Artist: Jon Oliva's Pain
Label: AFM Records
Release: 2006
Rating: 3.5/5
Holy mother of God, what a struggle it was to sit down and write something that should have come out under the legendary Savatage banner! Does it make sense for Oliva to close the chapter on the mighty Savatage? Nope. Not for the fans, and it never will. For him, though, who’s doing better (sadly, for metal fans) with the spiritualized oddities of Trans Siberian Orchestra, it’s a totally bold move. But the guy clearly just can’t crawl out of his own skin, so he carried the spirit of Savatage over into his new band, Jon Oliva’s Pain. Pain is exactly the right word for it, because the whole album shakes and bursts at the seams under the thunder of Jon’s one-of-a-kind screaming. How did Oliva start writing the new album? One fine day his wife came up to him with a dusty shoebox. Right before tossing it in the dumpster, she asked Jon, just in case: “Jon? Is there anything worth keeping in here?” and when Jon checked what was inside, he found 35 tapes full of jam sessions by the Oliva brothers! They date from somewhere between 1979 and 1993. Jon put them to good use writing the new record, because if Criss were still alive today, Savatage would have used them ages ago. And the result?
Jon’s vocals are of course once again the main weapon of stylistic identity on “Maniacal Renderings”. Workaholic Jon sang all the vocals for the new album, added piano and played most of the rhythm guitars. That’s why “Maniacal Renderings” sounds so much like “Criss Oliva-era Savatage”. Alongside Jon is the whole Circle II Circle backing crew once again (minus Zak Stevens), and the new album is even more mature than the Jon Oliva’s Pain debut “Taj Mahal” (2004). Mature in the sense that it’s easier to get into and flows even more smoothly than the band’s firstborn. The opener Through The Eyes Of The King is basically a direct continuation of The Hall Of The Mountain King and could easily carry the title The Hall Of The Mountain King pt II. So, a venomous start. On top of that, Jon’s vocals bring a quality that can easily hold its own against the classic “Hall Of The Mountain King – Gutter Ballet” era Savatage. You’d have a hard time believing it, especially after the downright mediocre rasping on “Poets And Madmen”, and yet. A comeback!
Jon’s signature “madman” theater, soaked in the pain of remembering his lost brother and a kind of eternal guilt that at least gives the artist some grateful inspiration amid all that suffering, runs through the entire record so authentically that it burrows right under the listener’s skin too. Answer, for instance, unmistakably conjures up longing with When The Crowds Are Gone, which shows how The Queen are still a hugely influential band for Jon Oliva. One of the most heartfelt melodies is definitely caught inside Timeless Flight, which is simply a song built to be released as a “single” and through which the spirit of his role models The Queen shines once again, even brighter. The moment of eternity on the album. This is the song that makes you keep hitting the “repeat” button on your CD player. The piano, balanced in the production against the bombast of those recognizable “Savatage” riffs, works unfailingly on “Maniacal Renderings” too. Of course there are moments on the record where classic “speed eighties” metal raging is unavoidable, like in the utterly schizoid Push It To The Limit. End Times, though, is the song of the album! The title track and End Times are simply the kind of tracks with epic arrangements that suit Jon perfectly, something he’s always successfully proven as a composer back in the day with Savatage, and this is where the man is expressively at his strongest. I’d even say emphatically unique in his unique expression.
The album is once again a real Jon Oliva album. It’s somehow hard to come to terms with the fact that the cover doesn’t say Savatage, but Jon Oliva’s Pain is simply the only logical continuation of the legacy of the legendary Savatage. With a turn back to the past and the familiar creation of a melancholic yet grandiose, lofty atmosphere. Despite the album’s signature atmospheric drama, created by Jon’s piano and the choir vocal arrangements, the production on “Maniacal Renderings” keeps enough rawness and vitality, which pushes the obscure, dark mood of the whole record even further into the focal point of the album, and the crown of it all is Jon’s screechingly shredded vocal. The album is a must for everyone who’s crazy about Savatage and for everyone else looking for the high atmospheric darkness that metal music brings in its uniqueness! Guys? Next time, please spend a bit more time picking a tasteful cover for your next album.
Lineup
Jon Oliva – vocals, piano, guitar
Matt Laporte – guitar
Shane French – guitar
John Zahner – keyboards
Kevin Rothney – bass, keyboards
Christopher Kinder – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Tony Oliva – 12-string guitar (track #11)
Anthony Oliva – bass (track #11)
Christopher J. Oliva – acoustic guitar (track #11)
Christopher J. Oliva – guitar solo (track #12)
Production
Jon Oliva
Tracklist
01. Through The Eyes Of The King
02. Maniacal Renderings
03. The Evil Beside You
04. Time To Die
05. The Answer
06. Push It To The Limit
07. Playing God
08. Timeless Flight
09. Holes
10. End Times
11. Still I Pray For You Now
12. Reality’s Fool *
12. Only You **
* digipak bonus track
** tincase bonus track
Running time: 48:31
