Criss, You're Not Alone...
This album
is a specific rise of the new age for the band. Thanks to Jon Oliva that these
sounds of metal came to the waiting bangers finally. After all the tragic
events Oliva and Paul O’Neill decided that the bettermost monument he could
build for his brother Criss, would be continuation of Savatage. So one year
passed and “Handful of Rain” saw the light of the day on 15th August
1994, and I bought it on tape (and I have it till today!). It was my second
piece of Savatage music just then, but these tunes were very unusual and
unprecedented for me. But what about my first meeting with the band? It was the
opportunity to listen to “Edge of Thorns” album released in 1993. The first sounds
of this album caused I loved the band forever. Then I read about the death of
Criss Oliva… Well, now I can write that I knew him from only one album, from
only 13 songs (on tape with bad order of tracks!), but he remains in my metal heart
as genius. While listening to this album, many questions crossed my way. What
kind of music is it without Criss? Is Jon able to create such great sounds and
magic as they did on “Hall of the Mountain King” and “Edge of Thorns” for
example? Is Savatage still holds the banner of true heavy metal???
When I look
at the front cover, I start to realize the band wants to reach overall result
by a simple way – high-powered production perfectly fits to the guitar wall and
acoustic, semi-balladic song tunes as well. These two elements become complete
superbly during the album. The beauty of contrast is splendorous indeed. Beside
“Handful of Rain” is recorded by Jon himself (Alex Skolnick did some solo
leads), I have an impression that Savatage is a ‘real’ band with top form. The
first sounds of music inform that Jon screams: the band is still alive, can you
hear me??? It’s still alive!!!! Criss, look at me! Listen to the new music!!!
And in fact the first song “Taunting Cobras” blows me up, very energetic song,
it wakes all the metal heads up, I can find here some similarities from “He
Carves His Stone” from the last album because of heavy power, speed and Zak
vocals. When three minutes go by, the title track appears suddenly with totally
different aura. The structure from this song will be repeated in few songs
later, I mean calm, slow beginning and stanza with hard, heavy chorus. Though
this is some schema, the band doesn’t bring boredom of course, trying to solve
musical ‘problems’ with masterly skills. When I reach the third song “Chance”,
I can write I met something new here. Again peaceful beginning and then music
starts to change with grand symphonic elements, proper Zak lyrics and hard
riffs. But the main thing of this track is… yes, the five part harmonized counterpoint
vocals which are used here for the first time by any rock or metal band. This
courage of Jon and Paul in composing such a fine music allows reaching another
genius level, when no words can describe its beauty. The next two songs “Stare
into the Sun”, “Castles Burning” and the penultimate “Symmetry” are completely
in the vein of the previous album and songs like “Conversation Piece” or
“Skraggy’s Tomb”. The same magic, outstanding melodic structures, captivating
Zak vocal lines…
The next
two tracks I want to write shortly: instrumental symphonic “Visions” (in future
Savatage will continue writing such songs) and another fast “Nothing’s Going
On” which devastates everything in sight, the same feeling while listening to
“Taunting Cobras”. The last ones “Watching You Fall” and “Alone You Breathe”
need some special explanations. The first song, as O’Neill said one day, is
written after watching television and some uncensored news and pictures from
the civil war in Yugoslavia and Sarajevo. There he saw a young, small girl
standing on the street, when suddenly some man went out from the shop and just
shot her. Nobody paid attention on the lying young body, nobody displayed any
compassion… This tragic event caused that O’Neill wanted to write a song about
it (the war in Yugoslavia is also the subject of “Dead Winter Dead” next
album). “Watching You Fall” is opened by calm, subtle Zak singing with piano
and light guitar. The chorus explodes with very hard guitars and excellent
vocals.
The last
song “Alone You Breathe” is in fact a finishing touch. It is built on the base
of “Believe” song coming from the “Streets” album and, to be honest, I can’t
choose which one is better. Here this song is like an obeisance to the Master
Criss Oliva. This is the most beautiful song here – semi-ballad played with
this only stroke of genius of Savatage. The band can create specific atmosphere
which I can describe emphatically as an example of great brilliance. Again I
deal with calm opening melodic tunes, when marvellous tension is built by
musicians from the very beginning of the song, there is no unimportant and
inessential strains, emotions and feelings. Listening to this I immerse in
perfect world of infinite beautifulness, when all problems are gone, when hope
reigns forever, when spirit of the Guitarist is present in every elementary
particle. Interesting is fact that structure of “Alone You Breathe” is similar
to “Watching You Fall”, but here culminating point is incredible, with words
perfectly sung by Zak “… And if this is all illusion/nothing more than pure
delusion/clinging to a fading fantasy/like Icarus who heeds the calling/of a
sun but now is falling/as the feathers of his life fall free/can you see/see…”,
then Jon, Zak and Alex with absolutely long great solo leads (at last!) pay a tribute
to Criss once again…
When the
last song ends the album, I know one thing. There is an enormous void without
Criss. Although “Alone You Breathe” is an excellent song, I would prefer here
another song (and album of course), with Criss and his magical guitar. I really
appreciate Skolnick performance, but he didn’t give a soul to the Savatage
music. Thus the final conclusion is obvious: nobody can replace Criss. Somebody
can be very good, but not unusual. Somebody can be gifted artisan, but not an artist…
“Handful of
Rain” is dedicated to Christopher Oliva, whose MUSIC will on in the hearts of
Savatage fans everywhere. These words are written in the booklet and perfectly
refer to all the reasons Jon decided to continue the band metal way.
… tomorrow and after, you tell me what am I to
do, I stand here believing, that in the dark there is a clue…
99/100
-Tlacaxipehualiztli
(previously written for Encyclopaedia Metallum, on March, 2011, now modified a bit)
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