Savatage

Savatage is an American progressive metal band founded by the brothers Jon and Criss Oliva in 1978 at Astro Skate in Tarpon Springs, Florida. The band has been inactive since the release of their last album in 2001, and have not performed live together since 2002, instead concentrating on the more commercially successful side project, Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Criss Oliva and his brother Jon formed their first band together, Avatar, in 1978, from... more

Savatage is an American progressive metal band founded by the brothers Jon and Criss Oliva in 1978 at Astro Skate in Tarpon Springs, Florida. The band has been inactive since the release of their last album in 2001, and have not performed live together since 2002, instead concentrating on the more commercially successful side project, Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Criss Oliva and his brother Jon formed their first band together, Avatar, in 1978, from the ashes of their former bands Tower and Alien respectively. In 1980, the duo met up with Steve Wacholz and jammed in a shack behind the Oliva home that was dubbed "The Pit" by the band. Wacholz originally tried out to be part of Jon's band, Alien, but when the first Savatage line-up was taking shape, Jon, who was originally on drum duties, was relieved of them by Wacholz . They also gave Steve a nickname that would follow him through out his career: "Doctor Hardware Killdrums", often shortened to just "Doc" or "Doc Killdrums", which... less