Hall of the Mountain King

Infobox Album
Name = Hall of the Mountain King
Type = studio
Artist = Savatage


Released = September 1987
Recorded =
Genre = Power metal Progressive metal
Length = 40:07
Label = Atlantic Records
Producer = Paul O'Neill
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:hi5zefwkhgf8~T00 link]
* Jim Gordon (Favorable) [http://www.savatage.com/bandinfo/albums/hallofthemountainking/review.html link]
Last album = "Fight for the Rock"
(1986)
This album = Hall of the Mountain King
(1987)
Next album = "Gutter Ballet"
(1989)

"Hall of the Mountain King" is an album by the Progressive metal group Savatage, released in 1987 under the direction of Paul O'Neill.

This album shows the beginning of their progressive tendencies as they explore new forms of expression in their music. Many fans consider this album the original turning point in their musical identity, distinguishing between the old and new Savatage.

It is their first album produced by Paul O'Neill, who was assigned to the band after their previous tour. As their first concept album, it has a constant tone (of darkness, in this case) and is more complex than their previous albums, with two entirely instrumental tracks that go beyond simple guitar riffs and solos, namely "Prelude to Madness" and "Last Dawn".

"Prelude to Madness" is an arrangement of Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King from the Peer Gynt suite. Oddly, Grieg is not credited for this song, but for the following title track - which ironically, is an original song.

Through Paul O'Neill's connections, he brought in Ray Gillen, of Badlands fame to perform a vocal duet at the end of "Strange Wings".

This was the first album to feature the album cover drawn by artist Gary Smith, who was responsible for lead guitarist Criss Oliva's airbrushed guitars at the time.

Track listing

#"24 Hours Ago" – 4:56
#"Beyond the Doors of the Dark" – 5:07
#"Legions" – 4:57
#"Strange Wings" – 3:45
#"Prelude to Madness" – 3:13
#"Hall of the Mountain King" – 5:55
#"The Price You Pay" – 3:51
#"White Witch" – 3:31
#"Last Dawn" – 1:07
#"Devastation" – 3:37

1997 Edel Re-Release Tracks

11. "Stay" - 2:48

2002 SPV Re-Release Tracks

11. "Hall of the Mountain King" (live) - 6:00
12. "Devastation" (live) - 3:36

Personnel

At this point, Savatage remained essentially intact from their original group. Interesting to note is that in the liner notes for the album, they gave themselves roles instead of listing their instruments.

*Jon Oliva – "The Grit" (lead vocals, piano)
*Criss Oliva – "The Crunch" (guitars)
*Steve Wacholz – "The Cannons" (drums, percussion)
*Johnny Lee Middleton – "The Thunder" (bass guitar, backing vocals)
*Chris Caffery - guitars "(touring band member only)"
*Robert Kinkel - keyboards