Then his musical career plummets, but no wait, then it skyrockets again. His musical career skyrockets, then his drug addiction follows. Jesus on his fictional path of rock ‘n’ roll excess. It’s billed as a “rock opera,” but don’t expect Tommy to be making an appearance: this is the absolute nadir of Savatage, musically and lyrically. “Streets” is a colossal letdown from the band that had just a few years before delivered solid heavy/power metal straight from the hall of the mountain king himself. No one likes to see their heroic once-greats fall from whatever heights they had achieved into the mires of convention, so how much worse is it when they descend into the abyss of unabashed insipidity? You can ask Dave Mustaine, you can ask Scott Ian, you can ask Max Cavalera: they’ll all assure you that writing shitty music is not a good career move.Īnd, as anyone who’s listened to Savatage’s “Streets: A Rock Opera” knows, you can expect the same answer if you ask Jon Oliva the same question.

Savatage streets a rock opera