Depending on the era, Savatage is either the most classy of the first generation US power metal bands or the vehicle for producer Paul O’Neill’s rock opera ambitions. The first album O’Neill produced for the Floridians, however, screams eighties power metal. Often literally. Everything worthwhile about American heavy metal in the eighties can be heard here. Jon Oliva combines high-pitched screams with raw, surprisingly theatrical vocals which fits the dramatic progressions of the music and the at times overblown lyrics perfectly. If you want to know what Savatage originally was all about, ‘Hall Of The Mountain King’ is your record.

In retrospective interviews, O’Neill often pointed out that Savatage needed to be re-established as a heavy metal band before they could move forward. The band had just been pressured into pandering to the commercial rock market with the staggeringly weak ‘Fight For The Rock’ a year prior. It would not be their commercial breakthrough and alienated their fan base. ‘Hall Of The Mountain King’, by contrast, sounds like a more refined ‘Sirens’ or ‘The Dungeons Are Calling’. Criss Oliva’s Judas Priest-ish riff work and wild, mildly neoclassical soloing is all over the record, as are brother’s characteristic vocal histrionics.

Sure, the first seeds of O’Neill’s bombastic vision are sown here in the shape of ‘Prelude To Madness’, which features Criss Oliva interpreting the song from Grieg’s Peer Gynt suite that would eventually become the album title, but the majority of ‘Hall Of The Mountain King’ is classic heavy metal. The title track in particular is about as perfect as USPM can get. Even past the standard talking points – Jon Oliva’s evil laughter and impassioned shrieks – there is still plenty to love. The main riff is perfect, as is the one in the middle section before the guitar solo and as heavy as it is, it’s also catchy as the flu.

Aside from that eternal classic, there is a lot to enjoy on ‘Hall Of The Mountain King’. Personally, I really like the idea of a jamming metal band on the end of ’24 Hrs. Ago’, especially after the tight aggression of the first half. ‘Legions’ is an easy to shout along midtempo metal anthem with some awesome riffing and the fast and aggressive ‘White Witch’ is borderline thrash. There are subtle shades of experimentalism here and there that make the songs just a tad better than the highlights on ‘Sirens’. The piano backing the main riff on ‘Devastation’ for instance, is almost unheard, but does give the whole thing an almost gothic vibe. The same goes for the keys on the dark monster ‘Beyond The Doors Of The Dark’.

Even during its most poppy moment, ‘Hall Of The Mountain King’ convinces. The highly melodic ‘Strange Wings’ is a duet between Jon Oliva and Ray Gillen of Badlands and Black Sabbath fame. At first it may seem like Gillen was only brought in for the harmonies in the chorus, but his acrobatics in the climax are incredible. Combine these factors and you have a heavy metal record that is equal parts elegant, aggressive and memorable. It’s also relatively progressive at times, though it may seem a little primitive compared to what would follow with ‘Gutter Ballet’ (1989) and afterward. It is certainly some of the most well-written primitive stuff, however.

Recommended tracks: ‘Hall Of The Mountain King’, ‘Legions’, ‘Beyond The Doors Of The Dark, ‘Strange Wings’