List of Savatage band members
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Savatage is an American heavy metal band, founded by brothers Jon (vocals) and Criss (guitar) Oliva in 1979 under the name Avatar.[1] The band's first stable lineup in the early eighties also included drummer Steve "Doc" Wacholz, and bassist Keith Collins. Currently the band consists of Jon Oliva, alongside bassist Johnny Lee Middleton (since 1986), guitarist Chris Caffery (who first joined in 1987 as a touring member), singer Zachary Stevens (who first joined in 1992), drummer Jeff Plate (since 1994) and guitarist Al Pitrelli (who first joined in 1995).
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History
In 1986 Collins was replaced by Johnny Lee Middleton, and the lineup was expanded in 1987, to include second guitarist Chris Caffery.[2] The nineties began with the band again down to four after Caffery's departure. He was replaced by John Zahner on tour.[3] In 1992 Jon Oliva stepped down as frontman though he remained involved in songwriting. He was replaced by vocalist Zachary Stevens, though Oliva continued to collaborate in the studio. Wacholz also took a hiatus from touring and was replaced by Andy James on tour. The band went on hiatus when Criss Oliva died in a car accident in 1993.
Jon Oliva reformed Savatage in 1994, recording Handful of Rain, with Stevens, new guitarist Alex Skolnick and producer/manager Paul O'Neill.[4] Wacholz and Middleton refused to record as they were grieving Criss Oliva's death. Oliva, Stevens, Skolnick, Middleton and new drummer Jeff Plate all contributed to the supporting tour. The band had a solid lineup from 1995 to 2000 with Al Pitrelli and the returning Caffery replacing Skolnick. In 2000, Stevens and Pitrelli left the band, and Oliva took over lead vocals and Caffery took over lead guitar. In 2001 new members Damond Jiniya (vocals) and Jack Frost (guitar) joined for touring,[5] however Frost was let go in 2002 to make way for the returning Pitrelli,[6] though he was briefly replaced on a tour by Annihilator guitarist Jeff Waters.[7]
In 2014, the band reformed with Oliva/Middleton/Caffery/Stevens/Plate/Pitrelli lineup returning at Wacken Open Air 2015, but were inactive until 2023 when Jon Oliva confirmed work on a new studio album.[8] The band will play their first shows in nearly ten years in the spring and summer of 2025,[9] without Oliva due to his diagnosis of both multiple sclerosis and Ménière's disease.[10]
From 1987 on, Paul O'Neill acted as the band's producer, co-lyricist and co-composer, and leads Trans-Siberian Orchestra along with Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli. Stevens, Middleton, Caffery and Plate also perform in Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and former guitarist Alex Skolnick has also performed with the group. In April 2017 it was announced that O'Neill had died at the age of 61.[11]
Members
Current members
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jon Oliva |
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|
all releases including session appearance on Edge of Thorns (1993)[14] | |
| Johnny Lee Middleton |
|
|
all releases from Fight for the Rock (1986) onwards, except Handful of Rain (1994) | |
| Chris Caffery |
|
|
| |
| Zachary Stevens |
|
lead vocals | all releases from Edge of Thorns (1993)[14] to present, except Poets and Madmen (2001) | |
| Jeff Plate |
|
drums | all releases from Japan Live '94 (1995)[25] to present | |
| Al Pitrelli |
|
|
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Former members
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Criss Oliva | 1978–1993 (until his death)[1][26] |
|
| |
| Steve "Doc" Wacholz |
|
drums | ||
| Keith "Thumper" Collins | 1981–1985[30] |
|
all releases from City Beneath the Surface EP (1983)[27] to Power of the Night (1985)[31] | |
| Alex Skolnick | 1994[32] | lead guitar |
|
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Touring musicians
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Zahner | 1991–1992 |
|
Zahner joined Savatage as touring keyboardist and guitarist following Chris Caffery's departure.[3][33] | |
| Wes Garren | 1993 | Garren took over from Zahner as sole keyboardist and appeared on several live videos.[34] | ||
| Andy James | drums | James replaced Wacholz who decided not to tour. | ||
| Damond Jiniya | 2001–2002 | lead vocals | Jiniya and Frost joined as touring replacements for Stevens and Pitrelli.[5] Frost was fired to make way for the returning Pitrelli.[6] | |
| Jack Frost | lead and rhythm guitar | |||
| Jeff Waters | 2002 | Waters performed as co-lead guitarist on Savatage's 2002 Summer tour in place of Pitrelli who was unavailable.[35][7][36] | ||
| Bill Hudson | 2015 | Hudson and Kuprij performed with the band at Wacken Open Air in 2015.[37][38] Kuprij will also appear on the bands upcoming album Curtain Call (TBC)[8] | ||
| Vitalij Kuprij | 2015 (died 2024)[39] | keyboards | ||
| Paulo Cuevas | 2025–present |
|
Cuevas and McNair joined as touring keyboardists for shows in 2025.[40] | |
| Shawn McNair | ||||
| Blas Elias | 2026 | drums | Elias filled in for Jeff Plate on the first two shows of the Prelude To Madness tour.[41][42] |
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Session and guest musicians
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Dvoskin | 1986 | keyboards | Fight for the Rock (1986)[43] | |
| Brent Daniels | backing vocals | |||
| Paul O'Neill |
|
|
all releases from Hall of the Mountain King (1987)[44] to Poets and Madmen (2001)[18][45][14][46][25][20][21][22] | |
| Ray Gillen | 1987 (died 1993) | backing vocals |
| |
| Robert Kinkel |
|
|
| |
| John Dittmar | 1989 | background shouts and laughs | Gutter Ballet (1989)[18] | |
| Stephen Daggett | ||||
| Jerry Van Deilen | ||||
| Dan Campbell | ||||
| Abi Reid | 1991 | female background vocals | Streets: A Rock Opera (1991)[45] | |
| Mary Wooten | 1995 | cello | Dead Winter Dead (1995)[20] | |
| John West | 1999–2001 | backing vocals | Poets and Madmen (2001)[22] | |
| Jane Mangini | 2023–2024 | keyboards | Curtain Call (TBC)[8] |
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Avatar (pre-Savatage) members
Timeline
Line-ups
| Period | Members | Studio releases |
|---|---|---|
|
1978–1979 |
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1980–1981 |
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1981–1985 |
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1986–1987 |
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1987–1990 |
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|
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1990–1992 |
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|
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1992–1993 |
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|
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1993 |
|
none |
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1994–1995 |
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|
|
1995–2000 |
|
|
|
2000–2001 |
|
|
|
2001–2002 |
|
none |
| 2002 |
| |
| Band inactive 2002–2014 | ||
|
2014–2015 |
|
none – one show at Wacken Open Air |
| On hiatus 2015–2023 | ||
| 2023–present |
|
|