JOHNNY MIDDLETON On Musical Direction Of SAVATAGE's Upcoming Studio Album: 'It's Kind Of A Mix Of Everything'

In a new interview with Metal Kaoz, bassist Johnny Lee Middleton of acclaimed progressive metal pioneers SAVATAGE spoke about the band's plans to document their July 27, 2026 concert at the Amphitheater of Pompeii, one of the oldest surviving Roman amphitheaters in Pompei, Italy. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "When they told me Pompeii, I just thought it was the city. I didn't know it was the [Amphitheater. And then we decided to do something special for that since it's such a special place. It'll probably be the only time we ever get to play there. So we came up with a whole set with orchestration. Doing the TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, [SAVATAGE guitarist and TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA music director] Al Pitrelli is a great music director, and he's really good with theory and all of this stuff, and so him and Jon [Oliva, SAVATAGE vocalist and mastermind] put together this orchestrated set. And we're bringing in an orchestra, and we're gonna record it, and it's gonna be on DVD, and it's gonna be a special night. So we're really looking forward to it."

Regarding how long SAVATAGE's set will be for the Pompeii concert, Johnny said: "Yeah, it's pretty long. We have arrangements that we've never done before of songs. We've rearranged a lot of stuff. It's gonna be over an hour and a half, probably leaning towards the two-hour side, for sure. So there's a lot of neat stuff in there that we're gonna do."

As for the possibility of a new SAVATAGE studio album, Johnny said: "Oh, yeah. We have a whole bunch of stuff that we're sitting on right now. Jon has a whole pile of music. Shoot, I've had stuff for a couple of years now. And we have some really strong stuff, and it's just a matter of when we wanna put it out and when the timing's right. 'Cause after all, it's a business, and you have to make smart decisions with what you do with your music 'cause it's limited. What we have is limited. And we have a whole lot of songs. So it's a matter of picking the right songs for the right time."

Asked what is going to influence the decision about when to release the new SAVATAGE album, Johnny said: "Uh, I don't know. The timing, I guess. When the mood is right and the market's right. We're still busy with TRANS-SIBERIAN, so when we get done with this, we gotta go back to work with that. And we're gonna be touring again next year with SAVATAGE here in Europe. So it's just a matter of when we decide to put it out. There's a whole lot of stuff to fish through. And Jon keeps writing more stuff, so once you think you got a really good song, he comes up with something better. And we're just letting him —it's like a plant; just let it grow. Let the tree grow, and when the fruit's ripe, we'll pick it."

On the topic of the musical direction of the new SAVATAGE material, Johnny said: "It's kind of a mix of everything, really. There's some real heavy stuff on it. There's some stuff like 'Edge Of Thorns'-y kind of stuff on there. 'Cause half the stuff Zak's [Stevens, current SAVATAGE touring vocalist] gonna sing, half the stuff Jon's gonna sing. So you have a total blend of everything SAVATAGE has done, basically, thrown into a big pile. So there's some real heavy shit on there. Jon's got some real heavy stuff, and then he's got some stuff that's not so heavy. So it's kind of a... If you took all the albums and put them in a blender and mixed them up, that's basically what you're gonna get."

Asked when North American fans can expect to see live shows from the reunited SAVATAGE, Johnny said: "Yeah, it would be next year. We got a couple offers in that are pretty decent for the States, and we're just trying to tie things together to make it to where we could pull it off financially. We never really... In the States, we always struggled to put a lot of people in the building, and in Europe we really didn't. So even back in the days, back in '90s and stuff, we were making three to four times the amount of money in Europe. And when you have to pay bills and you do this for a living, you go to where the money's at. And we'd love to play the States. We'd love to get on an opening slot with somebody where we don't have to brunt all of the production. That's something that we're looking at now, is doing a package with some other bands and not be just doing headlining gigs where we have to pay for everything that's in the building. It'd be easier for us if we shared the cost with some other bands."

Asked why he thinks SAVATAGE attracts more fans in Europe than in the States, Johnny said: "I just think the Europeans appreciate music more. Americans got so many distractions. There's so many things that you could just snap your fingers and it pops up. Americans have short attention spans, and Europeans just seem to dig the heavy music more, and they have for years. They just kind of stick with it. Even when they get up into my age, the guys are still walking around with the vests with the patches on, and they've kind of stayed true to what they liked. And the Europeans lead a more simpler life than Americans do, and I think that has a lot to do with… The fans that we got now — we got a lot of young kids, and that's one of the things that's surprising, is we got a lot of 15- and 16-year-old fans that have been listening to us. I met a kid in Sweden. He's, like, 'I'm 17. You're the only band I ever listened to.' And I'm, like, 'Dude, I'm old enough to be your grandfather, but thank you.' [Laughs]"

In early June, SAVATAGE played two festival shows — in Sweden and in France — with drummer Blas Elias. Elias, who has previously played with TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, SLAUGHTER and RATT's Stephen Pearcy, was filling in for SAVATAGE's longtime drummer Jeff Plate, who sat out the first two gigs of SAVATAGE's "Prelude To Madness" spring/summer 2026 European tour due to medical reasons.

The 2026 "Prelude To Madness" tour once again features SAVATAGE's current lineup: Stevens, guitarists Pitrelli and Chris Caffery, Middleton and Plate (except for the first two shows, where he was replaced by Blas Elias).

SAVATAGE's journey began in Tampa, Florida, founded by brothers Jon and Criss Oliva. Their story is one of both triumph and tragedy, marked by groundbreaking albums including the seminal 1987 release "Hall Of The Mountain King" and the critically acclaimed 1991 rock opera "Streets", both of which continue to resonate with fans worldwide. Following the untimely death of guitarist Criss Oliva after the success of 1993's "Edge Of Thorns", the band persevered with renewed purpose, culminating in their transformative 1995 album "Dead Winter Dead".

Throughout their four-decade career, SAVATAGE have cultivated one of metal's most passionate cult followings. During their nearly 20-year hiatus from touring, devoted fans continuously campaigned for the band's return. Their electrifying reunion performance at Germany's Wacken Open Air festival in 2015 captivated 80,000 fans and reaffirmed both SAVATAGE's legendary status and their audience's unwavering devotion.

Building on the momentum from their 2015 Wacken triumph, SAVATAGE made international headlines in 2025 with their first headline shows since 2002. The European dates successfully reunited multiple generations of "The Legion" — longtime devotees experiencing long-awaited performances alongside newcomers discovering the band's power for the first time.

SAVATAGE played four shows in South America in April 2025 and 10 dates in Europe in June 2025, including at France's Hellfest and Belgium's Graspop Metal Meeting festivals.

SAVATAGE played its first non-festival headlining concert in more than 20 years on April 21, 2025 at the Espaço Unimed in São Paulo, Brazil. The show took place two days after SAVATAGE performed at the Monsters Of Rock festival at Allianz Parque in São Paulo.

Appearing with Middleton, Caffery, Pitrelli, Plate and Stevens were SAVATAGE's two new touring keyboardists, Paulo Cuevas and Shawn McNair.

Zak joined SAVATAGE in 1992 as the replacement for Jon Oliva. Zak sang on four albums with the band — "Edge Of Thorns" (1993),"Handful Of Rain" (1994),"Dead Winter Dead" (1995) and "The Wake Of Magellan" (1997) — before departing in 2000, allowing Jon to return. Both Jon and Zak took part in SAVATAGE's 2015 performance at Wacken Open Air.

SAVATAGE's last album release, "Poets And Madmen", in 2001 was highlighted by Jon's return as lead vocalist, replacing Zak, who left the band citing family reasons, and the departure of guitarist Al Pitrelli, who accepted an offer to join MEGADETH in 2000. Pitrelli did record solos for some songs prior to his departure. Another very limited U.S. tour followed, supported by FATES WARNING in the early shows, and then NEVERMORE for the remainder. Around this time, Jon chose Zak's replacement in the form of Damond Jiniya (DIET OF WORMS). Damond performed Zak's parts on tour, with Jon having an increased vocal role in proceedings.

In addition to his work with SAVATAGE, Jon Oliva is well known for co-creating the classical music-meets-prog rock and pyro act TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA alongside the project's founder Paul O'Neill. Oliva has reportedly remained involved in TSO's activities even after O'Neill's April 2017 death of an accidental drug overdose.