Savatage

After creating Avatar in 1979, the Oliva Brothers, Jon and Criss, blended the names "Savage" and "Avatar" after a 1983 copyright dispute to form Savatage, a hard-rocking prog band partial to highbrow metal concept albums. Originally a straight-ahead metal affair, complete with tours with the likes of Metallica and KISS, Savatage went fully prog rock with Hall of the Mountain King in 1987. Jon left the band after the 1991 rock opera Streets, to focus on a Broadway production, and in 1993 Criss was killed by a drunk driver. Savatage has continued on with various lineups, but his death effectively spelled the end for the band. Jon returned to the fold, and the group continued to release music, but the immense success of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, the touring, prog-rock, holiday-themed extravaganza, originally considered a Savatage side project, eventually dwarfed the original band, which last released an album of new music, Poets and Madmen in 2001.

Sorce : ugo.com