SAVATAGE — Streets: A Rock Opera (review)

SAVATAGE — Streets: A Rock Opera album cover Album · 1991 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
The Block
Jesus Saves

What a superb album! Savatage, one of my favorite power metal bands, has released many good albums, but this, by far, is one of the best. To add to the great guitar and keyboard work, it is a concept album. I tend to like concept albums more, since they have a story and you can follow the movements and different parts of it which adds to the overall enjoyment of the album. This is also one of Savatage’s more progressive albums, and I like prog metal more than any other.

The album takes us through DT (Downtown) Jesus’s life as a low life. He is hit by hard times, and then gets thrown onto the streets where he becomes a drug dealer. He rises out of the trash heaps of New York City as a guitarist for a band he forms. He soon gets into a quarrel with the other band members and leaves. His life, though sad, is frighteningly similar to that of lead singer Jon Oliva’s at the time.

Since it is a concept album, it is hard to pick out specific “best songs”, since they all blend so well together. Also, almost every song is absolutely superb, so picking a best one would be near impossible. But, one song that stood out to me is “Jesus Saves”. I like the opening skit, with a homeless guy stopping a passerby to tell him about DT Jesus, because it leads nicely into the main theme. The nice heavy guitar riffs give it that power metal feel, but it’s not that cheesy sound that most power metal bands offer up. This sound is very unique and good. Jon Oliva’s grainy voice, while by itself I might not like it, fits in very well in this song. Steve Wacholz does a great job drumming on this track and guitarist Chris Oliva does a good job, too. Another reason why I like this song is because it sums up the whole theme of the album into one song. It quickly hints at both DT Jesus’s rise and fall.

One other song of mention is “Believe” which is the softest song on this album. It is a very uplifting and joyful song, which really rounds out the whole album. I like the beginning of the song when Jon Oliva’s voice is very soft because he has a very nice voice that blends in very well with his piano playing. The song eventually gets more metal, but this song might be one of my favorite because it is softer. It is also more catchy then the other, except maybe “Jesus Saves” which has a relatively simple chorus.

The simplicity of this album makes it what it is. While some parts are more complex like “New York Don’t Mean Nothing”, but most of it is simple metal. But, Savatage does it in such a way that it seems complex. I can easily remember most of the songs on this album and it sticks in my mind, which is one of the reasons I keep playing it over, and over. For a great progressive power metal album Savatage gets 4.5 stars.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Everything Hurts And I'm Dying Atmospheric Sludge Metal
NEGATIVE BLISS
Buy this album from MMA partners
L'impôt du sang Melodic Black Metal
CONIFÈRE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Pleroma Progressive Metal
ORGONE
Buy this album from MMA partners
n​ê​bam​Ω​ejn Atmospheric Black Metal
TRHÄ
Buy this album from MMA partners
∫um'ad​∂​ejja cavvaj Atmospheric Black Metal
TRHÄ
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Origin Of Infinity - Chronosphere (OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO)
ORIGIN OF INFINITY
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Kingdom of Heaven - “Pleasures of Pain”
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
Bosh66· 1 day ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Sanctuary [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 18 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Farewell [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 18 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Curtain of Death - [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 18 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed