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28 апр 2025
JON OLIVA Wants To Begin Recording New SAVATAGE Album In January 2026: 'The Songs Are Basically All Written'
In a new interview with Argentina's Rocktambulos, Oliva repeatedly emphasized that his injuries prevent him from taking part in the tour, explaining how his condition has affected even basic activities, let alone performing.
"I got in a bad accident and I messed myself up pretty good," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "And it's a long process, long healing process, and with the injuries I have, I can't really sing, because it's too painful. And it's hard for me to even stand up for more than a couple minutes at a time. So, unfortunately, you [can] look at me as a football player that got injured. And I'm on injured reserve."
Asked if his condition has improved since he got in the accident nearly two years ago, Oliva said: "Well, yeah. It's hard to explain. It's very difficult when you fracture your spine, especially [since] I'm not 18 years old anymore. So the healing process is very slow.
"They wanted to put metal — they wanted to replace things with metal — and I was advised not to do that," he explained. "And it makes it longer to heal because you're not replacing it with steel. Plus I'm afraid of knives anyway. I'm, like, 'You're not cutting me open for nothing, motherfucker. No way.' So, yeah, they said it could take a year or more to heal properly. As it is now, I can't sing. If I sing anything, it feels like somebody's stabbing me with a screwdriver… Oh, it's bad. Oh, trust me, man. I don't advise it to anybody."
Jon went on to say that he is "absolutely" involved in SAVATAGE's comeback shows, which feature Chris Caffery and Al Pitrelli on guitar, Johnny Lee Middleton on bass, Zak Stevens on vocals and Jeff Plate on drums. "I'm more a part of this than you think," he said. "So it's, like, I, basically, because of the injury, I've had to take the role of like just being the musical director kind of, and I put the show together — working on the show and how it's gonna go and what songs they're gonna do.
"I'll tell you one thing about the guys — they are so ready for this," Oliva added. "They're like a young band, 18 years old. That's how hungry they are for this."
Oliva, who is well known for co-creating the classical music-meets-prog rock and pyro act TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA alongside Paul O'Neill, also once again confirmed that a new SAVATAGE album is nearly written, though work on it has been sporadic.
"Here's what happened. I worked on a lot of material with Al Pitrelli and Chris Caffery, and we have a lot of material in the can, ready to go," he said. "And then this accident happened, and it screwed everything up. And so I had to make a decision. So I decided to send the guys out to make the fans happy, first of all, 'cause I didn't wanna cancel the shows. I was, like, 'No, no, no. I can't cancel.' I'll just rearrange them so the guys can come down there and the guys can play. And then hopefully by the time they get back and we get the TSO stuff done [for TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA's fall/winter 2025 tour] in November, December, I'll be okay by then for us to start recording [the new SAVATAGE album] in January. That's my goal, is to start recording new material. The songs are basically all written. They just — I need to be healthy to be able to do it. I can't sing like I sing without feeling like somebody's stabbing me with a screwdriver."
This past February, Oliva was asked by Brazilian music journalist Igor Miranda to name his favorite SAVATAGE record. He responded: "That's a tough one. The album that means the most to me is [1991's] 'Streets[: A Rock Opera]' because my brother [late SAVATAGE guitarist Criss Oliva], [producer] Paul [O'Neill] and I worked so hard on it. It took a year to record. I had the most fun making it because it had so many songs and showcased every side of the band. From 'Agony And Ecstasy' to 'Believe' and 'Somewhere In Time' — that's probably my favorite." He also reminisced about the recording process, emphasizing how special the album was for him and the band. "It was the first SAVATAGE album recorded digitally," he said. "We were the guinea pigs at Record Plant since they had just gotten all this digital equipment. We were the first band to use it. It was amazing."
One moment that stood out was recording the track "Believe", one of the most emotional songs in SAVATAGE's catalog. "I sang 'Believe' like 304 times… and they used the third take," he laughingly recalled.
Even after decades, SAVATAGE's music continues to captivate fans. When asked why the band's material remains relevant, Oliva pointed to its timeless quality. "A lot of SAVATAGE's stuff doesn't sound dated. It reminds me of BLACK SABBATH's 'Paranoid'. That album never gets old. I was listening to it the other day — you put it on, and it still stands out. I think that happens with SAVATAGE, too. 'Hall Of The Mountain King', for example, still stands the test of time."
Regarding the amount of material available for a new SAVATAGE album, he revealed that there is much more than just one LP's worth. "We have enough for four albums," he said. "The lyrics aren't written yet, but musically, it's done. And it's my fault everything stopped because of the fractures."
Despite previously stating that the next album might be the band's last, Oliva now seemed uncertain about that claim. "I said it might be the last one, but now I'm not sure," he admitted. "I have all this material. What am I going to do? Release a quadruple album? I don't think it will be the last one."
According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, Ménière's disease is a disorder of the inner ear that causes severe dizziness (vertigo),ringing in the ears (tinnitus),hearing loss, and a feeling of fullness or congestion in the ear. Ménière’s disease usually affects only one ear, but in 15% to 25% of people with the disorder, both ears may be affected.
Two years ago, Jon told Sakis Fragos of Greece's Rock Hard that he had "enough material" for three SAVATAGE albums, but he wanted to take his time making the best LP possible. "I'm not rushing this," he said. "No fucking way. 'Cause this will probably be the last album we ever do. And I'm gonna make sure that it's a 10 out of a 10."
Regarding the musical direction of the new SAVATAGE material, Jon said: "Some of this shit is really strong. I'm even looking at myself going, 'Holy shit. This is really strong.' And the fact that you're gonna have me and Zak sharing the vocals and doing songs together in like a duet thing, is even more… it blows me away. I purposely wrote five or six songs specifically for Zak to sing. And then I worked [on] a lot of songs with Al Pitrelli that are definitely, 'These are Oliva songs.' And then we have a couple of big epic songs.
"This is gonna be the best album I ever made," Oliva promised. "Unless I kill myself. All I know is that the SAVA fans are gonna be fucking blown away when they hear this. They're gonna be blown away. I wasn't gonna do the SAVATAGE thing and just do a half-assed album. If I'm doing this album, it's gonna be the best album I've ever done. 'Cause when I go out, I wanna go out on top."
Jon went on to say that a new SAVATAGE song called "For The Man Who Would Be King" is one that he sometimes refers to as "the new 'Morphine Child'," a nod to the track on SAVATAGE's 2001 album "Poets And Madmen". "And that's one that me and Zak are gonna do together," he explained. "And then it's got this big middle section that's all these QUEEN, operatic[-style vocals]. I'm, like, 'Wow, this is gonna be epic.'"
Regarding which other musicians will be involved in the recording process for the new SAVATAGE album, Jon said: "I'm gonna have [former SAVATAGE drummer Steve] Wacholz come in and play on a couple of songs. But Jeff Plate, Johnny, Al Pitrelli, Chris Caffery, Zak, me, and on a couple of things I'm gonna have Jane Mangini [TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA keyboardist] come in and play."
He continued: "I'm getting everybody involved from the beginning. I want it to be a full-band album, all of us working together. And it's gonna be great."
Asked about a possible title for the new SAVATAGE album, Jon said: "The working title is 'Curtain Call', but I don't know if that's gonna be it. 'Cause the very last song that's gonna be on the album is this song called 'Curtain Call', and it's just me with a piano, and it's very deep. It's basically me singing to the fans, telling them all goodbye and thank you. Every time I hear it, I cry. Everybody I played it for cries. It's just very deep. But it's my way of saying goodbye to everybody. 'Thank you. I love you all. And this is my final goodbye. Thank you. Have a good life. And do whatever.' So I think I'm gonna call it 'Curtain Call', but it's not in stone yet."
Zak joined SAVATAGE in 1992 as the replacement for Jon Oliva. Zak sang on four albums with the band — "Edge Of Thorns" (1993),"Handful Of Rain" (1994),"Dead Winter Dead" (1995) and "The Wake Of Magellan" (1997) — before departing in 2000, allowing Jon to return. Both Jon and Zak took part in SAVATAGE's 2015 performance at Wacken Open Air.
SAVATAGE's last album release, "Poets And Madmen", in 2001 was highlighted by Jon's return as lead vocalist, replacing Zak, who left the band citing family reasons, and the departure of guitarist Al Pitrelli, who accepted an offer to join MEGADETH in 2000. Pitrelli did record solos for some songs prior to his departure. Another very limited U.S. tour followed, supported by FATES WARNING in the early shows, and then NEVERMORE for the remainder. Around this time, Jon chose Zak's replacement in the form of Damond Jiniya (DIET OF WORMS). Damond performed Zak's parts on tour, with Jon having an increased vocal role in proceedings.
In September 2021, Jon Oliva was arrested on the west central coast of Florida for driving under the influence as well as possession of a controlled substance. Police charged Oliva with possession of cocaine, which is a felony, and DUI, which is a misdemeanor. Oliva was reportedly arrested again in July 2023 on another cocaine possession charge.
Back in 2016, Jon announced on social media that he suffered a stroke in April of that year. At the time, he said: "It was not as serious as it could have been, but it did leave me with some physical recovery challenges often associated with strokes."
Despite his health issues, Jon said that he didn't regret the way he had lived his life. He wrote: "I lived the rock 'n' roll lifestyle since I was 18. It's all I knew and I enjoyed the ride very much. But there comes a time in everyone's life where you have to step back and make some life-changing decisions... which I have."
Shortly after SAVATAGE's reunion performance at the 2015 Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany, Oliva claimed that he felt better than he had in 20 years because he had "stopped drinking and eating" in preparation for the concert. He explained: "It's my voice that's freaking me out, because, even when I was in my late 20s, early 30s, doing songs like '24 Hours Ago' were always really hard to do. And, of course, I didn't realize that it was all the drugs and alcohol I was doing. But, after doing that, getting my act together and stuff, singing '24 Hours Ago', it's actually easy now. [Laughs]"
Jon's brother Criss, who was one of the founding members of SAVATAGE, was killed in October 1993 by a drunk driver when he and his wife Dawn were en route to the Livestock festival in Zephyrhills, Florida. The driver of the other car was found to have a drunk driving record of seven prior DUIs and having a blood alcohol content of .294 percent.
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