Review by MartinDavey87 for Savatage - Ghost in the Ruins: A Tribute to Criss Oliva (1995)

‘Ghost in the Ruins’ is the second official live album by American metal band Savatage. Released in 1995, it serves as a tribute to the late Criss Oliva who died in a car accident in 1993, however, it’s release comes just months after the band had released ‘Japan Live ‘94’, and two live albums, both with similar set lists in such a short span tends to lessen the impact.

To be brutally honest though, while I absolutely love Savatage, and they are one of my all-time favourite bands, I’ve always felt that their material doesn’t translate well into live albums. Sure, there’s no doubt the energy of hearing these songs live is off the hook, but hearing it “live”, in album form at least, seems to lack what makes the studio versions so powerful to begin with.

I mean, the band play exceptionally, and there’s a palpable chemistry between them all, and the set list is spot on, especially considering when this was recorded, but as I’ve touched upon, I just really can’t get into this. With the likes of ‘Gutter Ballet’, ‘When the Crowds Are Gone’, ‘Sirens’, ‘Hall of the Mountain King’ and ‘Of Rage and War’, this album isn’t a complete loss, but at the end of the day, I’d much rather listen to any of the studio albums and hear the music in all its fist-pumping studio glory.