SAVATAGE's CHRIS CAFFERY On Performing With Orchestra In Pompeii: 'There Was An Overwhelming Amount Of Things Going On At Once'

On July 27, acclaimed progressive metal pioneers SAVATAGE played at the Amphitheater of Pompeii, one of the oldest surviving Roman amphitheaters in Pompei, Italy. The band played a spectacular show, accompanied live by an orchestra, an arrangement that made the show unique and unforgettable.

In a new interview with Moshpit Passion, SAVATAGE guitarist Chris Caffery stated about the Pompeii gig (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "You get there and you know the setting and you know where you are and you know what you have to do that night, and we were filming. So I think there was an overwhelming amount of things going on at once. We had a lot of friends and fans and press people and business people and everybody that we knew that were showing up too, and then we had the orchestra playing with the band. So there was a extremely large amount of people around that were all experiencing it at once."

Chris continued: "I think for me it was a relief to be on the stage because there was so much tension... Not tension, but so much chaos going on. It was creative chaos, so it's a good chaos, but once you got on stage, you were just able to go do what you did. And then it was fun to just be up there and play in that environment and on that location and live that moment without all the extra chaos around you."

Asked if he and the other members of SAVATAGE had any rehearsals with the orchestra ahead of the show, Chris said: "Not with the orchestra with us. They had had the sheet music, and we'd actually had one of the musical directors from TSO [TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA] went to see them the day before. And [SAVATAGE guitarist and TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA music director] Al [Pitrelli] and Jon [Oliva, SAVATAGE mastermind] had worked on the arrangements of the string section stuff, and they had had it and they knew what they were gonna play and we knew what they were gonna be playing. So we rehearsed with that in mind in advance. So we were working around it before we saw them, they were working around it before they saw us, and then we basically just had a soundcheck."

According to Setlist.fm, the setlist for the Pompeii concert was as follows:

01. Overture (first time since 1996)
02. Morphine Child (instrumental intro only)
03. Dead Winter Dead
04. Jesus Saves
05. The Wake Of Magellan
06. Miles Away
07. Sirens
08. Another Way
09. This Is The Time (1990)
10. Unusual
11. Chance
12. Adagio In G Minor (Tomaso Albinoni & Remo Giazotto cover) (excerpt played by Johnny Lee Middleton with orchestra)
13. The Storm
14. Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24) (first time since 2015)
15. Not What You See (first time since 1999, Zak with orchestra only)
16. Handful Of Rain
17. Lights Out
18. Tonight He Grins Again
19. The Hourglass
20. Believe
21. Gutter Ballet
22. Edge Of Thorns

Encore:

23. Temptation Revelation
24. Power Of The Night
25. Hall Of The Mountain King

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: vocalist Zak Stevens, guitarists Al Pitrelli and Chris Caffery, bassist Johnny Lee Middleton and drummer Jeff 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.