Artist: Savatage
Label: Atlantic
Release Date: 1987
Rating: 4 Skulls
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Title: Hall of the Mountain King Artist: Savatage Label: Atlantic Release Date: 1987
Rating: 4 Skulls |
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Reviewed by Solomon:
Despite the fact MTV no longer caters to the metal crowd, they were good for something when Headbanger's Ball was still on. This show introduced me to Savatage with the video to the title track of this album. I have to admit I haven't been a die-hard Savatage fan over the years, and I've only kept up sporadically with this band over the course of their career. Still, Hall of the Mountain King has its moments and, being the record I was first exposed to, this is the first item in the Savatage collection I tend to think of when this band is mentioned.If you want to put labels on it, I guess you could call this 80's "power metal," but without the 90's sword-and-sorcery spin on it. Sure, it's gothic enough, and the record bares a bit of classical pomp, considering the album's title actually comes from a work written by noted Norweigian composer Edvard Grieg. In fact, "Prelude to Madness" is an actual quotation of that piece (sneaky bastards!). It reminds me of Randy Rhoads a little bit, the way "Mr. Crowley" is preceeded by a bit of "arty" organ before hitting you in the face with the electric guitar. The title track to Hall of the Mountain King is certainly the centerpiece of the album: a solid, dark, powerful metal anthem that is the most immediately satisfying tune on the record. The Dungeons & Dragons opener "24 Hrs. Ago" and the doomy "Beyond The Doors of the Dark" are real winners, as is the pseudo-ballad "Strange Wings," with its repetitive, catchy chord progression and epic chorus. The second half of the record isn't as appealing as the first, but songs like the ones just mentioned help define the record as a very dark, very traditional metal album. There aren't a lot of super "progressive" tendencies or anything blindingly original, but this is good, direct metal done the old-fashioned way. Jon Oliva's voice is not one of my favorites, but he fits in well with the music and you can gain some sort of comfort from recognizing his gritty, half-operatic wail wherever it is found. All in all, a primo release from a veteran metal act.
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