Review by MartinDavey87 for Savatage - Japan Live '94 (1995)

This album is a perfect example of why I’ve always preferred studio albums to live ones. Savatage are without a doubt one of my all-time favourite bands, but ‘Japan Live ‘94’ just doesn’t do their music justice.

Recorded while touring for their 1994 album, ‘Handful of Rain’, this was a short-lived line-up of the band which was reeling from the tragic death of original guitarist Criss Oliva. With Zak Stevens totally owning it on vocals, and guitar master Alex Skolnick of Testament fame stepping in on guitars, the band members are on top form, and the performances from everyone are solid throughout.

The production is pretty good, and everyone can be heard clearly, however, there’re two things about this album that bug me. Firstly, I just feel that the album versions sound a lot bigger, grandiose and epic, especially as the studio can allow for multiple layers and dubs, whereas live, they all sound a bit flat. Secondly... ah... the audience... Like so many similar live releases, the audience at times just sound piped in. It’s when Stevens is talking and the crowd are constantly screaming and yelling, I know metal fans can be a rabid bunch, but at times it just sounds a bit fake (and if it isn’t, well... there’s always reason one to fall back on).

Coming at a time just as the band were starting to become more progressive, theatrical and bombastic with their music, ‘Japan Live ‘94’, (sometimes also known as ‘Live in Japan’) does have a pretty decent set list. With the likes of ‘Chance’, ‘Edge of Thorns’, ‘Gutter Ballet’, ‘Taunting Cobras’, ‘Jesus Saves’, ‘Watching You Fall’ and ‘Sirens’ there’s plenty of good material here, making this is a decent enough album, but as a whole, I think I’ll probably ignore it and just listen to the bands studio output instead.