Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Savatage
Label: SPV Records
Release: 1985
Rating: 3.5/5
Unlike the first two albums, “Power Of The Night” is, in the words of band boss Jon Oliva, their “first real studio album.” In many ways that’s true. It was their first album recorded in a proper studio, and you can hear it loud and clear, both in the improved production and in the music itself, which this time is already a bit richer thanks to keyboards, even though the band still keeps its punchy, no-compromise approach
“Power Of The Night” opens with the title track, one of the band’s classics, marked by one of Criss’s most unforgettable riffs in the band’s history. “Unusual” brings a mystical vibe, which was always one of the band’s trademarks and always set them apart from their American peers in a lot of ways. “Warriors Of The World” sounds a lot like the European school of metal, especially in the chorus. The almost purely thrashy “Washed Out” and “Necrophilia” were reportedly branded as immoral and scandalous by American public moralists. That’s why the album “earned” a warning sticker in the US, even though the lyrics don’t contain any real four-line outrages, just black humor, and the not-so-good kind at that. Jon also had to create one song the label’s way. That’s “Hard For Love,” by far the most commercial track on the album and in no way a reflection of the band’s true face. It’s much closer to something from the hair/pop metal bands that were hugely popular at the time. “Fountain Of Youth” is defined mainly by Jon’s classic “screams of terror,” and the existentialist-fantasy lyrics are impressive too. As for Criss’s guitar wizardry, which once again carries most of the songs, there’s hardly any need to point it out. The closing power ballad “In The Dream” is their first ballad ever and the first song where they used piano as one of the leading instruments. With it, Savatage showed for the first time their extraordinary knack for subtle power ballads, miles above the usually unconvincing metal ballads of most other similar bands. That makes this track a fitting pointer to their future work, too.
Both bonus tracks, the live versions of “Power Of The Night” and “Sirens,” come from their old concerts. Both are very good performances.
All in all, “Power Of the Night” is another noticeable step forward for the band, especially in production, lyric writing and the music itself. At this point the band finally figured out that besides a traditionally heavy sound, they can just as well bring in other elements that don’t normally belong in the traditional metal repertoire, so they passed another maturity test with flying colors, even though the album is still far from their later, much more progressive work. They also still hadn’t found their true direction. Of the first three records made by the original lineup, this is definitely their best, and without a doubt it ranks among the better heavy metal works of the 80s.
Line-up
Jon Oliva – vocals, keyboards
Criss Oliva – guitar
Keith Collins – bass
Steve Wacholz – drums
Production
Max Norman
Track list
1. Power Of The Night (5:12)
2. Unusual (4:23)
3. Warriors (4:00)
4. Necrophilia (3:35)
5. Washed Out (2:13)
6. Hard For Love (3:57)
7. Fountain Of Youth (4:28)
8. Skull Session (3:18)
9. Stuck On You (3:06)
10. In The Dream (4:10)
Album length: 37:22
Bonus tracks on the 2002 reissue:
11. Power Of The Night (live) (4:51)
12. Sirens (live) (3:02)
