EDGE OF THORNS

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.