Album · Savatage
Hall of the Mountain King by Savatage
Hall of the Mountain King is an album by Savatage, released in 1987. 2 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 2 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Hall of the Mountain King”, on 1 list with a best position of #250.
Hall of the Mountain King, Savatage's fourth album, hit the racks on Atlantic in 1987, and it's where the Florida band founded by brothers Jon and Criss Oliva found its grand design. Paul O'Neill was handed the production job after the Fight for the Rock tour, and he steered them toward concept and drama, a partnership that would last until his death in 2017.
The theatrics are right there on the vinyl. "Prelude to Madness" drags Grieg's Peer Gynt theme through the metal mill, opening with a keyboard-and-guitar run at Holst's "Mars, the Bringer of War", while Criss Oliva's lead guitar slashes like it has something to prove. Gary Smith, who airbrushed Criss's guitars, painted the cover, the first of his for the band. It stalled at 116 on the Billboard 200, but the rankings came later: Loudwire and Metal Hammer both placed it among the best power metal albums ever made, Metal Hammer at 8th. Gutter Ballet followed.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from Hall of the Mountain King on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hall of the Mountain King | 1 | #250 | – | 1990 | |
| 2 | Strange Wings | 1 | #966 | – | 1990 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.