Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Savatage
Label: Atlantic Records
Release: 1989
Runtime: 52:25
Rating: 4.5/5
With “Gutter Ballet,” the legendary American prog metallers Savatage hit one of the biggest turning points of their career (and there were quite a few in their story) and finally stepped into much more progressive, sophisticated, symphonic-tinged realms of melodic metal. Those qualities are why they’re still hugely revered among fans of “metal with brains.” The excellent predecessor “Hall Of The Mountain King” (1987), which brought them their long-awaited worldwide breakthrough from the metal underground, had already hinted at these symphonic tendencies, but on “Gutter Ballet” they took one more step forward and pretty much nailed down the definition of the recognizable Savatage sound.
The brothers Jon and Criss Oliva, the band’s leaders and founders, had started paying more and more attention to the ideas of hyperactive producer Paul O’Neill before this ambitious project came together. With his wide musical range and love of classical music, he pushed them to weave an ever-growing number of symphonic arrangements and operatic vocal harmonies into the Savatage sound, ones that drew heavily on the legacy of the legendary Queen.
They reportedly got their inspiration for the album’s theatrical, symphonic direction from seeing the musical The Phantom of the Opera, which they went to see on O’Neill’s recommendation after he found out, to his shock, that their cultural horizons didn’t stretch much beyond girlie mags with naked babes. On top of that, “Gutter Ballet,” which was originally supposed to be called “Temptation Revelation” (that became the title of one of the songs instead), introduced the beloved Savatage habit of making concept albums. Here, though, the concept can only be found on the closing three-part suite.
Vocally, Jon was in the form of his life in this period, since over the following years he started losing his voice fast, which almost proved fatal for his future singing career. His range, from low, gritty tones to high, screeching ones, was almost frightening in its emotional expressiveness, though as usual he was most convincing at conveying his deepest feelings in those short moments when he sang clean.
He also started using his voice in a much more theatrical, operatic way. He wrote the lion’s share of the compositions and some of the lyrics while recovering in a psychiatric hospital, where he found inspiration for the last three songs on the album, which make up the concept suite. O’Neill contributed most of the lyrics, as well as the title and concept for the title track, which became the seed of their next, fully conceptual album “Streets” (1991).
Criss once again justified his place as one of the best guitarists in the history of melodic metal, with a whole bag of relatively innovative guitar phrases and solo spots. To take some of the load off him, they hired the then barely 20-year-old rhythm guitarist Chris Caffery, who had already joined them on the 1987 tour as a rhythm guitarist out of the audience’s sight. Caffery had no problem accepting the “stationary” stage role and quickly became Criss’s best student, which he fully proved later in his career. After Criss’s tragic death, he became his replacement and thus the main Savatage guitarist, having by then thoroughly honed his technique. After the tour for this album, on which he played keyboards in addition to rhythm guitar, he broke off his work with the band for several years, but he stayed in regular touch with Jon and worked with him on the Doctor Butcher project.
Some songs already reflect the new symphonic-theatrical direction, while in between there are still shorter, more aggressive pieces with the more basic heavy metal tricks that defined their sound through most of the eighties. The militaristic sounds of army helicopters and the war drumbeat that open the anti-war critique “Of Rage And War” are a case in point, making for a distinctly aggressive opener. Jon’s frothing vocals and Criss’s laying down of punchy yet varied riffs are a big part of that. Jon’s rage at the dogs of war peaks in the chorus, where they even work in a juicy but, in this case, perfectly fitting word abbreviated SOAB.
With the title track comes one of the album’s peaks, a song you could easily say is the very definition of the Savatage theatrical-orchestral sound that would mark all their future releases. On piano, Jon first builds an intensely melancholic-romantic arrangement, then comes a pompous transition into a symphonic, constantly building section that feeds on Criss’s clever riffing and tasteful orchestral arrangements. Jon’s singing is phenomenal in all its possible theatricality. His ability to conjure a mysterious yet romantic mood is definitely out of the ordinary. This epic-scale masterpiece finally transformed Savatage from a unique but relatively obscure heavy metal band into champions of progressive metal.
The splendid instrumental “Temptation Revalation” is built in a similar sonic manner and dramatic mood, marked by pompous orchestral arrangements and an excellent Criss guitar solo. Then comes another of the best pieces in their story, the unforgettable power ballad “When The Crowds Are Gone,” which is also one of their deepest. A gentle, strikingly fragile piano melody is followed by a punchy riff and a burst of theatrical passages, before Jon’s unusually emotional vocal comes in. Besides hitting some magnificent vocal registers, you could easily say he put his heart and soul into the singing this time. After Criss’s death, Jon dedicated this masterpiece to the tragic guitarist’s memory and said many times that, ever since, before playing it on stage he often felt as if his brother’s spirit had come down from the heavens and gratefully patted him on the shoulders. Jon has long been known as a deeply religious man, so such statements are nothing unusual for him.
“Silk And Steel” is a romantic, acoustic-guitar instrumental with Criss artfully laying down pastoral chords, showing what an extraordinary feel for different playing styles this remarkable guitarist had, and he could easily have found his way in other directions outside metal waters. With “She’s in Love,” Savatage return to their traditional heavy metal sound, meaning the song is marked by wound-up riffing, Wacholz’s wrecking-ball drum fills, and Jon’s frothing screaming (you could easily call this style of singing “screams of horror”). The lyrics, too, are written in the old, “uncultivated” manner, which will have practically vanished completely by the next album. “Hounds,” where Jon once again pulls off an incredible transition from clean singing to gritty screaming, is a return to more complex waters, while keeping that rebellious punch. Melancholic guitar lines and fine curtains of keyboards in the background make sure the song sticks in your memory as one of the album’s better ones.
“The Unholy” is marked by an interweaving of melodic guitar phrases with a fast, almost brutal tempo, ramped up by Wacholz’s use of the double bass pedal. Jon delivers yet another excellent vocal performance, mixing madness and playfulness. The excellent closing string of songs, made up in order of “Mentally Yours,” “Summer’s Rain,” and “Thorazine Shuffle,” is a concept suite dealing with a dysfunctional character. The suite was partly inspired by Jon and his experiences in the psychiatric hospital and laid the groundwork for their later concept projects.
“Mentally Yours” refers to Jon’s delusions in the psychiatric clinic, while “Thorazine Shuffle” tells of the all-around corruption of the American health care system, where doctors deliberately stuff patients with doses of the sedative thorazine so they become addicts and guinea pigs for big pharmaceutical corporations. Those two pieces, mostly marked by classic, sharpened riffing, an aggressive tempo, and maniacal screaming, are linked by the melancholic ballad “Summer’s Rain,” into which Jon once again pours his deepest feelings and memories of the hard days he spent in the psychiatric “cell,” while Criss’s weeping guitar passages flow in the background.
On “Gutter Ballet,” Savatage took another successful step in their sonic transition, slowly steering into far more symphonic waters with more complex melodies, longer songs, and a variety of vocal styles. Unlike the more basic forms of heavy metal that marked their early albums, their new, noticeably richer sound won them plenty of new followers. Thanks to a few songs that could easily have fit on the previous five albums, the record is still somewhat transitional in nature, but on the other hand it forms a wonderful bridge between old and new Savatage. With this magnificent achievement they undoubtedly created their first masterpiece, which still rightfully enjoys immortal status among melodic metal fans today.
Lineup
Jon Oliva – vocals and piano
Criss Oliva – guitar
Steve Wacholz – drums
Johnny Lee Middleton – bass guitar
Chris Caffery – guitar and keyboards
Production
Paul O’Neill
Tracklist
1.Of Rage and War
2.Gutter Ballet
3.Temptation Revelation
4.When the Crowds Are Gone
5.Silk and Steel
6.She’s in Love
7.Hounds
8.The Unholy
9.Mentally Yours
10.Summer’s Rain
11.Thorazine Shuffle
