Ελληνικά
On the occasion of Savatage’s upcoming appearance on July 25 in Athens after many years,a night that promises to cap off this year’s Release Festival at Plateia Nerou in the most captivating way, and perhaps close a major ten-year cycle,our gaze turns back 30+ years. To a time when one of the darkest, most misunderstood, yet creatively stunning chapters in heavy metal history was written: 1994’s Handful of Rain.
When looking back at Savatage’s legacy, your mind almost automatically goes to the sharp riffing of Hall of the Mountain King, the epic majesty of Gutter Ballet, or the drama of Streets. However, there is one album that stands as the ultimate monument of mental strength, musical transcendence, and catharsis.
The release of Handful of Rain found the band at absolute rock bottom. On October 17, 1993, the tragic loss of Criss Oliva in a car accident violently cut short the life of one of heavy music’s most charismatic, lyrical, and influential guitarists. With Jon Oliva heartbroken and the soul of the band lost, the decision to carry on wasn’t just a commercial choice. It was an existential need to keep Criss’s spirit alive.
Behind the production at Florida’s Morrisound Studio lies one of the most impressive behind-the-scenes stories in music history, which stayed in the shadows for years. If you flip through the original LP or CD booklet, you’ll see Steve “Doc” Wacholz on drums and Johnny Lee Middleton on bass (with Doc’s photo actually added through photo editing). But the reality of the recording sessions was radically different.
Atlantic Records was scared and pushing for an album under the heavy name of Savatage rather than a Jon Oliva solo record. In reality, Doc Wacholz, crushed by Criss’s death, had already left, while Middleton wasn’t available during the main sessions (he returned after the album was finished to handle live duties).
That’s when Jon Oliva worked his own miracle. Tapping into his multi-instrumental roots, he went into the studio and recorded almost everything by himself. He wrote and played all the drum tracks and basslines. He built the full weight of the record by recording all the rhythm riffs, on top of the pianos and synthesizers. The great Alex Skolnick (Testament) was brought in strictly for lead parts and solos, grafting his own soulful technique onto Jon’s heavy foundation. On top of this structure, Zak Stevens delivered the most mature and emotionally charged performance of his career.
If you look at Wikipedia or the credits at the time, you’ll see Paul O’Neill listed on rhythm guitars and keyboards,a credit acknowledging his crucial role in co-shaping riffs and structures during pre-production. However, behind the soundboard at Morrisound Studio, the real work was a quiet solo achievement by Jon Oliva, as both Oliva and O’Neill have stated in extensive retrospective interviews (such as in Louder / Metal Hammer magazine and the earMUSIC reissue liner notes).
The story of Handful of Rain is full of small details that show the scale of this effort. The late producer and lyricist Paul O’Neill acted as the glue keeping the vision alive, pushing Jon Oliva to turn his unbearable pain into musical notes. In this tense climate, Alex Skolnick’s presence was crucial, as the Testament guitarist needed only a few days in the studio to capture the spirit of the songs, leaving an indelible mark on the whole album.
“We didn’t make this record to sell millions of copies. We made it because if we had stopped right there, Criss’s death would have beaten Savatage.” — Jon Oliva
Handful of Rain is an album of deep contrasts, where raw aggressiveness coexists with progressive arrangements.
It kicks off with the explosive “Taunting Cobras”, one of the most violent and fast song the band ever wrote, serving as a burst of rage against fate. The title track “Handful of Rain” follows with a heavy, down-tuned, mid-tempo riff where the atmosphere becomes suffocating, capturing the feeling of trying to hold onto your life while it slips like sand through your fingers.
If there’s one song that changed the course of Savatage’s history forever, it’s “Chance”. Based on the dramatic story of Chiune Sugihara (the Japanese diplomat who saved around 6,000 Jews during WWII by issuing visas to save them from the Nazis), the track introduced the polyphonic counterpoint technique to heavy metal for the first time. Four different vocal lines (performed by Zak Stevens and Jon Oliva’s layered vocals) intertwine simultaneously (“I am the shadow”, “Who am I”, “Now tell me where is the reason…”). This songwriting innovation served as the blueprint and cornerstone for the later creation of Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
From that theatrical climax, we move to one of the album’s most progressive tracks, “Castles Burning”. Skolnick delivers what might be his finest performance on the record. His solo is fast, perfectly in time, and infused with technique that goes beyond standard metal boundaries.
And from full progressive, we go to “Stare Into the Sun”, a lyrical composition balancing between an acoustic ballad and arena rock, built on clean guitar arpeggios and warm basslines. Here Stevens gives a masterclass in dynamic control, shifting from low, whispered notes to explosive high passages. Skolnick’s solo is simply a masterclass.
The album closes with “Alone You Breathe”. Built on a heartbreaking piano chord progression, the song is the musical and thematic continuation of “Believe”. Jon Oliva’s songwriting genius shines at the finale: over the heavy, epic outburst of the full band, the vocal melody and lyrics of “Believe” are woven in (“I am the way, I am the light…”). It is an open, musical farewell to Criss Oliva, offering ultimate emotional catharsis to the listener.
Even the simple, dark cover artwork complements the album’s mood perfectly: a naked, exposed figure with raised hands to the sky, struck by a violent lightning bolt while trying to hold rainwater in open palms. The sudden shock of loss, nakedness in the face of destiny, but also the redeeming effort to hold onto hope as it slips through your hands.
Looking back with thirty years of hindsight, Handful of Rain doesn’t stand merely as just another album in Savatage’s discography, but as the very bridge that allowed the band to survive. It was the record that proved the band’s spirit wasn’t confined to specific people, but lived within its musical soul. It managed to turn despair into high art, connecting the raw 80s US Power Metal legacy with the symphonic, progressive vision that would define their path in the 90s and beyond.
Their presence on July 25 at Release Athens takes on an almost ritualistic character. Savatage’s appearance symbolizes something deeper than just another big concert: it is the ultimate vindication for a band that refused to break when everything around them collapsed.
I hope that when the lights go down, we will hear notes from songs like “Chance” or “Handful of Rain” echoing over the Faliro bay, and thousands of voices won’t just be singing lyrics. They will be paying tribute to a journey forged in pure emotion, loss, and catharsis. For every dedicated fan standing under the stage that night, hearing these compositions will be living proof that great music never ages,it just waits for the moment to unite us again, reminding us why we fell in love with this sound in the first place.
“I am the way, I am the light…”
Criss showed the way, Jon became the light… and as long as “still, the orchestra plays”, the Oliva myth will remain immortal.
