London waited 23 years for this. That’s how long it’s been since Savatage last set foot on a UK stage—and Monday night at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, they returned with the force of a battering ram wrapped in power chords.
Savatage aren’t just pioneers of progressive metal—they’re the band that made it emotional. Where others built monuments to technicality, Savatage wrote songs that punched you in the chest. Hooks, heart, and heavy—always in perfect balance.
The show opened with a roar: The Ocean into City Beneath the Surface, then Jesus Saves, Power of the Night, and deep cuts from Edge of Thorns and Handful of Rain. Zak Stevens, defying age and expectations, owned the stage. His voice hasn’t just held up—it soared.
But the real gut-punch came when Jon Oliva, too ill to travel, appeared on screen for a video performance of Believe. The band joined in after the first chorus. Not a dry eye in the house. Metalheads are allowed to cry—Savatage said so.
The set leaned heavily on The Wake of Magellan and Dead Winter Dead, proof that their later years were just as crushing as the classics. Chris Caffery and Al Pitrelli were razor sharp. Jeff Plate’s drumming—controlled chaos. The only real miss? No When the Crowds Are Gone. But honestly, with a set this strong, who’s complaining?
They closed with Hall of the Mountain King—the track that turned heads back in ’87 and still hits like a freight train. That song alone is a thesis on why Savatage matters.
They always made the epic feel personal. Theatrical, but never fake. They told stories, made you feel something, and did it with riffs that could level a building.
With talk of a final album on the horizon (Curtain Call, 2026), this show felt like both a celebration and a warning shot: they’re not done yet. They may be the most underrated band in metal history—but not to those who were there that night.
The phoenix is back. Long may it burn.
