Jon Oliva's Pain
Jon Oliva's Pain - 'Tage
Mahal (Steamhammer/SPV)
2004
1. "The Dark"
(5:11)
2. "People Say - Gimme Some Hell" (4:08)
3. "Guardian Of Forever" (7:44)
4. "Slipping Away" (4:29)
5. "Walk Alon" (4:32)
6. "The Nonsensible Ravings Of The Lunatic Mind" (5:31)
7. "No Escape" (3:23)
8. "Father, Son, Holy Ghost" (5:54)
9. "All The Time" (4:58)
10. "Nowhere To Run" (5:23)
11. "Pain" (3:13)
12. "Outside The Door" (4:00)
13. "Fly Away" (4:11)
Sounds like Savatage, looks like Savatage, it must be Savatage. But wait, what's this? It's a new project from ex-Savatage vocalist Jon Oliva featuring most of the members of Circle II Circle backing him up. The one exception would be ex-Savatage drummer Steve "Doc" Wacholz, who recorded drums on "No Escape" and "Nowhere To Run". The music here is certainly is reminiscent of Savatage days gone by. Actually, I'd say much of the music here sounds like a mix of the newer and older Savatage. Of course much of this is due to Oliva's distinctive voice and his characteristic vocal melodies. However, Jon even brings the Savatage name into the lyrics. "People Say - Gimme Some Hell" is made up mostly of Savatage song-titles. The musicianship throughout is impressive, as is the songwriting. There are some songs that I think are standouts, like the aforementioned "People Say..." as well as "Walk Alone", "The Nonsensible Ravings Of The Lunatic Mind" (great song title as well) and "Fly Away" too.