Thank God these guys make a few bucks with The TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, because aside from a cult of fanatics, the record-buying public has not been kind to SAVATAGE, and their concept albums. For the past 20 years, Savatage has undergone countless lineup changes, the tragic loss of guitarist Chris Oliva, brother to current frontman Jon Oliva, and a flurry of lukewarm album sales. Poets and Madmen is described in the press release as the return of the "Mountain King", implying that they've returned to their roots. I don't think taking a step back was necessarily the right move for these guys. It's almost as if there's too much thought put into the songs. Not that Savatage should start to churn out rap-rock, or bubble-gum music, but sometimes you can over-complicate an otherwise great song by trying to impress your audience. Then again, the driving "Commissar" and the 10-minute "Morphine Child" don't invite anything but the most dire and maudlin interpretation. Savatage are really brlliant musicians and composers, but that brilliance may be packaged improperly (ie; your target audience may not want to think their way through the disc to appreciate it). This album marks the return to the microphone of bandleader Jon Oliva, who drove Savatage to great power-metal heights during the 1980s, and he brings his honesty back to the ever-changing lineup. However, he hasn't energized the band as much as one might assume, and that may be why this is a pretty good album from a really great band.
