Raise the Curtain is actually the first 'official' solo album from former Savatage vocalist Jon Oliva, as he takes a break away from Jon Oliva's Pain to do something a little different. Though at times there are some Savatage as well as Trans-Siberian Orchestra flavors, much of Raise the Curtain reeks of both '70s progressive rock & hard rock, bringing to mind vintage Alice Cooper, ELP, and Styx. Oliva plays most of the instruments here, but with some help from a few studio musicians as well as apparently the last of the late Criss Oliva discovered guitar recordings.
The title track kicks things off in grand style, a Hammond rich piece that sounds like Jon has been enjoying a bit of ELP, Styx, and Boston recently. "Soul Chaser" is more of a classic Savatage styled metal romp, while "Ten Years" takes a more theatrical hard rock route that owes a bit to Alice Cooper, with Oliva turning in a great vocal. On "Father Time" the vocalist once again churns out some great Hammond organ riffs for a heavy prog workout. The moody "I Know" meshes classic Savatage with Alice Cooper (Streets meets Welcome to My Nightmare perhaps?) and "Big Brother" features massive guitar riffs and more raging Hammond organ for one of the albums heavier tracks. There's more prog to be found on "Armageddon", and "Soldier" is a tender ballad that wouldn't have sounded out of place on one of those early TSO albums or even Handful of Rain era Savatage. Oliva snarls on the venomous heavy prog outing "Stalker", and his powerful pipes mix with dense, complex instrumentation on "The Witch", one of the most striking progressive rock pieces here. The Hammond comes roaring back on "Can't Get Away" alongside some Beatles styled harmonies, and "The Truth" closes out the album in breezy folk fashion.
Jon Oliva fans who are looking for the more thunderous side of his musical repertoire aren't really going to find that here, but instead there are plenty of riches contained within Raise the Curtain. With heaping amounts of prog & pomp, this is a diverse and satisfying album from one of heavy rocks most underrated musical geniuses.
Track Listing
1. Raise The Curtain
2. Soul Chaser
3. Ten Years
4. Father Time
5. I Know
6. Big Brother
7. Armageddon
8. Soldier
9. Stalker
10. The Witch
11. Can't Get Away
12. The Truth
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
