EDGE OF THORNS

Edge of Thorns surely was a big turning point in Savatage career, and also a chance for the guitar-genius Criss Oliva to make all the fireworks he wanted. This is an album I define "hard rock - metal progressive", 'cause most of the songs are very hard-rock oriented, in a delightful progressive vein. The finest example is "Conversation piece", with its groovy devastating riff. It s also one of the most original Savatage songs ever. There are also great metal songs as "He carves his stone", which has another powerful shredding riff and breath-taking solos. The title track was the first Savatage song to go on radio and it's not only a great song, but also a progressive masterpiece, 'cause it's simple and straight-to-the-heart, but has also a great rhythm and a perfect mix of stunning heavy guitars and piano parts. "Follow Me" really rocks and has a unique symphonic atmospere. I think it cannot be heard without the ntroductory "Labyrinths" and the placid "Exit Music". This three songs together form the so called "Follow me trilogy". "Lights Out" is in my opinion the song every rock musician has got to put in his collection. It's rock at its state of the art, like "Miles Away". "All That I Bleed" and "Sleep" are two impressive ballads and I think every rock listener would like them. They also give the necessary time to let you breathe between the other powerful songs. The record won't be the same without them.

To summarize I think that "Edge Of Thorns" is what "progressive-rock" really means ... by the letter.

Edge Of Thorns was the first album where production budgets finally caught up with the vision of the Oliva brothers, and for that reason it's probably their best record. They weren't to record anything as majestic as 'Gutter Ballet' on 'EOT', or indeed anything as visceral as 'The Dungeons Are Calling' or 'Sirens', but in the title track, the magnificent 'He Carves His Stone' and the majestic 'All That I Bleed' they'd come up with another trio of minor classics. Zachary Stevens sounds better on 'Edge' than on any other recording bearing his name and, as always, the guitar work of Cris Oliva epitomises metal playing whilst still bringing the words 'taste' and 'restraint' to mind- no mean feat.

This Savatage's record was the Criss Oliva's last one, before he was killed by a drunk driver in a road... And the first with Zachary Stevens on vocals, who is one of the most original and personal singers I've heard in my whole life.

Maybe It's one of the most hard-rocking works of Savatage. In that time, Jon Oliva wasn't an official member of the band, although he played piano, keyboards and some drums here (and he took part of the composition too...). For that, we can hear a lot of the Criss Oliva's touch in the composition, and "Edge of Thorns" it's a work less symphonic and bombastic than the two previous "Gutter Ballet" and the great masterpiece "Streets". But it's still a masterpiece in my opinion and it still have great progressive and symphonic moments, but in a more guitar-oriented way.

Every Savatage's album is different from all the others, and this is any exception. When you hear this album, it's obviously Savatage, but with a very different feeling than the previous "Streets" and the upcoming "Handful of Rain". That's one of the things that make Savatage a very special band...

Best songs: it's difficult to say what are the best songs of this album, because it has no weak tracks. But if I had to choose, the best for me are: Edge of Thorns, Follow Me and All That I Bleed. But I also love Damien, He Carves His Stone, Sleep, Miles Away...

Conclusion: maybe if you are an obsessed progressive fanatic, you will not be able to apreciate this album and the Savatage's work, but I recommend it to everyone who loves really good music (being progressive or not) I will not give "Edge of Thorn" the perfect rating, because it's a little step under the Savatage's metal operas in quality, and it's also a bit less progressive and symphonic, being more hard rock and classic heavy metal oriented... Nevertheless, you'll hardly find a metal album with such a great sound, such great compositions, and with such a great guitar player... The very missed Criss Oliva, in his last (and marvellous) recording! Incredible music.

My rating: ****1/2

This album is actually a bridge which follows to a place where there's no turning back, and if you fall from that bridge you 're dead,if you cross it ,you are alive for once again..Think about it.How many bands did change their singer and kept going on?Savatage biggest risk in their career.They became more commercial but that's ok.They gave us great songs.Look at Criss Oliva's guitar playing,so clean, so fast , so melodic.My opinion is that Criss Oliva made the best guitar solos in the scene of Heavy Metal.This album has magnificent guitar work, nice vocals(a lot different from Jon Oliva).Bass and drums are just ok.This is a great album.Melodic heavy metal or hard rock if you like.The only thing that is worse with this album is that it was the last album that Savatage did with Criss Oliva.He died in a car accident at 17th of October 1993.It's such a pity for a 30 year old guy to die from another guy who was accused a lot of times in the past for driving drunk..

I have owned the Edge of thorns CD for years now along with the Handful of rain, streets, gutter ballet, and Wake of Magellan CDs. This one always stood out to me for the guitar and piano mix of music which gives it a sound of its own. I love this CD as with all other Savatage CDs.

Band: Savatage Album: Edge of Thorns (1993) Genre: Power-Progressive Metal

Line-up: Jon Oliva (Keyboards); Criss Oliva (Guitars); Steve Wacholz (Drums); Johnny Lee Middleton (Bass); Zak Stevens (Vocals)

Grading Scale: 0 - F; 1-5 - D(+/-); 6-10 - C(+/-); 11-15 - B(+/-); 16-20 - A(+/-)

Most notable song: "All That I Bleed" - 20(A+) Other outstanding tracks: "Sleep" - 19(A); "Labyrinths" - 18(A); "Exit Music" - 18(A); "Conversation Piece" - 18(A); "Degrees of Sanity" - 18(A)

Songs Rating - 17.31(A-) Skill/Creativity Rating - 18.63(A) Overall Rating - 17.97(A-)

Synopsis: Savatage's album "Edge of Thorns" follows up the incredibly deep and emotional effort of "Streets" with a more straight-up heavy metal approach, but maintains a progressive edge. The sound is stripped down a little, though it is still more polished and mature. They take away all the symphonic sounds in favor of a head on guitar assault featuring Criss Oliva. They also feature new vocalist Zak Stevens, who's smoother more melodic delivery fits the new polished and mature sound well, but this is not the end of Jon Oliva, who still writes the music and plays keyboards. This album was intended to put Criss on the map as one of the best guitarist out there, and it may have worked if not for the tragic accident involving a drunk-driver that killed Criss and severely injured his wife, Dawn. So, as it turns out this was Criss's final offering to this world gone astray, and what a magical performance it is. The perfect way to go out. This album is recommended to anyone who is a fan of heavy metal, progressive metal, power metal, or if you just love to here some killer guitar. If that's what you are in for, then I a sure you - "Edge of Thorns" will not disappoint you.

Song by Song Break Down:

1. Edge of Thorns - 17(A-) - I'm really not sure what this song is about, but it seems to me that, like the title track on "Streets" it serves as an intro to the album to the album. Regardless, it's a sweet song. With great arrangements, and is also Savatage's biggest radio hit (Top 100 billboard in 1993). The song starts with an almost haunting piano line, then the guitars smash in as the piano continues, then they go into a great riff and new vocalist, Zak Stevens, starts with his smooth, and clear delivery. After the 2nd verse/chorus Criss goes into a sweet riff, which leads into a solo. After which, the song is driven forward by a strong bass line (as Oliva continues to solo) and then they go back into the song with a 3rd chorus, following which we end with the same piano line as we started. A great rocker and awesome album opener.

2. He Carves His Stone - 16(A-) - This song is about a guy who is carving his own epitaph into his tombstone, and I believe it serves as a metaphor about our lives. We all carve our own stone through our actions and the way we treat other people. These are the things that will affect what is put on our tombstone. Meanwhile, Criss is carving his stone with some great guitar work on this song, and it almost seems ironic a song like this is on his final album. Towards the end, Zak shows us that he can really wail, and Criss just carves away with some intense guitars as it ends, it's awesome.

3. Lights Out - 15(B+) - This song is about a racecar junkie who doesn't know when to stop. He eventually lose control and it's "lights out" for him. Again, I see this as a metaphor for our lives. If we don't slow down, if we try to live to fast, all about the here and the now, we will lose control of our lives, and it will be "lights out". Some more great guitars here as we see more irony, as this song is about a guy who loses his life in a car accident. 4. Skraggy's Tomb - 16(A-) - This is a song about alcoholism, and how it all seems like fun and games at first, but soon "livin' on the action" will take you down. When that happens then you "crawl into the bottle" and hide away from life in bars and liquor stores. This song shows us the danger of a life like this. There is more great guitar work at the end of a great song.

5. Labyrinths - 18(A) - A beautiful instrumental featuring Jon and Criss Oliva. Starts with the piano alone, and a sense of innocence, then Criss weaves his guitar through the piano beautifully in a remarkable show of grace and mastery of his instrument. Eventually, the guitars takeover, and that sense of innocence is lost entirely. Remarkable emotion displayed here. 6. Follow Me - 17(A-) - This is a song about somebody who once had a dream, and could have made a difference, but now has given up, and just wastes away in front of the TV. The shows us he lives in his own mind and creates his own world where he can be what he wants, they give him the chance to turn things around when the say "follow me" but the song doesn't really explain if he excepts the offer or not. There are really those who have given up on there dreams and now waste their lives away, living for nothing but the next episode of their favorite TV series, and I sickens me to see people like this, and Savatage too, apparently.

7. Exit Music - 18(A) - Beautiful piano piece that achieves a whole new level of emotional depth. Savatage treads water most metal bands don't dare swim through, and it's a testament to their true musicianship. They are not afraid to do the undoable.

8. Degrees of Sanity - 18(A) - Again I'm not sure of the meaning of this song, though it seems to be about circumstances that are out of our control, and how sometimes these things can push our "degrees of sanity", but we must be patience and know that while it is out of our hands, it's in the hands of a higher power, that knows what's best for us, and we just have to cope with our situation. It's a great song, with a sweet intro played on the sitar, which provides a unique sound.

9. Conversation Piece - 18(A) - This song is about a guy who is so in love with a girl, who makes bad decisions, and can't see how these decisions are hurting her. He is so in love with her he can't let go, and still believes he can help her. Now, he doesn't literally cut up pieces of him self, but this symbolizes that he is willing and desperate to do anything to try and save her, but she is too far-gone. I relate to this well, I exactly how it feels to care for a girl so much and see how she is hurting herself, but she just wont see it, and wont except your help. In the end we must remember that they are people, free to do as they please, and we just have to let go, and all we can do it pray for them.

10. All That I Bleed - 20(A+) - Absolutely incredible. Emotional, beautiful, brilliant. Savatage approaches a difficult topic, and produces a masterpiece. Also a song I relate to so well. In this song, a girl is trying to hide her feelings of her former boyfriend. Everyday "her face puts on its best disguise" is she goes about her day. I believe we have all been through this phase after a heartbreak, and we do our best to hide the hurt inside, but no matter how well we do, our heart will always tell the truth, and our feeling s will show through. This is the most difficult emotion to capture both musically and lyrically, but Savatage captures both perfectly. Opening with piano, and then Zak sings with a very melodic touch - beautifully - then after the 2nd verse/chorus, there's a short piano solo the a build up on the guitar. Following this, Zak belts out the next part with pure emotion. There is also an incredibly emotional guitar solo, which sums the whole thing up as Zak repeats the last part of the song and all fades to the piano again. I know of no other song that creates such an emotional explosion.

11. Damien - 16(A-) - A nice rocker following the ballad. Their song is about a rich man who sees a poor street kid and wonders about the boy. This song covers some of his thoughts. I find the name "Damien" an interesting choice as is it often used to refer to "the son of the devil", and they also say, "is the dark your father". So perhaps the name leads us to the conclusion that the rich man thought, or at least questioned that the boy was evil. I really don't know, that is just a guess. Either way, it's great song.

12. Miles Away - 17(A-) - This song is about a man who loves the night because it hides his sins, and he can dream up his own reality, but when the morning comes, he's "miles away". Some great lyrics for this song. This is one of those times when they say something simple, but put it so elegantly that it seems deeper then it is. There is also some more great guitar work, and more irony, as Criss is soon to be himself, "miles away" from this world.

13. Sleep - 19(A) - First off, contrary too popular belief, this is not an acoustic song. It is played on an electric guitar, set to a clean acoustic sound. This was done intentionally to give it an electric twang, yet acoustic feel. This is a very relaxing and peaceful song. The song is about a man who is worn out after a long life searching for his dreams, and now only wishes to rest. Again we come to irony in the fact that Criss spent along time chasing the dream of rock stardom, and I'm sure it was taking it's toll as it did on his brother, which is why Jon stepped down from vocals. Well, with this song we put Criss Oliva to "sleep", and he can now have his peace. RIP Criss - this world gone astray was never prepared for a talent as magical as yours.

Skills by Position Break Down:

Guitars - 20(A+) - Criss Oliva, in his final offering of axemanship before leaving this world, proves to be a true phenomenon. Powerful riffs/solos that ooze with emotion, this album was meant to prove to the world that Criss is one of the best guitar players out there, it unfortunately proved to be his swan song, or requiem, a testament to a career full of awe and wonder. Criss Oliva was a true guitar hero, and may his memory live on forever. Drums - 15(B+) - Steve Wacholz gets it done again, but again is over shadowed by the great performance of the Oliva's, as well as knew vocalist Zak Stevens and his remarkable talents. It's a good thing too. With the focus on them, you barely notice that Steve is playing electric drums. Keyboards - 20(A+) - Even though according to the press release of the album, Jon Olvia was not a member of the band, he was in all actuality still very much in the band. Still helping to write all the music, and playing keyboards, and even touring with the band. From the opening track Jon wow's us with his piano line, and he adds his touch off emotion here and there with his brilliant skills and mastery of the piano. Jon is truly a great musician. Bass - 18(A) - Johnny Lee Middleton forces us to notice him and his talents despite so much attention else where as he lays down the foundation for Criss's great guitar work, he does a great job, and like everyone else, he deserves more credit. Vocals - 19(A) - New singer Zak Stevens shows us what he can really do, and proves to be a great fit for the bands new more polished sound. However, he does not match the emotion of Jon's final performance on "Streets", though that isn't to say that Stevens lacks emotion. On the song "All That I Bleed" Zak delivers very emotionally, and will prove to become more passionate through his vocals in years to come. So, he passes the test and Zak Stevens becomes the new voice of Savatage.

Creativity Break Down: Music - 20(A+) - Savatage continues to expand musically with another diverse song set. However, the songs don't seem to be quiet as strong as the set on "Streets", but it's hard to compare a concept album to a non concept based album, so we wont fault them much for it. Lyrics - 20(A+) - Again Savatage proves to be majestic with their words. Not a concept album this time Savatage covers a broad range of topics this time around. They again prove to be able to make the ordinary seem deep and profound, capturing the purpose with every word. Arrangements - 18(A) - Arrangements are good, but after stripping it down a little and removing much of the symphonic sounds present on the last few albums, in favor of more emphasis on the guitars, a lot of emotion gets lost. Still, there is a lot of emotion on the album, and the arrangements fill their purpose.

"Edge Of Thorns" is a huge turning point for Savatage in so many ways. What was initially meant to be a record of new beginnings later became the record of one big ending. The ending in the form of the last record of one of the best guitarists of our time, Mr. Criss Oliva, who passed away soon after Savatage finished the tour for this album. This record is Criss' swan song and a great epitaph to one of the greatest musicians who ever walked the earth.

Well, I mentioned before, that this record has a handful of new beginnings. The most significant one is that Mountain King handed his vocal duties to Zachary Stevens. I was a little bit sceptic about the thing at the start, since Jon is such a great singer, but hell, Zakk grew on me in no time. His voice isn't as powerful as Jon's and he sounds a bit softer than him, but he really puts all of his emotions in his singing and he has a great voice color.

And like as they would knew that ''Edge'' would be Criss' last record, Savatage decided to make a guitar based record, different from orchestra/piano based Gutter Ballet and especially Streets. You couldn't say that Edge Of Thorns is a ''back to the roots'' record, though. It's somewhere between their early works and their later works with Stevens.

Nevertheless, this record has a fair share of everything: slow piano intros and ballads, powerful choruses, great solos and riffs and even some occassional thrashy moments (just check the break in He Carves His Stone). The production is great, but then again, I've never heard a Savatage album with bad production. Criss' playing has again evolved a lot on this album. His riff ideas are still catchy as hell, and his solos and leads are better than ever on here. There is actually quite a lot of reverb used on here, but it suits awkwardly awesome into the music. The intros are usually Jon's piano parts, but he also plays along with Criss' chords most of the time, which gives the music some sort of depth and melody. Doc and Johnny make a good rhythm section, especially Wacholz puts on a great drum performance, with lots of fills and great beats.

The overall feel of the record is great. It is an expirience, not just a record! There are some beaufitul and touching moment and there are some total power monsters.

Highligts? Huh, all of them, except maybe the solid, but in songwriting terms by Sava- standards average "Skraggy's Tomb". But the most memorable stuff is: the powerful choruses of the title piece and "Follow Me", touching balladry of "All That I Bleed" (they usually play this one live for Criss) and "Sleep", also the uncomparable "Conversation Piece" with it's mind-blowing chorus or the pure punch of "Damien"!

This is definitely an extraordinary record from the (in my book honestly) greatest Metal band of all time and a great purchase in every way. But In respect of an proghead's ears I say listen to the album first, because it may be not proggy enough for you. I can't give this record any less than 5 stars though, since I rate/review an album in terms of quality, not how proggy an album is. It's all about the music, don't forget. And it really can't go much better than this excellent stuff here. Cheers!

R.I.P. Criss Oliva...your work will live on 'til all eternity, specially for those who are loyal to this uncomparable band.

album rating: 9.5/10 points = 96 % on MPV scale = 5/5 stars

point-system: 0 - 3 points = 1 star / 3.5 - 5.5 points = 2 stars / 6 - 7 points = 3 stars / 7.5 - 8.5 points = 4 stars / 9 - 10 points = 5 stars

Criss Oliva's last musical document

Everybody knows what happend with Criss Oliva in 1993, a drunk driver killed him, and another fabulous musician leaves his soul to the heaven. R.I.P. So this is second best after the masterpiece Streets, in fact this is also a masterpiece of prog metal, absolute flawless album. From the cover to the last tune Sleep (what a beutiful track) this album kick ass. A more straight-up heavy metal approach, but maintains a progressive edge, in a enough cantity to be a prog metal album not just a heavy metal album. The result is a damn good one from the fastest tunes Damien, Skraggy's Tomb to the mid tempo pieces Degrees Of Sanity and Conversation piece and the slow ones Sleep, Exit Music, Savatage delivers the best of his carere. Jon Oliva did a very great job making some keys passages that is hard to forget just listen to Exit music, not to mention his brother, one of the best guitar hero from metal, the rest of the musicians are also high skilled, the voice of Zachary Stevens, match perfect with this kind of music, great voice, and the piece where it showed the true talent of this yound man (then) is All that i bleed, super. In the end a masterpiece of prog metal history 5 stars, and if you don't have this record buy it now worth every second of it. Recommended, and one of my favourite albums ever.

You guys ARE kidding me, right? RIGHT?

So, here we are at the Edge of Thorns, the so called magnum opus of Savatage and Chris Oliva's last album. It was recorded before he was hit and killed by a drunken driver, another great loss to metal, much like the death Cliff Burton was also a great loss. However, this album is not as good as its grade may make you think and it is not the best work of Savatage with Chris Oliva (that being Streets) as it is not also the best work of Savatage ever (that being The Wake of Magellan or Dead Winter Dead). In fact, this is a pretty weak album and i am really surprised it could get so many good grades and reviews.

However, i must admit that Edge of Thorns is a big turning point for Savatage: Zak Stevens tackles the singing department, a significant improvement since Jon Oliva's vocals don't fit well with Savatage's new approach, this is Chris Oliva's last album ever and it is also the last album where Savatage had only progressive influences, since from Handful of Rain they where clearly on the progressive metal track (although i consider Streets to be their first truly progressive metal album).

Grade and Final Thoughts

Though being praised as a good album, most of Edge of Thorns go from mediocre to average, with only very few good moments and that is why i give this album a two star grade (well, actually 1,5 stars but anyway. . .). i'm just glad that they got back on tracks in Handful of Rain.

The highlights go to Edge of Thorns, Labyrinths, Follow Me, Exit Music (best song in the album in my opinion), All That I Bleed and Sleep.

The saddest moments are: He Carves His Stone, Skraggy's Tomb (worst song in the album, in my opinion) and Conversation Piece (cup of tea, yeah yeah??, seriously man, wtf is that???).

This album is good, there's little question about it. But is it progressive?

I'll say from the get-go: NO. This is not really progressive music, by any means. This is very well- crafted, intelligent heavy metal with pianos and very good melodies, plus excellent musicianship of all parts involved. But other than that, neither the usual elements of the narrow definition of progressive- metal nor the more form-related ones that informed most progressive-rock are here to be found.

This is heavy metal crafted after QUEENSRYCHE. If you've ever heard that band's superb "Operation: Mindcrime", then you'll have a decent idea of what this record sounds like. Good riffs, thunderous, empty drums, pianos used not only as background but in some important part of songs, and loud, soaring vocals that overpower anything that dares to defy them.

The music has a certain majestic tone to it. It sounds full of grandeur, full of elegance. Probably, that's why many people called this and other albums "progressive metal". After all, the metal genre was not really a darling of the mainstream media, and any kind of metal that sounded elegant or highly- polished must have been "progressive" for some people.

But musically, the progressive-link is weak. Sure, melodies are great and there are some instrumental passages and new ideas, but they're so unimportant in comparison to the main musical body which is made of plain heavy metal, that this record barely fits the description (if we can find one).

Nevertheless, "Edge of Thorns" is a much more accomplished album than "Hail of the Mountain King" (the previous one I reviewed) and it should be an addition for any metal fan's collection. In the progressive scale, it gets a 2.5. As a metal album, it gets a 4.5. We'll average this as a 4, as the quality of the music overcomes its lack of progressiveness.

Savatage goes progressive.

In the past, Savatage have been well known for their exceptional brand of piano metal. Hall of the Mountain King was their full realization of classic metal, Gutter Ballet was their marriage of the piano, and Streets was their dip into the dramatic rock opera genre. Each of these releases has something to enjoy, and each one has something different to enjoy, what does Savatage bring here?

True progression. This is the album that began their deep rock opera/progressive drama obsession in the composition stance. Not a rock opera, itself, the songs play out as one, and are very well played. The melodies are phenomenal. Edge of Thorns has a haunting piano line opening the album, leading into the crunchy riff from Oliva. The lyrics are well written, and everyone is at the top of their game. This is the continuation of the bands musical peak (which was quite the stretch).

Basking on more straight forward metal, He Carves His Stone melts face all over the place, with the infectious riff. A short dip in quality would be Lights Out, as the primary musical idea seems a bit stale, even if they rock furiously. Skraggy's Tomb does a damn fine job of returning the vitriol, and has a very unique driving line. I don't prefer Zak Stevens over Jon, but there is no doubt about his high quality as a vocalist. He powers through the songs menacingly. I just wish he had that lovable tired swagger Jon does so well. Labyrinths is the first of two expertly crafted instrumentals to be found, which do very fine jobs of injecting diversity into an already powerful album.

Follow Me has the most socially critical lyrics, and I quite enjoy them. It also houses one of the catchiest and most ear pleasing choruses of the entire album. It is followed by the other instrumental, Exit Music. I feel that this is the overall prettiest moment on the disc, and worth hearing time and time, again. I never tire of that piano.

Degrees of Sanity and Conversational Piece turn dark and enigmatic. Their lyrics of self mutilation and the ilk are done competently, and the musical themes they hold are fascinating. All That I Bleed is a ballad, and much more light in tone. It goes to show that Savatage were the top of the game when it came to adequately making this style of music. With piano lines twisted together alongside impassioned vocals and thick, meaty guitars and the palpable lyrics.

Damien has a more aggressive assault, and rocks solidly. It is a short burst of anger before the album is taken to a closing. The final stretch of music in Miles Away and Sleep has to be described as beautiful. Miles Away has a more accessible rock style, with Savatage's unique edge and knack for unique melodies and melding of multiple transforming emotions within the same song. Sleep, is just heart touching. It has a very deep nostalgic mood, and I get so very much feeling from it.

In all, this is where Savatage began their journey into progression on a full scale, and moved away from Jon as a main vocalist, while at the same time giving him even more spotlight as a pianist. There are no real weak moments, and the quality of the disc in whole is up the the high standards they keep setting for themselves. Not as altogether masterful as what came directly before, or would be coming in the future, but a truly seminal release for fans. Fantastic.

Best Moment - I lose count

Worst Moment - If I had to choose, Lights Out.

**** stars Really straddling the line. But stars and scores don't matter. Just listen to the music in here, and enjoy yourself.

Get ready for a gigantic portion of thick, stinking, faux-prog metal cheese of epic stature with this outstandingly campy, exciting, and wholly enjoyable album by SAVATAGE!

I have a soft-spot for iconic heavy-metal, and "Edge of Thorns" does everything it needs to to tug on my heartstrings. First, it's energetic, with genuinelly entertaining songwriting. The opening title track sets the majestic tone beautifully, giving way to the big, busy guitar work of Oliva and an ever surging momentum which carries through the entire album. As a whole, the band is very tight, not quite on par with currently popular prog-metal bands, but still quite good, and never burdened by the excessiveness of say... any of Dream Theatre's recent albums. Songs feature glimmers of symphonic nuance here and there (such as in piano interludes, and instrumentals) but largely feel stripped down, simplified, rockin', and very effective.

Oliva's guitar steps in and out of the spotlight tastefully, and his solo breaks are fantastic, with lightning dexterity and creative playing. They sometimes come with cool time signature changes as well, making them a real highlight of the album.

Of course, Zachary Steven's vocals are a big part of this album's success (or its abyssmal failure, depending on your viewpoint). He is every metal singer from the '80's condensed into a perfectly honed, screaming machine-- which makes "Edge of Thorns" feel very much like a relic of its days... but what fun! I was laughing out loud when I first listened because of the audaciousness of his vocals; they're so terribly excessive that they work, despite the triteness of the lyrical content. Just wait until the delightful "Scraggy's Tomb" comes up, and you'll probably agree with me.

Prog-metal snobs will probably not be impressed by the occasional concessions the band makes for accessibility and sing-along-ability... but the enthusiasm and talent demonstrated here more than makes up for its sometimes FM-oriented melodies. Realistically (or perhaps, "progressively") a 2 to 3 star release, but "Edge of Thorns" gets high marks from me because its simply so much fun to listen to! The awesome cover artwork is the icing on the cake.

Songwriting: 3 Instrumental Performances: 4 Lyrics/Vocals: 3 Style/Emotion/Replay: 4

After being literally blown away by the ambitious and highly enjoyable Streets I needed to hear more from Savatage! Edge Of Thorns felt like an obvious choice since it was the follow-up album and the last one with Criss Oliva who passed away due to a drunk driver accident later that year.

I noticed early on that the music on this album didn't feel like a linear follow-up to its predecessor. Gone were those lyrical themes, memorable rusty vocals and the piano driven ballads. This had a lot to do with Jon Oliva's semi-departure from the band. I guess the previous tour made him lose interest in Savatage and he started branching out to new possibilities. This didn't mean that he wasn't present during the recording sessions since many of his trademarked compositional hooks are still present and he does play piano/keyboards on some tracks. Still this time the music is definitely much more guitar driven and in a way there is a slight set-back to the style of Gutter Ballet.

Although this album wasn't as impressive and personal as their previous effort I still found it quite enjoyable. The opening title-track is a magnificent power-ballad which results in the most memorable composition that the album has to offer. I personally consider All That I Bleed slightly superior in the ballad department since it has a much stronger build-up, still both of them deserve the highest marks in my book. Many of the other compositions tend to be much more guitar-driven which does work most of the time, although the band goes slightly overboard with Skraggy's Tomb and Damien which sometimes make me cringe due to their over-the-top nature.

Overall Edge Of Thorns still manages to keep the Savatage spirit going strong and it would have been interesting to see how this sound would have evolved on later releases. Unfortunately this was not to be and once Jon Oliva came back he brought the conceptual lyrics and symphonic music elements back with him. At the end of the day Edge Of Thorns is an interesting follow-up album to the landmark that is Streets and therefore it's bound to be overshadowed by its predecessor. Somehow this release still manages to bring something new to the style which makes it quite memorable.

***** star songs: Edge Of Thorns (5:55) He Carves His Stone (4:10) All That I Bleed (4:40)

**** star songs: Lights Out (3:10) Labyrinths (Instrumental) (1:30) Follow Me (5:11) Exit Music (Instrumental) (3:09) Degrees Of Sanity (4:36) Conversation Piece (4:10) Miles Away (5:06) Sleep (3:52)

*** star songs: Skraggy's Tomb (4:23) Damien (3:54)

4.5 stars. This album along with "Hall Of The Mountain King" are my two favourite SAVATAGE albums by a long shot. "Streets" would be a distant third. "Edge Of Thorns" is interesting because it was the first album with new vocalist Zachery Stevens as Jon Oliva decided to quit singing and focus on the keyboards and lyrics. Also this is the only album with Zach singing where I really like his vocals. Sadly this would be Jon's brother Criss Oliva's last album for the band as we would be tragically killed by a drunk driver.

"Edge Of Thorns" opens with piano then the heaviness takes over before a minute and the vocals join in.This is laid back but heavy at the same time. It picks up before 3 minutes. Hell yeah ! And check out the guitar. It settles back and ends with piano. "He Carves His Stone" opens with gentle guitar as reserved vocals join in. It kicks in before a minute with crunchy guitars. Check out the instrumental section starting just before 3 minutes. Incredible ! The vocals come in screaming. Not worthy. "Light's Out" opens with some killer guitar as the vocals join in and impress. Love the guitar throughout this rocker. "Skraggy's Tomb" opens with relaxed guitar and a dark atmosphere. It kicks in heavily before a minute. Vocals too. Great sound before 4 minutes. "Labyrinth" is a short piece that features piano and tasteful guitar. "Follow Me" is mellow with guitar and reserved vocals to start. It turns fuller and we get some emotion half way though.Then we get this powerful but laid back instrumental section before the vocals return and it picks back up. So good.

"Exit Music" is a beautiful track filled with piano melodies. "Degrees Of Sanity" is dominated by riffs quickly as the vocals join in. A killer instrumental section starts before 3 minutes then the vocals return. "Conversation Piece" has this heavy soundscape of drums and riffs as the reserved vocals join in but they don't stay that way for long. The guitar is ripping it up 3 minutes in. "All That I Bleed" opens with piano and fragile vocals.Some heaviness 2 1/2 minutes in. "Damien" is better as we get some energy and I love the guitar. "Miles Away" has to be my favourite track. Beautiful guitar to open as these uplifting vocals join in. Gorgeous. It kicks in before 1 1/2 minutes. We get a tasteful guitar solo 3 1/2 minutes in. "Sleep" is mainly strummed guitar and reserved vocals.

Love the cover art too (wink). Amazing album that is guitar driven and really the perfect record to remember Criss by. I may bump this to 5 stars one day as it's almost flawless.

"Edge Of Thorns" is the 7th full-length studio album by by US, Florida based heavy/power metal act Savatage. The album was released through Atlantic Records in April 1993. A major lineup change has taken place since the release of "Streets: A Rock Opera (1991)" as lead vocalist, composer, and founding member Jon Oliva left Savatage after the tour supporting "Streets: A Rock Opera (1991)". His substance abuse and the strain of touring had taken it´s toll on him, and he decided it would be best for him to quit the band and try and solve his personal issues. Oliva is replaced here by Zachary Stevens. He stayed on as composer though, and like the case have been on the last couple of albums, all songwriting is credited to Jon Oliva, Criss Oliva, and producer Paul O´Neill. The remaining part of the lineup are Criss Oliva (guitars, backing vocals), Johnny Lee Middleton (bass, backing vocals), and Steve Wacholz (drums, percussion).

"Edge Of Thorns" succeeds what is often considered the band´s peak period (1987-1991), and adding to that the change on the lead vocalist spot, the album wasn´t exactly created under the easiest conditions. While Zachary Stevens can´t fully live up to the incredible vocal qualities of Jon Oliva, he is still a greatly skilled singer in his own right, and a suitable replacement with a strong voice and commanding delivery, who most fans of the band quickly accepted.

Stylistically the music on the 13 track, 53:57 minutes long album is unmistakably the sound of Savatage. Hard rocking heavy riffs, blistering solos and lead themes, a pounding organic rhythm section (there are actually electric drums on this one, which take away a bit of the usually more organic sounding tone), and raw yet melodic vocals in front. Piano and keyboards are also part of the sound, but they are not as dominant as they were on the predecessor. In that respect "Edge Of Thorns" is a more guitar driven and immediate album than "Streets: A Rock Opera (1991)", which required more spins to sink in and which had more sophisticated song arrangements. There are still quite a few sophisticated tracks featured on this album too though, so it´s not a through and through raw and unpolished heavy/power metal album like some of the band´s early releases. But why would it be this long into the band´s career? Taking into consideration their development of sound over the years, it´s only natural that the raw power is a bit more restrained and that the overall sound is relatively polished.

Savatage vary their sound from epic mid-paced tracks, to heavy US power metal, to hard rocking energetic rockers, and a couple of more quit/mellow tracks. Highlights include "He Carves His Stone" (which is among the band´s most hard edged tracks), the title track, "Follow Me", "Damien", and the two energetic rockers "Lights Out" and "Miles Away". The latter reminds me a bit of a hard edged Van Halen track. The material is generally well written and catchy though. The whole thing is packed in a professional, clear, and powerful sounding production, which helps bring out the details in the music. Upon conclusion "Edge Of Thorns" is another fairly strong Savatage release, but compared to the preceding three studio albums, it can´t quite live up to the extremely high quality of those. Still a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is well deserved.

On a certain level, Edge of Thorns is doomed to be forever known as the final Savatage album to feature Criss Oliva before his tragic death, so it's just as well that it sees Criss Oliva take a good share of the spotlight - partly as a by- product of Jon Oliva stepping back from being an official member of the lineup. New lead vocalist Zachary Stevens takes up the baton adeptly - the track Conversation Piece, in particular, gives him a moment to really show what he can do on that front - whilst Criss' prominent lead guitar performance makes this album a fitting memorial to his talents.

Highly revered by fans and often regarded as the bands finest work, 1993's 'Edge of Thorns' is a pivotal album in Savatage's discography. It's the first album to feature new vocalist Zak Stevens, with Jon Oliva stepping away from the mic to focus on keyboards and songwriting, and most notably, it's the final album to feature guitar hero and founder Criss Oliva, who was tragically killed by a drunk driver six months after the release of this album.

It couldn't have come at a worse time for the band either. Already fighting an uphill battle against changing musical trends, the band were managing to continually improve with each release, and while following 1989's 'Gutter Ballet' and '1991's 'Streets: A Rock Opera' itself would seem a daunting task, the band rise to the challenge with this, one of their most polished and well-rounded releases to date.

With its great production and overflowing with fantastic musicianship, 'Edge of Thorns' sees the band step away slightly from the more classical leanings of their previous few releases, and focus more on a metal-tinted hard rock edge. Which is fine, as it's still a solid album full of memorable tracks. The likes of 'Edge of Thorns', 'He Carves His Stones', 'Follow Me', 'Damien', 'Lights Out' and bonus track 'Forever After' makes this one of Savatage's strongest releases.

While the band would go on to new creative heights, this was probably their commercial peak. With metal in the mainstream being completely dead by this point, any momentum the band had garnered up until now would slowly squander over the next few years, and while the 90's would see the band release some of their best and most ambitious works, at this point they would firmly enter the realm of being a cult band. 'Edge of Thorns', really is the end of one era and the start of another.

I remember when "Edge of Thorns" came out, instantly became my favorite Savatage record. It's not just a beautiful album but it is a unique chance to listen to both Zak Stevens's wonderful voice and the late Criss Oliva on guitars. Never happened again due to Criss' death..There are very eerie melodies along with beautiful piano playing from John Oliva who chose to step back from the vocaling front in, so new era beginning with this album. Stevens was a wonderful choice as the nature of his voice was totally different from John's, which gave a fresh feel to the band. Tons of amazing solos, superior lyrics, and outstanding production, and just one look at the beautiful artwork tells a lot. One of my favorite progressive metal albums ever!