''Poets and Madmen'' is the eleventh studio album by American heavy metal band

Savatage Savatage () was an American heavy metal band founded by brothers Jon and Criss Oliva in 1979 in Tarpon Springs, Florida. The band was first called Avatar, but, shortly before the release of their debut album '' Sirens'' (1983), they changed t ...

, released in 2001. It was their last album before their 12-year hiatus, which lasted from 2002 to 2014. The album has a loose

concept Concepts are defined as abstract ideas. They are understood to be the fundamental building blocks of the concept behind principles, thoughts and beliefs. They play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied by s ...

inspired by the career and death of journalist

Kevin Carter Kevin Carter (13 September 1960 – 27 July 1994) was a South African photojournalist and member of the Bang-Bang Club. He was the recipient in 1994 of a Pulitzer Prize for his photograph depicting the 1993 famine in Sudan. He died by sui ...

, but has much less narrative in the lyrics than the previous two rock operas (''

Dead Winter Dead ''Dead Winter Dead'' is the ninth studio album by the American heavy metal band Savatage, released in 1995. It is a concept album, that tells a story from the perspectives of a Serb boy, a Bosniak girl and an old man. The story of the album is ...

'' and '' The Wake of Magellan'') penned by Paul O'Neill. Everything said in the album is fiction, except with regards to what is sung about Carter. The album is also noted as it is the only Savatage album to not feature a title song from the album, although the title was taken from lyrics to the track "Symmetry" from the band's 1994 album, ''

Handful of Rain ''Handful of Rain'' is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Savatage, released in 1994. This is the first album since the death of the band's founding member and lead guitarist Criss Oliva who in turn had contributed to writing o ...

''. The album was the first since '' Streets: A Rock Opera'' in 1991 to feature the band's original vocalist

Jon Oliva John Nicholas "Jon" Oliva (born July 22, 1959) is an American singer and musician. He is best known as the co-founder, keyboardist and lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Savatage, which he co-founded with his younger brother Criss Oliva. Sin ...

on lead vocals for all songs after the amicable departure of

Zachary Stevens Zachary Trussell (born March 5, 1966), known professionally as Zachary "Zak" Stevens, is an American singer, best known as the second lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Savatage. He currently performs with the heavy metal band Circle II Circ ...

. It is also the first Savatage album to have guitarist

Chris Caffery Christopher Caffery (born September 9, 1967) is an American musician, best known for his work as a member of Savatage and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Recently, Chris has been pursuing a solo career, releasing four albums since 2004. Biography ...

playing the majority of the guitar solos. This is partly due to the departure of Al Pitrelli, who left to join

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...

prior to the album's release. However, Pitrelli was credited with the outro of "Stay With Me Awhile," the main solo of "Morphine Child," the main solo of "The Rumor," and the first part of the main solo and the outro of "Commissar". The United States bonus track "Shotgun Innocence" was originally a bonus track on the Japanese release of ''

Edge of Thorns ''Edge of Thorns'' is the seventh album by American heavy metal band Savatage, released on April 6, 1993 on Atlantic Records. This is the last Savatage album to feature guitarist Criss Oliva, who died six months after its release, and their fir ...

'' in 1993 and features Zachary Stevens on lead vocals, and the late

Criss Oliva Christopher Michael Oliva (April 3, 1963 – October 17, 1993) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and co-founder of the heavy metal band Savatage. During his lifetime, he released seven studio albums and one EP with the band. ...

on guitar. The album cover was drawn by Edgar Jerins, who was responsible for the covers of ''

'' and '' The Wake of Magellan''.

Track listing

Personnel

;Savatage *

– lead vocals, keyboards, rhythm guitar, co-producer *

– lead guitar, backing vocals *

Johnny Lee Middleton Johnny Lee Middleton (born May 7, 1963) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the bass guitar player for Savatage and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Musical beginnings Middleton was born in St. Petersburg, Florida. His first experie ...

– bass, backing vocals *

Jeff Plate Jeff Plate (born March 26, 1962) is an American professional hard rock/heavy metal drummer. He plays with the group Trans-Siberian Orchestra. He is best known as drummer for American heavy metal band Savatage on their albums since ''Japan Live '9 ...

– drums, backing vocals ;Additional musicians *

Bob Kinkel Robert Kinkel is an American professional session keyboardist and music engineer most known for his role as a co-creator/co-producer/co-composer and touring keyboardist with Trans-Siberian Orchestra along with extensive studio work with the prog ...

– additional keyboards, backing vocals * Al Pitrelli – additional guitars on tracks "Stay with Me Awhile", "Commissar", "Morphine Child" and "The Rumor" * John West – backing vocals *

– lead vocals on track 12 of US edition *

– guitars on track 12 of US edition ;Production * Paul O'Neill – producer *Dave Wittman –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

, mixing *Bob Kinkel – additional engineering *Darren Rapp, Ed Osbeck – assistant engineers *Kevin Hodge – mastering at the Master Cutting Room, New York *Jeff Thompson, Chris Rich, Ken Thornhill – studio managers *Edgar Jerins – cover art *Deborah Lauren – design

Charts

Album

Singles

References

External links

The Story of Poets and Madmen
{{Authority control 2001 albums Savatage albums Concept albums SPV/Steamhammer albums Albums produced by Paul O'Neill (rock producer) Nuclear Blast albums