Savatage
Florida's Savatage formed in 1979 and blazed a trail for heavy metal in the US
during the 1980s and 1990s. Originally assembling as Avatar, the group—initially
comprising brothers Jon Oliva (vocalist, keyboardist and bassist) and Criss
Oliva (guitarist)—changed their name and their bassist (Ronald Leon Sisson took
over in 1981) before the release of their scene-stealing 1983 debut album
Sirens, which welcomed drummer Steve "Doc" Wacholz and went to number 16 in
Germany, also unwittingly becoming a lodestar for the nascent thrash scene. The
Dungeons Are Calling EP followed two yea...
