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Savatage - Hall of the Mountain King CD (album) cover

HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN KING

Savatage

 

Progressive Metal

3.88 | 181 ratings

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CCVP
Prog Reviewer
4 stars Pretty good 80's metal!

In '87, Savatage returns better then ever and release the best album they have done so far, entitled Hall of the Mountain King. The album symbolizes the first major turn in Savatage's career for some reasons:

1st) Starting with Hall of the Mountain King, Savatage's music became increasingly complex with each album they made and This album is the proof of that evolution by itself, being a gigantic step forward for Savatage from their previous output Fight for the Rock;

2nd) Also starting in Hall of the Mountain King, Paul O'Neil becomes their producer and one of their main composer (possibly the reason why their music changed so much for the better is that they got another composer from here on);

3rd) This album is the first album that Savatage actually have some mainstream success, having their video clips constantly aired by MTV;

4th) In their '87 release, Savatage also start to have some kind of progressive influence (and influence alone), since they were really progressive from Streets on;

and 5th) Hall of the Mountain King is usually regarded as the turning point for old and new Savatage.

About the songs, musicianship and other features, there are somethings i would like to state:

Despite not being a progressive album, Hall of the Mountain King is a very good album. The straightforward heavy metal Savatage present us in this output have a pretty decent quality and all songs are quite interesting (at least for those who like metal). The riffs are very nice, as the solos and the drum work. The most important thing, however, isn't the instrumental, but John's singing. His aggressive, raw and throaty vocals fit perfectly in the approach taken by Savatage in this album and is quite possibly the highlight of the album.

Also, this album have some all-time classics of Savatage, like 24 Hours Ago, Legions, Strange Wings and the album title song. Besides the classics, the album also have some pretty good instrumental only songs, like the Savatage arrangement of Grieg's Prelude to Madness, from the Peer Gynt suite, and clear guitar song Last Dawn. The highlights go to: 24 Hours Ago, Legions, Strange Wings, Prelude to Madness, Hall of the Mountain King, Last Dawn and Devastation.

Grade and Final Thoughts

Though not being a progressive album, Hall of the Mountain King is an excellent heavy metal release and deserve to be rated accordingly, specially because of its importance to the band's history.

CCVP | 4/5 |

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