Hall of the Mountain King
| Hall of the Mountain King | ||||
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| Studio album by Savatage | ||||
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Publication |
1987 |
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| Label (s) |
Atlantic Records WEA Records (D) |
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Format (s) |
CD, LP, MC |
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Title (number) |
10 |
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running time |
39:28 |
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| occupation |
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Hall of the Mountain King is a 1987 musical album by the band Savatage . It offers music in the style of Power Metal and is the band's fifth album in total. It was also the firstalbum producedby Paul O'Neill . O'Neill later intensified his engagement with the band and not only recorded more albums, but also composed songs, played keyboards and wrote story concepts for the band.
Origin and meaning
The album was recorded in New York City in 1987 and released in September of that year. Ray Gillen , who was the singer of Black Sabbath at the time, has a guest appearance on the album . Gillen can be heard in the background in the song Strange Wings . In addition to the band line-up, Bob Kinkel played additional keyboard parts; he later founded the Trans-Siberian Orchestra project together with the Savatage musicians .
The band shot music videos for the title track and 24 Hours Ago .
With the participation of Paul O'Neill from this album, the band's music began to change gradually in the following years. Although this album is still in the style of the previous albums, Prelude to Madness as a classical adaptation is a step in the later direction of writing musical- influenced songs.
The album was received positively in the immediate music criticism and was seen as a return to the old class, especially compared to the previous album Fight for the Rock, which was perceived as disappointing . In retrospect, critics particularly praised the title song and its instrumental prelude. In 2001, the German magazine Rock Hard included the album, along with a few other works by the band, in its Top 300 list - The best discs of all time . In 2014, the album was ranked 68 on the list the 100 best metal and hard rock albums of all time of Rolling Stone .
Track list
- 24 Hours Ago (Jon Oliva, Criss Oliva, Johnny Lee Middleton, Paul O'Neill; 4:56)
- Beyond the Doors of the Dark (Jon Oliva; 5:07)
- Legions (Jon Oliva, Criss Oliva; 4:57)
- Strange Wings (Jon Oliva, Criss Oliva, Paul O'Neill; 3:45)
- Prelude to Madness (Edvard Grieg; 3:13)
- Hall of the Mountain King (Jon Oliva, Criss Oliva, Johnny Lee Middleton, Paul O'Neill; 5:55)
- The Price You Pay (Jon Oliva, Criss Oliva, Steve Wacholz; 3:51)
- White Witch (Jon Oliva, Criss Oliva; 3:31)
- Last Dawn (1:07)
- Devastation (Jon Oliva, Criss Oliva; 3:37)
In 1997 Edel Records released a new edition with the bonus track Stay . Another republication took place in 2002 by SPV ; This time, in addition to an extensive booklet, it included live recordings by Hall of the Mountain King and Devastation .
Notes on the titles
- Legions follows on from the title track of the album Power of the Night (1984).
- Prelude to Madness is an instrumental on which Criss Oliva interprets the well-known movement In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt by Edvard Grieg . Until the 1995 album Dead Winter Dead , where Mozart and Beethoven symphonies were quoted, this was the band's only classical adaptation.
- The title track named after this received a direct musical and textual sequel to the album Maniacal Renderings by Jon Oliva's Pain in 2006 with Through the Eyes of the King .
- White Witch warns of drug abuse through cocaine. The special edition of "Hall of the Mountain King", distributed in Germany by the Steamhammer label in 2002, reads: "... But Jon's fingerprints were all over" White Witch ", which warns of the perils of cocain addiction [. ..] Jon: "And a lot of that stuff does happen - your heart races, you're reaching out for the mirror. When you get to the point where you're that out of it, that song makes a lot of sense "..."
- Last Dawn is another instrumental piece for acoustic guitar with keyboard accompaniment.
- Devastation is about a vision of the apocalypse for the year 2000.
Web links
- Hall of the Mountain King on the band's homepage
- Review at the Metal Observer
- Review of the Rock Hard
Individual evidence
- ↑ Birgit Fuß: The 100 best metal and hard rock albums of all time. In: Rolling Stone Online . March 4, 2014, accessed March 31, 2019 .