Customer Reviews

Maniacal Renderings

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the first album I have really gotten into in a long time. Dr. Butcher and Tag Mahal had some great songs but this album is more solid and sounds more like vintage Savatage. This is partly due to the fact that some of the songs are based on riffs that Criss Oliva came up with before leaving this world. The two guitarists, Laporte and French, do a good job of balancing technique with melody. They also incorporate some characteristics of Criss' playing (octave lines and very fluid legato). There are a few songs that would have fit on Gutter Ballet or Streets like "The Evil Beside You" or "The Answer" and a few that rock as hard as anything from Power of The Night or Hall of the Mountain King. Check out "Through The Eyes Of The King"! Jon's voice sounds better than ever. There is even a fast rocker called "Push It To The Limit" which is a sibling of White Witch and Washed Out. I can hear a Beatle's influence on some of the lighter tracks. As Jon says in the liner notes, John Lennon was his biggest influence. All in all a strong album from Jon and his friends at the asylum. I give it 4.5 stars!!!!

As I've grown up I have found more and more difficulties in liking new releases from both, new bands and bands I used to love. Maniacal Renderings is the only cd I've liked almost immediately after hearing it for the first time, in quite a while. Is heavy as it should be and also melodic. Jon is the most talented musician that ever existed and fortunately he is still making great music

Jon Oliva's Pain rocks every bit as hard as old Savatage ever did, and is the next best thing to a new savatage album that you can buy. If you like Savatage buy this album!!!!!!!!!!

This release is amazing. Jon Oliva is a musical genuis. Every song on this CD is incredible. The fact that he used old riffs that his late brother Criss wrote is truely insperational. My hats off to Jon Oliva and Jon Oliva`s Pain.

Amazing from start to finish - True shades of early Savatage. A must have for any melodic metal fans or Savatage fans!!!

I got a brief history lesson for ya whether you already know it or not, or whether you care or not. This band exists more or less because Jon Oliva is kinda tired of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Even though Jon plays a big role in the songwriting process of TSO, and he does like the band, he never expected it to become as huge as it did and more or less consume his music career. Savatage was Jon's baby, and while he may not complain about TSO's royalty checks, the artist part of him is hungry. TSO has some great stuff, but let's face it, Jon Oliva is a metal guy at heart, not a Christmas music guy. Since TSO has pretty much unofficially killed Savatage, Jon Oliva's Pain is now here to give us what we've been wanting since Poets and Madmen. Fans certainly won't mind that this sounds quite a bit like Savatage because we've been wanting to hear this for a long time. We Savatage fans have been wondering for years now if and when a new 'Tage album will ever see the light of day, and this is the closest we'll probably ever get. This and Zak Stevens band, Circle II Circle(which uses the same band as Jon Oliva's Pain, so it's like a Savatage double whammy). Is Maniacal Renderings any good? Can Jon still sing like he could years ago? Hell yes is the answer to both questions. Jon certainly still has it, probably because it never really left him and he just needed the means to let it loose. This album is (Mostly) full of songs that fit right in with the different eras of Savatage's career. Lots of heavy and catchy tunes, songs with multiple vocal tracks, piano ballads and piano metal tunes. Of course Jon still sings with his raspy growl, mustering up all the tearjerking emotion he can at times. This album really is an easy sale. Those who love Savatage will no doubt check this out with or without recommendation, and the good thing is, most likely they will enjoy it too! I really like this band and I hope that Jon continues in this direction and puts out more Painful albums.

wow, this is Savatage mastermind jon oliva.. its a waste that people dont give him the credit he deserves, even if he does it because he loves and believes in music, but still...
This is the best music in years.. give it time and you will see how brilliant it is

Through the eyes of the king!! What a speaker blower of a song, my speakers are at a stress level of never before!!This just jams, if you like savatage you will love jop 4 solo discs, especially this one which is my favorate as you can tell! Buy it, steal it , do what you have to but own it!!!

I'll try to keep this short.

Comments: This album is just a joy ride from beginning to end. I can put this album on and listen from beginning to end and the album seems cohesive and comprehensive. It is extremely well produced and is made to be listened to as a whole.

Style: This album is a very porg-y metal album that bleeds together visions of terror and songs of theology. There is tons of melodic shred and a lot of atmospheric piano. This sounds like a mix of Savatage-esque metal with some Beatles and Pink Floyd. This album is CHALKED FULL OF TWISTS AND TURNS!

Sound: Extremely well produced, but the rhythm guitar tones are a little too digital. Not the same tone quality as Criss Oliva or Chris Caffery, but the overall atmosphere and production really makes it forgivable. The lead tones are great.

Songs: There are a handful of ballads, but anyone who knows JO knows that they are pulled off very well. I find that JOP ballads are better than Savatage ballads because they don't have Paul O'Niel to fill them up with cliches.
The real stand outs are: The heavy banger Through the Eyes of the King; the dark horrific epic Maniacal Renderings; the porggy rocker/ rollercoaster The Evil Beside You; and the ballads End Times and Timeless Flight.
What is important to know is that even though there are a handful of tracks that don't particularly stand out on their own, they all come together and make sense as an album.
This album deserves a dedicated listen from beginning to end the first time you listen to it

I still prefer Savatage, but Jon Oliva's Pain is very good, too. This CD is better than Tage Mahal, though.