Savatage

1981
As Avatar, brothers Jon and Criss Oliva, drummer Steve Wacholz and bassist Keith Collins build an underground following in the band's home state, Florida.

1982 Avatar records two tracks for a compilation LP by Florida radio station WYNF.

1983 Avatar releases the City Beneath The Surface EP, now a collector's item. For legal reasons, Avatar changes its name to Savatage and releases its debut album, Sirens.

1984 The Dungeons Are Calling is released. Savatage then signs to Atlantic Records.

1985 Power of the Night, Savatage's Atlantic debut, is released. The band embarks on its first tour.

1986 Bassist Johnny Lee Middleton joins the group. Fight For The Rock is released. In addition to the U.S., the band tours Europe for the first time, opening for Motorhead. At one show, producer Paul O'Neill is in attendance.

1987 Atlantic hires O'Neill to produce Savatage's new record, beginning a long-term relationship. Hall of the Mountain King, which includes the group's first symphonic instrumental, "Prelude to Madness," is released. A music video - the group's first - is filmed for the title track.

1988 Savatage tours American arenas with Dio and Megadeth. Rhythm guitarist Chris Caffery joins the band as a touring member. A video for "24 Hours Ago" is filmed. The band guest-hosts MTV's "Headbanger's Ball."

1989 Caffery officially joins Savatage. Gutter Ballet, Savatage's sixth album, is issued.

1990 Savatage embarks on a nine-month world tour, headlining and supporting artists such as Testament and King Diamond. At tour's end, Caffery leaves the band. Two videos - "Gutter Ballet" and "When The Crowds Are Gone" - are filmed.

1991 With O'Neill, Savatage - again a quartet - writes and records its first rock opera, Streets. Videos for "Jesus Saves" and "New York City Don't Mean Nothing" are filmed, but only "Jesus Saves" is ever released. Another world tour begins.

1992 Due to increasing vocal problems, Jon Oliva steps down as lead singer of Savatage, although he continues to write and record with the band. Zachary Stevens becomes the group's new vocalist.

1993 Savatage's eighth album, Edge of Thorns, is released. A world tour commences, but Wacholz and Jon Oliva decide not participate. Music videos for "Edge of Thorns" and "Sleep" are filmed. In October, Criss Oliva is killed by a drunk driver; the last song he records is "Shotgun Innocence."

1994 Deciding that continuing the band is the best way to keep Criss' memory alive, Jon Oliva and O'Neill write and record Handful of Rain, with additional contributions from Stevens (vocals) and Alex Skolnick (lead guitars). A video for the title track is filmed. Another song on the album, "Chance," sees the group experiment with counterpoint vocals for the first time. Although he does not perform on the album, Wacholz officially leaves the band after its release and is replaced by Jeff Plate. Oliva then joins Plate, Skolnick, Middleton and Stevens on a two-month tour. A show in Tokyo is filmed for a live album and video. Meanwhile, the debut album from Doctor Butcher, a side project of Jon Oliva and Caffery, is released in Europe.

1995 With Skolnick pursuing other interests, Caffery and guitarist Al Pitrelli join the group. Savatage's second rock opera, Dead Winter Dead, is released. A video for "One Child" is shot. The instrumental "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)" becomes an unexpected radio hit. Also, the live album Final Bell - later released elsewhere as Ghost In The Ruins - is issued in Japan.

1996 Savatage tours Europe and Japan. Instead of touring America, the group's members - inspired by the success of "Christmas Eve" - write and record the first Trans-Siberian Orchestra album, Christmas Eve & Other Stories. A "Christmas Eve" video is shot; it's re-released as a TSO song.

1997 Christmas Eve & Other Stories goes gold. Meanwhile, Savatage's The Wake of Magellan is released in Europe and debuts at #11 on the German pop charts. A European tour commences.

1998 The Wake of Magellan is released in America. Savatage tours in the U.S., Europe and South America. Also, TSO writes and releases its second album, The Christmas Attic.

1999 TSO writes and records its first non-Christmas album, Beethoven's Last Night, and embarks on its first tour, which features Caffery, Pitrelli, Plate and Middleton. A TSO television special, "The Ghosts of Christmas Eve," is filmed and is broadcast nationally.

2000 Beethoven's Last Night is released. For its second tour, TSO splits into two touring companies. On the Savatage front, Pitrelli and Stevens leave the band. With O'Neill, Savatage records a new album as a quartet. The group amicably parts ways with Atlantic Records and signs with Nuclear Blast America.

2001 Poets & Madmen, featuring Jon Oliva's return as lead vocalist, is released worldwide; it debuts at #7 on the German pop charts. A world tour commences with additional touring members Damond Jiniya (vocals) and Jack Frost (guitars).

From the official Savatage home page