What started with “Sirens” as a prelude in August 2021 turned out to be a much sought-after fan service right from the start:
earMUSIC successively reissued all SAVATAGE’s studio albums in chronological order as carefully curated collector’s editions of high-quality 12″ LPs.
“Dead Winter Dead” (1995) and “The Wake Of Magellan” (1997) are the new additions and provide new shine on the record shelves of fans along with the already released vinyl reissue editions “Sirens”, “The Dungeons Are Calling”, “Power Of The Night”, “Fight For The Rock”, “Hall Of The Mountain King”, “Gutter Ballet”, “Streets – A Rock Opera”, “Edge Of Thorns” and “Handful Of Rain”.
“Dead Winter Dead” marked a reboot for SAVATAGE as a band; the return of Chris Caffery and his incipient guitar partnership with classically influenced newcomer Al Pitrelli, both joining the production of a rock opera composed by Paul O’Neill and Jon Oliva mainly on keyboards and that had already been worked on by the rhythm team of Jeff Plate and Johnny Lee Middleton. In addition to the creative coalescence, this resulted in a comprehensive concept album that once again offered the metal genre something new. “Dead Winter Dead” started as an idea during the Bosnian War. From the very beginning, it was strongly influenced by its events and, with the help of many close stories, developed into a dedication to the ordinary people who tragically lost their lives there or risked it as civilian heroes for others.
“Dead Winter Dead” sees its vinyl re-release as a high-quality, heavyweight 33rpm double LP in a gatefold jacket as well as a strictly limited collector’s edition on red vinyl, which includes a replica of the 1996 European tour poster as an exclusive addition for the collectors. Both LP editions have been mastered for vinyl and the original cover design has been enriched with extended artwork including a 16-page LP booklet.
“The Wake Of Magellan” continued the band’s collaboration consistently, getting a little closer to their roots in rock and metal again. Once again building on Paul O’Neill’s visually strong lyricism and poetry, , all musicians were contributing to the compositions in the early stages of its creation in Jon Oliva’s garage. The band managed to combine epic metal with the dynamics of a classical work, even allowing small bows to the immortal QUEEN in a refreshing way. Jon Oliva describes the regained band chemistry in retrospect: “‘The Wake Of Magellan’ was our third concept album and the second in the new line-up. Creating it was a pleasure for all of us”.
“The Wake Of Magellan” returns as an exquisite heavyweight 33rpm double LP along with a limited collector’s edition on transparent orange vinyl, which also includes an exclusive, removable lenticular art print of the iconic maritime cover illustration. Common to both editions is the mastering especially for vinyl, the high-quality gatefold and an elaborately illustrated 12-page LP booklet.
Today, these two SAVATAGE gems are available again on vinyl after being out of print for a long time. More about the SAVATAGE LP reissue series can be found here:
https://www.ear-music.net/savatage-vinylreissues/