POWER OF THE NIGHT

"Power Of The Night" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US, Florida based heavy/power metal act Savatage. The album was released through Atlantic Records in May 1985. Savatage was formed in 1979 under the Avatar monicker (they also occasionally went by the Metropolis monicker). After releasing a demo and an EP under the Avatar name they changed their name to Savatage in 1983 and recorded a demo before being signed to Par Records for the release of their debut full-length studio album "Sirens (1983)". "The Dungeons Are Calling" EP followed in 1984 (also released through Par Records), before Savatage was picked up by major label Atlantic Records. At this point in time Savatage seemed destined for greatness and commercial success.

Stylistically "Power Of The Night" continues the traditional heavy metal style of "Sirens (1983)", although the tracks are generally a bit more polished and in the case of "Hard For Love" obviously aimed at a mainstream audience. In the other end of the spectrum Savatage also experiments with new features like slightly symphonic keyboards on "Unusual". So "Power Of The Night" is overall a more diverse release than "Sirens (1983)".

The sound production is sligthly thin sounding, but otherwise detailed and powerful enough. The performances are as always on a high level. Jon Oliva is blessed with a set of really strong pipes, and his delivery is commanding and passionate. Little brother Criss Oliva is a guitarist extraordinaire and puts the icing on the cake with his hard edged riffs and blistering solos. The cake here being the tight and well playing rhythm section of Keith Collins (bass, backing vocals) and Steve Wacholz (drums, percussion).

So upon conclusion "Power Of The Night" is a great sophomore album by Savatage although I wouldn´t necessarily call it a step up from "Sirens (1983)". It´s debatable if the more polished and accessible nature of some of the tracks is a plus or a minus, but it did show that Savatage wasn´t a one-trick pony and that they were capable of composing music in different musical styles. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.