Rock & Metal

Jeff Plate Clears The Air On Jon Oliva’s Role In Savatage’s Reunion

Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

In a recent interview with The Metal Voice, drummer Jeff Plate opened up about Savatage’s highly anticipated 2025 live shows and clarified that the band never officially disbanded. “The band never broke up,” Plate emphasized. “We haven’t done a proper tour in over 20 years, but we never officially broke up. Obviously, we all work together in TSO [Trans-Siberian Orchestra]. We’ve played a lot of this Savatage music in the TSO shows. Throughout the years, we’ve done at least one Savatage song per tour, I believe — at least one. So the music has been out there. And the fanbase has been clamoring for this for the longest time. And, man, I’ve gotta hand it to them.”

Plate also discussed Jon Oliva’s integral role in the band’s revival. “Jon Oliva, several years ago… Jon is always writing music, and the plan was to do some recording — he’s got a bunch of new ideas — do some recording and get out there and let’s do this again. Jon has obviously run into a number of health problems, which are serious, and I’m sure everybody’s read about them. But in Jon’s wisdom, he’s, like, ‘You know what?’” Plate explained that the momentum to bring the band back has only grown. “The ball kind of started rolling again. He’s not going to stop it this time. Jon’s gonna be involved in everything that we’re doing from here forward. He can’t go out and do these tours right now, and he’s gonna work himself back into it. We’ve got our fingers crossed. But I tell you, man, the music in general, the fanbase, there’s just a strength behind all that that’s really kept the name alive, kept the interest alive.”

Savatage announced their first headlining shows since 2002 in December 2024, with a lineup featuring Zachary Stevens on vocals, Johnny Lee Middleton on bass, Chris Caffery and Al Pitrelli on guitars, and Jeff Plate on drums. However, due to ongoing health issues, Jon Oliva will not be joining the band on tour, though he will remain actively involved behind the scenes.

Chris Caffery also expressed his excitement during an interview on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk. “Everybody asks me what’s coming next. And I’m taking it one day at a time right now because I had no idea this was gonna be happening. So I have all the answers you have. And when I get the news, everybody else will. So, I mean, we’ve talked. We wanna play everywhere. Everybody is really excited about it. So hopefully this is the beginning of a new run for Savatage.”

Savatage’s long-awaited tour kicks off on April 19 at Brazil’s Monsters of Rock festival, marking their first live performance as headliners in over two decades. The band will then travel to Europe, starting June 13 in the Netherlands, and continue through Germany, the U.K., Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and Greece throughout the month. Fans worldwide are thrilled to see Savatage return to the stage, with hopes that this marks the start of a new chapter for the legendary band.

 

I'm Emma. I Love rock music, doing guitar reviews, and making food. I love writing works because it is the best way to provide information to people.

Write A Comment