Savatage is a heavy metal/ progressive metal band founded by the brothers Jon and Criss Oliva in 1979. The band is known for recording many concept albums. Although they are currently considered a progressive power metal band, their origins could be attributed to Thrash and even death metal as expressed by their debut album, Sirens.
Jon and Criss Oliva formed the band in Florida with the name Metropolis, but changed the name shortly thereafter to Avatar. Under this name, the band released an EP called City Beneath a Surface in 1982 and took part in some heavy metal compilations, most notably "The YNF Pirate Tape", a promotion by Tampa rock radio station WYNF for local Florida bands.
However, the band had to be renamed once more (due to another band having the same name) and so Savatage (a mixture of Avatar and Savage) was born. Jon Oliva became the lead singer; Criss Oliva became the guitarist; Steve Wacholz became the band's drummer; and Keith Collins became the bass guitar player, but was replaced by Johnny Lee Middleton after the "Power of the Night" album.
The first works by Savatage were strongly influenced by famous metal bands such as Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. Their first two albums, Sirens and The Dungeons Are Calling, were released on Par Records, an independent label. In 1985, they signed a contract with Atlantic Recording Corporation and released their third album, Power of the Night.
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, Savatage toured with Metallica, KISS and Motörhead.
