Blog | Soundtrack Of My Life – Believe

Within An Arm length Of A Hero

They scorch the stage at the Noorderligt venue in Tilburg (The Netherlands). Front row I shoot but my camera remains silent ever so often. I watch in silence; I gaze and stare. Pounding my fists in the air, singing along. He yields his axe high. His fingers touching the fretboard while his brother croons out the epic heavy metal tracks becoming timeless instantly.

Their brand-new album made waves, `Gutter Ballet’ was genre defining, reshaping heavy metal and power metal as we knew it. A tantalizing next step of grandeur in evoking metallic mayhem. They stood at the helm of modern melodic metal, trailblazing: SAVATAGE!

“So after all these one night stands
You’ve ended up with heart in hand
A child alone, on your own
Retreating

Regretful for the things you’re not
To all the dreams you haven’t got
Without a home, a heart of stone
Lies bleeding

And for all the roads you followed
And for all you did not find
And for all the things
You had to leave behind

I am the way, I am the light
I am the dark inside the night
I hear your hopes, I feel your dreams
And in the dark, I hear your screams
Don’t turn away, just take my hand
And when you make your final stand
I’ll be right there, I’ll never leave
All I ask of you is believe”

THE 2025 REUNION GIG

It is 01:53 and I am watching the 2025 reunion gig.

Monsters of Rock in São Paolo, Brazil. Giant screens in the back. Images fly by behind the immense stage. They look small, like remnants of days lost. Fans pumping fists, the magic is partially resonating. There’s a subdued magic in the performance, an undefinable resonance. Zak Stevens engages with their fans, belting out his powerful lead vocals. His voice still impacts, still radiates.

The screens light up. The infamous Savatage logo appears. A camera zooms out wide angle. Is this Morrisound Recording Studios, where the album was recorded? Then the camera swings sideways and zooms in. Blue backlight, a recording microphone. A concert piano… and the master: Dr. Butcher, Mr. Jon Oliva! Dressed in black, with dark shades for the mystic. Behind his concert piano, the blue light contrasting… “This is a special treat we put together for you guys, I hope you enjoy it…”

His fingers touch the keys and he sets ,,Believe” in motion. He croons the opening. Typical, lightly nasal. Hoarse, discharging the right tone for the ballad. I choke. His voice like in his prime. It sends shivers down my spine. It sends tears into the corner of my eyes. The song resonates. Cutting my throat, it warps me back to my meeting with Jon. How much he loved the picture of his late brother. 1997, backstage at Wacken. I’m humbled in the moment. Jon is a gentle giant. A friend forever, once met.

HONORING CRISS OLIVA

It is perfectly integrated in the show and the band joins in, the crowd timidly singing along and Zak taking the helm. Gaining momentum, the track starts to resonate on a different level with Johnny Lee Middleton stepping forward. In the backdrop the screen is filled with hundreds of candles. Sparking their energy into the darkness above sparks light the pitch black like fireflies choosing the infinite heavens.

The instrumental break sets free my tears, memories rushing in. A slideshow with pictures of Criss fills the enormous screens with his original solo blasting from the speakers, awing the audience. Fragments from a video tastefully woven into the rich fabric of the emotional solo, enhances the experience.

“I am the way, I am the light
I am the dark inside the night
I hear your hopes, I feel your dreams
And in the dark, I hear your screams
Don’t turn away, just take my hand
When you make your final stand
I’ll be right there, I’ll never leave
All I ask of you is believe”

STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE

This stroll down memory lane makes me search for a video of the entire gig.

The opening of the show. Criss’ guitar on the giant backdrop, entangled with roses and thorns straight from the artwork of their ‘best of’ album `From the Gutter to the Stage’. ,,The Ocean / Welcome / Jesus Saves” opening the show. The glimpse of Oliva evokes fond memories.

Caffery the only remaining member of the era, joined by power vocalist Zak Stevens, they keep the legacy intact. But it isn’t until ,,Dead Winter Dead” and ,,Handful of Rain” that my senses are tickled. There’s a grandeur Stevens injects into the daunting melodic metal tracks. His vocals, powerful and commanding, his appearance on par.

“Another sleepless night
A concrete paradise
Sirens screaming in the heat
Neon cuts the eye
As the jester sighs
At the world beneath his feet”

SAVATAGE – GUTTER BALLET

At the time, Savatage rules my airwaves. Their `Gutter Ballet’ record was new and powerful. Scorching and gripping, it was different. The guitars, the piano and keys, underneath the melting melodies and drooping hooks. The guitar solos, the drum breaks. It all impacted with memorable magnitude. There was something new and defining the power metal that would nest deep in my DNA and veins.

The album redefined the boundaries of metal, with NWOBHM at the helm. The Oliva brothers injected something new, soothing refreshing into the mix. Backed by productional mastermind Paul O’Neill, the band was pasting a new palette for the future of heavy metal, while it was just sprouting! More dramatic, melancholic and cinematic, the music redefined boundaries, with ,,Gutter Ballet” as its curtain call.

Jabbing keystrokes. The piano towering in the mix, sweeping over the heads of the massive crowd. Lightly speeding up its pace, the hook of the song pushes. Demanding, it pushes forward and sets the song in motion. Tears run down my cheeks, as the song evokes a lot of memories.

There I am, frontstage at the renowned Dutch Noorderligt venue. It is packed and I made my way to the venue early to claim my position frontstage. Smoke is blown onto the stage and the band enters to unleash whipping versions of their classics ,,The Dungeons are Calling”, ,,City Beneath the Surface” and ,,Sirens” before diving into the brand-new opening track to their acclaimed `Gutter Ballet’ album ,,Of Rage and War”. The intro tones and choppers from left to right. The groove, the impact and power. It is freaking impressive. The song cuts throats, immediately.

“The jester takes his bows
Slips into the crowd
As the actors fade away
Another death to mourn
Another child is born
Another chapter in the play
It’s a gutter ballet
Just a menagerie
Still the orchestra plays
On a dark and lonely night
To a distant fading light”

CHANNELLING THE METAL RIGHT INTO SOUR SOUL

Criss flies his axe high and I shoot my most cherished pictures. His green army-like short coat, typical eighties. The spandex jeans. It is timestamped for the ages. The volume from his Marshall top is cranked to the max, his cabinets blasting at full volume. My hearing suffering. Criss stands in front of me. Close proximity. He’s within an arm’s length. He looks me straight in the eye and poses. My camera fails with the back lighting. He steps forward and smiles. Eye contact.

So much power, so much passion, unmeasurable pleasure performing. His jaw tightens with his fingers flexing around the neck. His Charvel Super Strat is tortured by his fretboard wizardry and screams through the Marshall stack, biting scorching riffs and licks onto the listener. Deafening, his overdrive pumps into your ears, channelling the metal right into your soul. Oliva enjoys the performance and steps beyond. His skills are stellar, but this evening he makes the new era of shredders bleed inside out. None of the new era of shredders are a match as Oliva’s clean touch and style link with Rhoads rather than anyone else, his triple tracking evoking the legacy of the late Ozzy guitar hero.

Criss Oliva is a league of his own and stands as a force for the future. The flirts with Michael Schenker’s melodic riff and lick delivery and the colorful tone deployed make him unique. Criss lights the stage tonight and he swings delivering the scorching riff of the epic title track. Moving into ,,She’s in Love”, Jon Oliva stands shoulder to shoulder with his brother, right in front of me. Criss swings his axe high, looks at me. The Marshalls blasting with intense high volume. Sava make the famous squad of Lemmy’s Motörhead look pale around their noses. It blasts and squalls.

I’M BACK IN MY 20s

I am forever taken in the moment and tonight the magic is warping me back 35 years where I stand in front of the hero. Here I am, shedding tears, feeling the deep connection with an idol. The backdrop, immense. `Gutter Ballet’ artwork towering the stage. Huge, as their stardom!

Here I am, craving the unique bond evoked by music…The timeless void. I am, there, shedding a tear. I am here, reliving the moment. Here I am, front row at the Noorderligt, watching Jon and his brother Criss laying down their magic on us…

Tonight, I am back in my 20s. I am back amid what defined me in metal.

One more song stings me in the gut and demands a refill to cherish the memories and soothe the pain of times past. I hear Criss delving into his weeping solo. Eyes closed I can picture him in front of me. ,,Temptation Revelation” cried into the humbuckers making waves into his Marshall stack. The emotion is gut wrenching. One of metal’s most overlooked players tears up my heart as he slowly takes the song into the slow burning ,,When the Crowds are Gone”, with his brother joining in, laying down the rich keyboard tapestry to bring this metal ballad to life. The emotional discharge is transcending.

Oliva magic resuscitated….

“I don’t know where the years have gone
Memories can only last so long
Like faded photographs, forgotten songs
And the things I never knew
When the skin is thin, the heart shows through
Please believe me, what I tell you is true…

Where’s the lights, turn them on again
One more night to believe and then
Another note for my requiem
A memory to carry on
The story’s over when the crowds are gone”

WATCH FULL CONCERT SAVATAGE REUNION SHOW 2025

All live photos by Edwin van Hoof