The Amazing True History of Trans-Siberian Orchestra

A Christmas Story of Rock and Resurrection

The Friday, December 11th TSO show at Nassau Coliseum was an awesome feast for the eyes and ears, a fitting start to holiday celebrations for us New Yorkers, and a sort of homecoming for this listener. Y'see, I was listening to the musicians currently in TSO when many of them were in another band, the mighty but ill-fated Savatage.

Savatage were a Florida-based progressive metal band. Like Queensrÿche, they were around before the term "prog-metal" was invented. Unfortunately, they had the bad luck of peaking right around the time of the grunge explosion, and much of their mature work was roundly ignored. It just wasn't "cool" to like Savatage. (A friend once walked in and heard me listening to "When the Crowds Are Gone" from Gutter Ballet and asked: "What the hell is this? Broadway metal?")

Savatage, around 1990.
(l.-r.) Steve "Doc" Wacholz, Jon Oliva, Johnny Lee Middleton, Criss Oliva, Christopher Caffrey

To make matters worse, the band was struck left and right by a series of tragedies (Jon Oliva's substance issues, the death of his brother Criss at the hands of a drunk driver) and this band was relegated to the cut-out bins. But in 1995, the band released Dead Winter Dead, a powerhouse concept album with a song on it called "Christmas Eve 12/24." A year later, the song was re-issued to radio under the name "Trans-Siberian Orchestra" and the rest is a very, merry history.

The band is currently touring to support its new record, Night Castle, a double CD that (unlike three previous TSO records) has nothing to do with Christmas. The show itself was an overwhelming display of musical pyrotechnics, with the crack band anchored by nothing less than Savatage itself: drummer Jeff Plate, bassist Johnny Lee Middleton, guitarists Christopher Caffrey and Alex Skolnick. All four musicians played in various incarnations of Savatage.

The second half of the show (which focuses on material fron Night Castle), includes several re-workings of old Savatage material--including the Grieg-inspired take on Hall of the Mountain King and "Believe", the emotional finale to Streets: A Rock Opera. The first half was a senses-frying performance of Christmas Eve and Other Stories accompanied by a brilliant light show, a simulated snow fall and the TSO's trademark blend of metal, classical music, gospel and old-fashioned Christmas music.

It's both wonderful and bizarre that a long-suffering, struggling metal band can find success by adding elenents of both ELP and ELO to itself, changing its name, and playing Christmas music. But that is exactly what Trans-Siberian Orchestra (nee Savatage) have done, and now by playing Savatage music as part of their show, they have brought things full circle. I hear TSO is planning a summer tour with no Christmas music in the show. Personally, I want to see them play stuff from Edge of Thorns....