The band themselves were not happy with the record, with pressure from the label to include two cover versions. Many Savatage fans resent the making of the album and view it largely as a disappointment. In 1986, after the release of their fourth album, Fight for the Rock, a failed attempt at a commercial approach imposed by the record company which the band themselves called Fight for the Nightmare, Savatage toured with Metallica, KISS and Motörhead. The band refused to change the song and consequently a video was not released. Atlantic budgeted to provide funds to make a video for "Hard for Love", on the condition that it be retitled "Hot for Love" for broadcast purposes. It was well received by critics but fell short of sales expectations. Power of the Night, which was produced by Max Norman, who would go on to produce Megadeth's 1992 album Countdown to Extinction, showcased the band's unorthodox approach to metal, which included Jon's liberal use of keyboards on songs like "Fountain of Youth" and Broadway-style song structures like the kind employed on "Warriors". In 1985, they signed a contract with Atlantic Recording Corporation and released their third album Power of the Night. Their first two albums, Sirens and The Dungeons Are Calling, were released on Par Records, an independent label.
Combining the words "Savage" and "Avatar", the band decided on Savatage.
In 1983, "Avatar" was forced to change its name due to copyright issues. In 1982, Avatar took part in some heavy metal compilations, most notably "The YNF Pirate Tape", a promotion by Tampa rock radio station 95ynf for local Florida bands. In late 2006, footage was released onto the internet of an early performance by Avatar at a gig in a Clearwater, Florida parking lot and was prominent in featuring an early version of the song "Holocaust", which would later be released on Savatage's first album and a cover of Van Halen's "Eruption" and VH's version of "You Really Got Me". In 1981 Keith Collins joined them to relieve Jon of bass guitar duties, even though he was actually a rhythm guitarist. They also gave Steve a nickname that would follow him throughout his career: "Doctor Hardware Killdrums", often shortened to just "Doc" or "Doc Killdrums", which referred to Steve's hard playing style.Ĭriss, Jon and Steve played Tampa (where they had moved with their family in the late-70s) and Clearwater area clubs for many years. Wacholz originally tried out to be part of Jon's band, Alien, but when the first Savatage line-up was taking shape, Jon, who was originally on drum duties, was relieved of them by Wacholz. In 1980, the duo met up with Steve Wacholz and jammed in a shack behind the Oliva home that was dubbed "The Pit" by the band. Criss Oliva and his brother Jon formed their first band together, Avatar, in 1978, from the ashes of their former bands Tower and Alien respectively.
0 kommentar(er)
