Artist · chart history
Savatage
Band Tarpon Springs United States Formed 1979
Savatage formed in 1979 in Tarpon Springs, United States. Savatage has 5 chart appearances on 1 radio countdown from 1 station on RockLists, spanning 1990. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Hall of the Mountain King”, which appears on 1 list with a best position of #250. The station that charted Savatage most often is Z-Rock (United States (syndicated network)), with 5 appearances.
Savatage are the metal band that grew up into an opera company. Brothers Jon and Criss Oliva got it started in Tarpon Springs, Florida, under the name Avatar, then switched to Savatage when they found the old name was taken, shortly before their 1983 debut, Sirens. That early material is fast, heavy power metal, all galloping riffs and Criss's scorching, fluid guitar.
Everything changed with their fourth album, Hall of the Mountain King, in 1987, when producer and songwriter Paul O'Neill came aboard. The title track is a thundering, theatrical beast, and "Strange Wings" soars with just as much drama. The critics took notice, and O'Neill stayed with them from then on.
Gutter Ballet went further still, swapping pure speed for piano, sweeping arrangements and songs like "When the Crowds are Gone", a haunted ballad that marks their shift toward progressive metal. Criss Oliva was killed in a car accident in 1993, and Jon kept the band going in his memory. The lineup kept shifting after that, with Chris Caffery and Al Pitrelli on guitar, and members went on to form Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Jon Oliva's Pain and Circle II Circle.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Savatage on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hall of the Mountain King | 1 | #250 | – | – | |
| 2 | When the Crowds are Gone | 1 | #420 | – | – | |
| 3 | Gutter Ballet | 1 | #590 | – | – | |
| 4 | Sirens | 1 | #739 | – | – | |
| 5 | Strange Wings | 1 | #966 | – | – |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 250 | Hall of the Mountain King | Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990) |
| 1990 | 420 | When the Crowds are Gone | Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990) |
| 1990 | 590 | Gutter Ballet | Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990) |
| 1990 | 739 | Sirens | Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990) |
| 1990 | 966 | Strange Wings | Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990) |
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