendous amount of standout lyrical lines in this song and between the way Stevens sells those lines and the way the music weaves in and out to enhance those vocals is incredible. As the song hits the solo and then as the vocals come in over the top as the song heads to its finish, the music is absolutely shredding and I love the way Stevens sings about the “new weekly bible, his modern TV Guide”. A monster track in every respect.

And then comes the side-closing instrumental “Exit Music”. I mentioned above how this track took on added significance for me after learning about Criss Oliva’s death. No matter how many times I listen to the song, I am reminded not only of his passing but somehow the music also serves to kind of uplift my spirits as well. If I was going to select a soundtrack for when I depart, this would be a song I would feel compelled to add in. I don’t know how others might feel about this song but it always hits home with me.

The second side of the Edge of Thorns album opens with the song “Degrees of Sanity”. There’s a strong undercurrent of barely restrained electricity running throughout the first lyrical portion of the song. The vocals from Stevens are a bit underplayed but there is a bit of an edge at the same time, a hidden knife waiting to be plunged into your heart if you will. When the song’s tempo rises higher for the chorus, you get a bit more fire and fury from the band, but the song really takes off as the solo kicks in and suddenly you are pummelled by one wave of heavier tones after another.

The Edge of Thorns album is chock-full of great songs but one of the best is “Conversation Piece”. As I said before, it took on a bit more feeling to me after learning of Criss Oliva’s death. But this song doesn’t quite have the same kind of emotional feel to it in that respect as “Exit Music” or “Sleep”. Instead, this song gets interpreted in my head these days as me looking back at my own personal appreciation for Criss and how whenever (however rare that is these days) I have a conversation about music with people, I like to bring him up as an example of greatness. Lyrically, the song doesn’t match up with that feeling I get but I don’t think it has to be a perfect alignment. I take and/or get from this song what I get outside of simply enjoying the great music and lyrical content separately as its own perfect beast. 

Can you imagine what Savatage would’ve been doing if one of their ballad tracks had had the chance to be a big hit? The song “All That I Bleed” is probably one of the better candidates for that had Savatage gotten the acclaim it deserves. The song is keyed for its first half by a gentle vocal and piano soundtrack. Zachary Stevens delivers a great performance as this is a ballad that doesn’t age or get worse as time goes by. And in the tradition of “power ballads”, when the song blows up into more of a sonic animal, the full band delivers a great burst of music over that piano and the vocals from Stevens take on a heavier yet more emotional component. This is the kind of “ballad” that I can always love and appreciate.

For the song “Damien”, I can’t help think that this song would’ve been just as interesting to me if it had been on an earlier Savatage album with Jon Oliva singing. It has the feel and perhaps the phrasing that Oliva would’ve been just as perfect at capturing in his own vocal performance. It’s got that kind of dark and evil vibe to it. That said, I think Zachary Stevens does a fantastic job of making the song his own (remember he didn’t have anything to do with the writing of the material for this album). When I saw Savatage with him in the band, I only got to very briefly meet Stevens so I never got to ask him anything of substance. I would’ve loved to have talked to him about this song in particular. Yes, I know I kind of abhor doing interviews with musicians I like but there is a small list of people I would want to interview if I could. Stevens is on that list. (As is Jon Oliva, in case you were wondering.)

Along with “All That I Bleed”, the song “Miles Away” is the final song that Jon Oliva wrote with Criss Oliva. According to the album’s Wikipedia entry, it is one of Jon’s favorites on the Edge of Thorns album. And as I listen to the song, I can see why this would be. It’s got everything you could want in a Savatage song. You’ve got a softer lead in that builds to a kinetic explosion of hard driving metal music, a machine gun firing delivery for the drums and a smoking hot vocal take. The guitar playing when the music takes on that faster tempo is amazing! And I love the way Criss Oliva solos on this song. “Armed and gunning / I’ve been running / Through a world that’s in decay / Let them thunder stare and wonder / Cause I’m already miles away” with that rapid fire drumming echoing through that part of the song is pure gold.

For all of their metal bonafides, Savatage knows how to deliver when it comes to the softer side of things. The Edge of Thorns album comes to a close with the song “Sleep” which for the most part gives listeners a bit of a respite from all that came before. With mostly just the vocals and guitar, I thought the lyrics felt as if it was a kind of goodbye from Criss Oliva. Now of course it wasn’t because the song was written well before his passing but again, some songs on this album took on a different tone and meaning for me after the fact. The song pretty much maintains its pacing from start to finish and as I was listening to it for this article, when it ended I kind of sat for a moment without really doing anything…just pausing for a moment of reflection I guess you could say.

Of course, the pause couldn’t last that long because I had to actually write said article.

There are 13 songs on Edge of Thorns and not a single track could be seen as a “lesser light”. Rather, the album should stand with the rest of the band’s catalog as a prime example of one of the singularly great metal bands of all time!

NOTE OF INTEREST: The Edge of Thorns album not only has a Japanese version that was released on CD, but the album has been reissued three other times as well. Each of these reissue has different bonus tracks than the others.

The piano riff that opens the album’s title cut found a secondary life as the music used during episodes of The Real World: San Francisco.

Jon Oliva, the mastermind behind Savatage wasn’t an official member of the band during this album’s time period. He was instead credited as an “additional musician”. Despite that off-handed credit, he co-wrote all the music with Criss Oliva and producer Paul O’Neill. He co-wrote all the lyrics with O’Neill. In addition, he co-produced the album, played keyboards and piano on the album. He also played drums on two tracks.

While Steve Wacholz played drums on the majority of the Edge of Thorns album, the tour saw Andy James added as a touring member of the band behind the kit.

It’s been a couple decades and more since Savatage released an album. In an interview last year, Jon Oliva said he was working on what he called a “final” Savatage album and that it was going to be out this year. However, numerous issues including his health have cropped up and now the earliest us Savafanatics can hope for a new album is in 2025. But hope springs eternal that we will get this new album…Hey Jon…we’re out here waiting…believe me!