Jon Oliva's Pain is the brain child of Savatage, Doctor Butcher and Trans-Siberian Orchestra frontman, Jon Oliva. Initially this was going to be a solo-project, and during a short tour in late 2003 it was named just The Jon Oliva Project. Jon was soon joined by the former members of Circle II Circle, and it was decided to switch to band mode. They adopted the name 'Tage Mahal, but soon opted to change it due to a blues artist already using the Taj Mahal moniker. Jon Oliva's Pain was chosen in a hurry, and in 2004 they named their first album ''Tage Mahal' instead.
'TAGE MAHAL (2004) STEAMHAMMER/SPV
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Line-up: Jon Oliva - Keys, Guitars, Vocals Matt LaPorte - Guitars John Zahner - Keys, vocals Kevin Rothney - Bass, vocals Christopher Kinder - Drums Guest: Steve "Doc" Wacholz - Drums on 7, 10 |
There aren't many releases that excite me more then whenever there is a new Savatage related CD out. And when the Mountain King himself, Jon Oliva, decides to release a solo-effort, I'm all over it, like a fly on a cows turd! Some rumors would have it that this would be a return to the sound of the classic Savatage. Others said that this would be an album showcasing the man's influences, with songs reminding you of The Beatles, Queen, Led Zeppelin etc. I guess they all were right and wrong at the same time. This is an album of Jon Oliva music! It sounds like a blend of the newer and older Savatage. Mix in some elements of his influences, especially Queen, and you got ''Tage Mahal'. The first song that caught my attention was of course "People Say - Gimme Some Hell". Most of the lyrics for this particular track are made up of Savatage song-titles! And when I got over the weird vocal effect in the verses, this songs sounded like classic Savatage to me. And it doesn't hurt that Jon has put in some samples of original songs toward the end. Add to that samples of some of Criss' unfinished guitar-work, and you really feel that the legacy is well taken care off. But the album consists of so any other killer songs, it is unfair to dwell on one single track. From the beginning to end, this is an awesome album. I have to admit that it took some getting use to though. At first all of the songs had faults in my ears. Some had a killer verse but boring chorus, while yet others were the exact opposite. All of them had at least some great moments though. And sitting here writing today, listening to the album for the umpteenth time, I'm loving every second of it! Jon has delivered some of his best vocals ever, and the goose bumps are showing up every now and then on my skin. So if you check out "The Dark", "People Say...", "Walk Alone", "The Nonsensible..." and the awesome "Fly Away" too, I'll bet you'll agree.
Killer tracks: I'm happy to say: All of them!
STRAIGHT-JACKET MEMOIRS (2006) AFM
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Photo by Håkon Grav (www.photograve.net) |
As always, I'm eager to hear the latest from The Mountain King. So buying this EP was a necessity. And what a blast this is. Jon and band are starting to sound very much like the Savatage we all love. Bombastic, powerful, and always with some extra cards up their sleeves. "Time To Die" gives me chills, and everything feels right in the world again. I can't wait for the full-length!
MANIACAL RENDERINGS (2006) AFM (Limited
Edition)
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Line-up: Jon Oliva
- Vocals, Piano, Guitar
* = bonus track on digi pack |
OK, so let's face it; Savatage have changed their name to Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and the closest thing we'll come to the "old" band is Jon Oliva's Pain. But even though the band-members are completely different, there is no denying that the main man is still the same; Jon Oliva! As he himself has stated that he wrote, and even played, so much of Savatage's music anyway, so why should this be any different? The music is certainly not!! 'Maniacal Renderings' is the album Savatage would have recorded in 2006. Just listen to "Through The Eyes Of The King" (yes, this is sort of the twin song to "The Hall Of The Mountain King"), "Maniacal Renderings" (check out the crazy piano solo!!) and "The Answer" (no one writes ballads like Jon!). This is 100% the real thing, and what we've all been waiting for for ages. Jon's voice is back, and he sings better then he's done since 'Streets'. And it is so good to hear that crazy man deliver aggression, empathy and weird twists like no other singer will ever be capable of. I have to admit that I was not as pleased on the first listens. But I figured out that I had to get past the band name and members to fully enjoy the CD. I am one happy fan now! Long live The Mountain King! One thing bugs me though, and that is no fault of the band; the record company have decided to release 2 different limited editions of this album, and both have an exclusive track!! Talk about rip-off. No wonder why people download! Still, this is the album of the year, as far as I am concerned!
Killer tracks: Through The Eyes Of The King, Maniacal Renderings, The Evil Beside You, Time To Die, The Answer... Heck, they are all masterpieces!
GLOBAL WARNING (2008) AFM (Limited Edition)
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Line-up: Jon Oliva
- Vocals, Piano, Keyboards, Organ, Electric
and Acoustic Guitars
* - bonus track |
Our favorite mountain king is back again! And this time he is worried about the environment? 'Global Warning' is not a concept album, but many of these songs share with us Jon's view on the state of the planet we call Earth. But for the most, this is yet another lesson in emotional metal! And who is a better teacher than Jon? To tell the truth, it actually took me some spins for this album to open up to me. It seems this is the case for me with more and more albums these days. But when it finally opened up, I discovered yet another masterpiece! 6 of the songs are co-written by Criss Oliva, which means that many of the song-ideas are picked from previously unreleased, or unrecorded, Savatage gems, found in a box full of old tapes, by Jon's wife. "Look At The Word", "Before I Hang" and "Stories" could all very well have fitted on anything done by the Oliva brother in the past. The latter might be one of the best songs they have ever written! And as on any Oliva release, we also get some highly emotional ballads. "Firefly" is the most noticeable of them here. "Global Warning" as a whole is a very diverse album, and one might even call it experimental. "Master" is one of the most experimental tunes. And while it reminds me a little of "Complaint In The System" from 'Wake Of Magellan', I'm not sure I'll ever like this one. It's also quite easy to hear some of Jon's biggest influences on his album. The opening title track has a lot of Queen in it, while "The Ride" is a Led Zeppelin meets The Beatles composition. "O to G" is a short ballad, written in memory of Greg Marchak, the bands engineer who died a few weeks prior to the recording of this album. I am enjoying the heck out of this CD, and it won't leave me CD-player at all! It even made me go back and re-listen to the bands earlier albums, and appreciate the debut even more also. "Global Warning" will easily be my number 1 pick for the top 20 list for 2008. My limited edition digi-pack comes with a bonus track. It's called "No More Saturday Nights", and is yet another old Savatage penned song that never saw the light of day 'til now. The Japanese version of this album comes with yet another bonus song, entitled "I See".
Killer tracks: All, except "Master"
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Line-up: Tom McDine -
Guitars, Vocals |
Jon Oliva and band is keeping themselves busy. And as soon as the tour following 'Global Warning' was finished, they started working on the follow-up, only interrupted by the obligatory Trans-Siberian Orchestra Christmas tour, that is. JOP's 4th studio album is named 'Festival'.
This time The Mountain King really set out to create something unique. While still delivering his trademark metal sound, the band has played around with odd tuning, endless layers of various instruments, effects and whatnot. The result is their most complex work to date, and it actually took quite a while to take it all in. The twisted carnival opens with "Lies", perhaps the most Savatage sounding number on the disc. So it's no surprise when you read the liner-notes, penned by Jon himself, that you learn that this was originally a song Jon and Criss wrote for the 'Streets' album. "Death Rides A Black Horse" follows, one of the most dark and broody melodies ever from Jon and band. The title track is not exactly a merry number wither, with the weird tuning and psycho carnival theme as the background. "Afterglow" is a complex song, that starts as a ballad, but evolves into another powerful beast of a metal number. Here Matt Laporte is let loose, and he is featured playing just about ever kind of guitar imaginable. What a genius! His playing throughout the album is phenomenal, and Jon could never have asked for a co-writer and guitar-player. "Living On The Edge" is another song that was written by Jon and Criss for the 'Gutter Ballet' / 'Streets' sessions. And for those of you who own the Silver Anniversary Collections Edition of 'Sirens', it features the demo version of the song as a bonus track. The rest of the album is a little uneven. You can't like everything all the time, now can you? But the bonus track on my Limited Edition digipak version, a ballad named "Peace", is a killer ending to this record.
'Festival' is as I've already stated a varied product. I'm not sure I find it to be as strong as the 2 albums released before it. But it is still Christmas Eve, Halloween, Birthday and 4th of July all rolled into one every time we get new music from Jon Oliva. And the extensive booklet, with a song-by-song rundown from the man himself is alone worth the price of the CD. And the digipak also has video clips, interview, picture gallery etc. So this is of course a safe buy for fans. Just don't expect to fall in love with the CD on the first spin. If you take time to get to know it, I'll promise you a frightfully fun amusement park ride from the halls of the Mountain King!
Killer tracks: Lies, Death Rides A Black Horse, Afterglow, The Evil Within, Winter Haven, Peace
Jon Oliva guest appearances:
- 'Xiled To Infinity And One'Rough Silk - 'Symphony Of Life'
Circle II Circle - 'Watching In Silence' (as writer)
Chris Caffery - 'W.A.R.P.E.D.'
Chris Caffery - 'Pins And
Needles' (as writer)
V/A - 'Metallic Assault - A Tribute To Metallica'
Avantasia - 'Angel of Babylon'
Shane French guest appearances:
Jorn - 'Starfire'
Related artists:
Savatage, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Doctor Butcher, Circle II Circle, Millenium
