Watch: SAVATAGE Performs With Orchestra In Pompeii

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.

According to Setlist.fm, the setlist for the 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 a recent interview with Metal Kaoz, SAVATAGE bassist Johnny Lee Middleton stated about the band's plans to document the Pompeii show: "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 would 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."

In a separate interview with Ed Hackimer of This Day In Metal, SAVATAGE guitarist Chris Caffery stated about the Pompeii show: "We have a 40-person orchestra [playing with us], and Al and Jon and even with our studio and musical directors from TSO [TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHSTRA] are putting together really cool orchestrations for it. I was listening to it in my headphone in my ear mix when we were rehearsing. I was, like, 'Turn the orchestra parts up.' And it's gonna be really special. It's an over-two-hour show. And I believe, from what a little bird had told me, that there are plans to absorb that for other people to see that haven't been there. So I'm pretty sure we're gonna be filming."

Elaborating on SAVATAGE's plans to professionally film and record the Pompei concert, Caffery said: "I never like to give official news until we get official news as a band. But I'm pretty sure that that's gonna be one of those ones that we're not gonna go, 'Let's just fly away' without there being cameras running. So I'm sure it'll be recorded and filmed. And it's gonna be pretty awesome. It's gonna go by so quick, though, 'cause we arrive the day before, but we're only in that venue the day we're playing. So we gotta show up, set up, play and do this completely different setlist than we're doing in any other show. And, like I said, I'm gonna be staring at where we are, and staring at the orchestra and staring at the audience. And I'm gonna blink my eyes and it's gonna be over, but I'm really looking forward to that one."

Regarding how SAVATAGE' setlist for the Pompei concert would be different from that for the other shows on the summer 2026 tour, Caffery said: "Well, when Paul [O'Neill, late SAVATAGE producer and TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA mastermind] had us do the 'Prelude To Madness' before 'Hall Of The Mountain King', the song, his whole thing with that song was to have the orchestra battling the rock band. And he always felt that the classical musicians were the rock stars and heavy metal musicians of their time, which I agree with. And through our music, songs like 'Gutter Ballet', even in that video was when he first had strings sitting there with us, and 'When The Crowds Are Gone'. He was always getting to the point of marrying those two worlds, to have the old classical and rock and roll music meet together, and this is the perfect opportunity for that. And there's some really great arrangements and some really cool parts. And, like I said, it's, I believe, a little bit over a two-hour set right now, so it's gonna be a lot of fun."

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.