Review by Phil Rozier for MPM
Let me tell you something, my fellow metal maniacs (is that trademark now? I hope not!): if you weren’t at Shepherd’s Bush Empire last night, you missed a resurrection worthy of Valhalla. Savatage, the legendary purveyors of progressive power metal, returned to London for the first time in 24 years, and it was like they never left. The last time they played the UK, I still had hair and knees that worked. Now I’ve got neither—but I do have a sore neck, ringing ears, and a heart full of molten joy.
After the usual pre gig pint, this time in Shepherds Bush’s ‘Defectors Weld’, and the usual welcoming comradery of the overly patched denim gang, it was time to enter the historic London venue. Having seen a few bands here, from Iron Maiden to Massive Wagons, it’s like a familiar home coming.
Greeted with the symmetrical clean looking stage, double keyboard stands and oppositely placed singular 4×12 Marshall cabs, the anxious sold-out crowd was clambering over one and another to get a decent view.
The audience was a beautiful mess of old-school fans and younger headbangers who clearly inherited their parents’ record collections. There were battle jackets older than some of the bartenders. It’s the first time in the Empire I’ve seen the hugely impactful digital screen that towered over the drum riser.
From the moment the lights dimmed and the first notes of “Welcome” rang out, the crowd erupted like a volcano of leather, denim, and devil horns. It was glorious chaos.
People were singing every word, air-guitaring like their existence needed it, and even the security guards were nodding along like, “Yeah, this is what heavy metal is all about.” Having not seen Savatage before play live, I was super impressed at the tightness of the band, and the eagerness of the crowd. Where had I been all these years if not listening to Savatage?!
The band didn’t just play a show—they unleashed a bit of a saga! A 22 song set motored by, accompanied by that huge screen depicting fire, flames, lighting, nautical storms, sinking ships and praying to the gods.
From the thunderous encore of “Hall of the Mountain King” to the haunting beauty of “Believe”, every track was a reminder of why Savatage are metal royalty. They even dusted off “Handful of Rain”, which hit me right in the feels. There was nothing but manly chest bumps and headbanging, as the mirrored Jackson Kelly wielded by Chris Caffery cut through the mix.
And when they launched into “The Wake of Magellan” followed by “This Is the Time”, the entire venue transformed into a cathedral of sound. It was like being baptized in riffs. A band formed in 1979, and often perhaps under rated in the UK, truly owned the crowd as now singer Zak Stevens controls the unified clapping of 2000 rockers.
When the band took their final bow, house lights glistening off the shiny leather and studded vests, the roar of the crowd could’ve summoned Odin himself, as it unified generations of metal fans.
More of a pilgrimage than a gig. True heavy metal music just waits patiently, like a dragon under a mountain, until it’s time to rise again. And last night, it truly rose with fire breathing vengeance.
Savatage, thank you for coming back. Don’t wait another 24 years, yeah? Some of us are running out of cartilage.
Photography by Jon Theobald for MPM
