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Savatage - The Wake of Magellan Audio CD

A fair review of the Savatage "The Wake of Magellan" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Savatage reviews here, or go back to the Savatage tabs.

Savatage Band: Savatage
Title: The Wake of Magellan
Rating:
Release Date: 2004-01-06
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Ocean 2: Welcome 3: Turns to Me 4: Morning Sun 5: Another Way 6: Blackjack Guillotine 7: Paragons of Innocence 8: Complaint in the System (Veronica Guerin) 9: Underture 10: Wake of Magellan 11: Anymore 12: Storm 13: Hourglass 14: Somewhere in Time/Alone You Breathe [*] 15: Sleep [*] 16: Stay [*]

How could I not have heard about this band?!!!
What little did I know that the rock musicians on stage were each some of the greatest artists ever, the band that is Savatage. Last December I went to see TSO in concert.

The best way to describe this Savatage album without categorizing it as one genre is this: It's a religious experience that almost transcends music. Maybe I'm a bit obsessive about this album, verging on serious addiction, but without a doubt I think any attachment with this kind of acoustic and religious art is warranted by the interesting concepts that it's based on. It's an album that can move people and build an appreciation for living to the fullest, almost like Dicken's "A Christmas Carol. "

By first looking through the 24+ pages of WoM's cover booklet, one can see that this is no simple "rock album," it is an ingenious mosaic of poetry, research, and music characteristic of some of TSO's work. Bless the skills of Paul O'Neill! Mr. O'Neill wrote and produced this concept album, a provocative story about this old, saddened man Hector Magellan (a fictional descendant of 16 C explorer Ferdinand Magellan) who feels that he has nothing more to live for as he can no longer relate with the people around him in his town on coastal Spain. All of Hector's chances for feeling love have "swept away with the tide," and the only connection he has is with his past. He walks along, and after sneaking abourd a harboured ship, the Maersk Dubai, he discovers a young boy who had fallen victim to a heroin overdose received as a "gift" from a friend. This sends Hector into a spiral of despair, and he leaves the Maersk Dubai goes off in his small sailboat to sail far away until death would take him away. Thanking his luck, a storm suddenly hits while he sails towards oblivion, however what he first doesn't see in the water is a drifting man struggling against the vicious waves. In the miraculous climax, Hector choses to save this victim, who turns out to have been thrown off of the Maersk Dubai as a stowaway, and in turn restore's Hector's will to live again. With the exception of the story of Hector, the Maersk Dubai and that drowning victim (Rodolfo Miguel) as well as the drug dealer concept (fought and died for by Ireland's Veronica Guerin) were all real history.

To fans of Paul O'neill-era Savatage and good music in general, these aforementioned themes in WoM are also present in "Streets" (1991) as well as "Dead Winter Dead" (1995); check 'em out. Most importantly all these albums sound great and powerful, without going over-the-top. They even feel great. I'd recommend listening to Wake of Magellan before going to bed. You won't regret it, and hopefully you too will gain a new appreciation for music and life.


The Wake of an Amazing Album
Based around three stories, the music effortlessly links and delivers the tales of a woman out to break an organized crime ring in Ireland, a crewman on a vessel saving a stowaway from the inhumanity of the ship's captain, and an old man who has run out of reasons to live. Savatage saved some of their best and most progressive material for their second-to-last album. Musically, the band covers Broadway ("Welcome"), folk ("Morning Sun"), and progressive rock ("The Wake of Magellan", "Underture"). The album's highpoint is the six-part vocal canon in the title track - challenging, adventurous, and perfectly executed, as becomes Savatage. .


the peak
although the build up to it DEAD WINTER DEAD is very close. in my opinion this was the best savatage album. zak is the best vocalist, to these ears. him leaving the band may have been why POETS & MADMEN didn't surpass this effort.


Savatage - Their Best
The lineup was expanded to a 6 piece on this one with Al Pitrelli and Chris Caffery sharing guitar duties and Zach Stevens / Jon Oliva combining on the vocals. "Wake" is my favorite Savatage album and the one where I think the band really put all of their strengths together as a cohesive whole. The album is a rock opera that tells the story of a descendent of the explorer Magellan and. . . . . . . well it's complicated. The booklet features a written narrative that explains the story in more detail. I really love everything about this album and it remains one of the top progressive metal discs in my entire collection. The music is consistently top notch and the duel Oliva / Stevens vocals are killer throughout. I love every song on the disc with the final two tracks "The Storm" and "The Hourglass" being my favorites. The album shares a lot of similarities with the bands alter ego Trans Siberian Orchestra, without the bloat that has sometimes impaired TSO's output. "Magellan" is Savatage at the absolute top of their game and I would recommend this album to anyone who enjoys good progressive metal. For Savatage fans this disc is essential.


Great!
The band got better with every album even though the spirit of Criss remains, you can hear it in every song. I love everything Savatage, but this has to me one of my favorites as well as Poets and Madmen.


You can see a complete list of all Savatage discography, or go back to the Savatage tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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