# List of Savatage band members

Savatage is an American heavy metal band, founded by brothers Jon (vocals) and Criss (guitar) Oliva in 1979, under the name Avatar. The band's first stable line-up in the early eighties also included drummer Steve "Doc" Wacholz, and bassist Keith Collins. Currently the band consists of Jon Oliva, alongside bassist Johnny Lee Middleton (since 1986), guitarist Chris Caffery (who first joined in 1987 as a touring member), singer Zachary Stevens (who first joined in 1992), drummer Jeff Plate (since 1994) and guitarist Al Pitrelli (who first joined in 1995)

## History

In 1986 Collins was replaced by Johnny Lee Middleton, and the line-up was expanded in 1987, to include second guitarist Chris Caffery. The nineties began with the band again down to four after Caffery's departure. He was replaced by John Zahner on tour. In 1992 Jon Oliva stepped down as frontman though he remained involved in songwriting. He was replaced by vocalist Zachary Stevens, though Oliva continued to collaborate in the studio. Wacholz also took a hiatus from touring and was replaced by Andy James on tour. The band went on hiatus when Criss Oliva died in a car accident in 1993.
Jon Oliva reformed Savatage in 1994, recording Handful of Rain, with Stevens, new guitarist Alex Skolnick and producer/manager Paul O'Neill. Wacholz and Middleton refused to record as they were grieving Criss Oliva's death. Oliva, Stevens, Skolnick, Middleton and new drummer Jeff Plate all contributed to the supporting tour. The band had a solid lineup from 1995 to 2000 with Al Pitrelli and the returning Caffery replacing Skolnick. In 2000, Stevens and Pitrelli left the band, and Oliva took over lead vocals and Caffery took over lead guitar. In 2001 new members Damond Jiniya (vocals) and Jack Frost (guitar) joined for touring, however Frost was let go in 2002 to make way for the returning Pitrelli, though he was briefly replaced on a tour by Annihilator guitarist Jeff Waters.
In 2014, the band reformed with Oliva/Middleton/Caffery/Stevens/Plate/Pitrelli line-up returning at Wacken Open Air 2015, but were inactive until 2023 when Jon Oliva confirmed work on a new studio album. The band will play their first shows in nearly ten years in the spring and summer of 2025, without Oliva due to his diagnosis of both multiple sclerosis and Ménière's disease.
From 1987 on, Paul O'Neill acted as the band's producer, co-lyricist and co-composer, and leads Trans-Siberian Orchestra along with Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli. Stevens, Middleton, Caffery and Plate also perform in Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and former guitarist Alex Skolnick has also performed with the group. In April 2017 it was announced that O'Neill had died at the age of 61.

## Members
### Current members

| Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
| Jon Oliva | 1978–19921994–20022014–20152023–present (not touring) | lead and backing vocalskeyboards (since 1983)guitar (1978–1979, 1994)bass (1978, 1994)drums (1981, 1991, 1994) | all releases including session appearance on Edge of Thorns (1993) |
| Johnny Lee Middleton | 1986–20022014–20152023–present | bassbacking vocals | all releases from Fight for the Rock (1986) onwards, except Handful of Rain (1994) |
| Chris Caffery | 1987–1988 (touring)1989–19901994–20022014–20152023–present | lead and rhythm guitarbacking vocalskeyboards (1987–1990) | Gutter Ballet (1989) (credit only) Ghost in the Ruins – A Tribute to Criss Oliva (1995) Dead Winter Dead (1995) The Wake of Magellan (1997) Poets and Madmen (2001) |
| Zachary Stevens | 1992–20002014–20152023–present | lead vocals | all releases from Edge of Thorns (1993) to present, except Poets and Madmen (2001) |
| Jeff Plate | 1994–20022014–20152023–present | drums | all releases from Japan Live '94 (1995) to present |
| Al Pitrelli | 1995–199920022014–20152023–present | lead and rhythm guitarbacking vocals | Dead Winter Dead (1995) The Wake of Magellan (1997) Poets and Madmen (2001) (session musician) |

### Former members

| Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
| Criss Oliva | 1978–1993 (until his death) | lead and rhythm guitarbacking vocalsbass (1991) | all releases from City Beneath the Surface EP (1983) to Edge of Thorns (1993) Ghost in the Ruins – A Tribute to Criss Oliva (1995) |
| Steve "Doc" Wacholz | 19771979–1993 | drums | all releases from City Beneath the Surface EP (1983) to Edge of Thorns (1993) Ghost in the Ruins – A Tribute to Criss Oliva (1995) |
| Keith "Thumper" Collins | 1981–1985 | bass guitarbacking vocals | all releases from City Beneath the Surface EP (1983) to Power of the Night (1985) |
| Alex Skolnick | 1994 | lead guitar | Handful of Rain (1994) Japan Live '94 (1995) |

### Touring musicians

| Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
| John Zahner | 1991–1992 | keyboardsrhythm guitarbacking vocals | Zahner joined Savatage as touring keyboardist and guitarist following Chris Caffery's departure. |
| Wes Garren | 1993 | keyboardsrhythm guitarbacking vocals | Garren took over from Zahner as sole keyboardist and appeared on several live videos. |
| Andy James | 1993 | drums | James replaced Wacholz who decided not to tour. |
| Damond Jiniya | 2001–2002 | lead vocals | Jiniya and Frost joined as touring replacements for Stevens and Pitrelli. Frost was fired to make way for the returning Pitrelli. |
| Jack Frost | 2001–2002 | lead and rhythm guitar | Jiniya and Frost joined as touring replacements for Stevens and Pitrelli. Frost was fired to make way for the returning Pitrelli. |
| Jeff Waters | 2002 | lead and rhythm guitar | Waters performed as co-lead guitarist on Savatage's 2002 Summer tour in place of Pitrelli who was unavailable. |
| Bill Hudson | 2015 | lead and rhythm guitar | Hudson and Kuprij performed with the band at Wacken Open Air in 2015. Kuprij will also appear on the bands upcoming album Curtain Call (TBC) |
| Vitalij Kuprij | 2015 (died 2024) | keyboards | Hudson and Kuprij performed with the band at Wacken Open Air in 2015. Kuprij will also appear on the bands upcoming album Curtain Call (TBC) |

## Session and guest musicians

| Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
| Larry Dvoskin | 1986 | keyboards | Fight for the Rock (1986) |
| Brent Daniels | 1986 | backing vocals | Fight for the Rock (1986) |
| Paul O'Neill | 1987–20022014–2017 (his death) | producerlyricistco-composerguitarkeyboards | all releases from Hall of the Mountain King (1987) to Poets and Madmen (2001) |
| Ray Gillen | 1987 (died 1993) | backing vocals | "Strange Wings" (1987)Hall of the Mountain King (1987) |
| Robert Kinkel | 1987–19911995–2001 | keyboardsbacking vocalsengineering | Hall of the Mountain King (1987) Gutter Ballet (1989) Streets: A Rock Opera (1991) Dead Winter Dead (1995) The Wake of Magellan (1997) Poets and Madmen (2001) |
| John Dittmar | 1989 | background shouts and laughs | Gutter Ballet (1989) |
| Stephen Daggett | 1989 | background shouts and laughs | Gutter Ballet (1989) |
| Jerry Van Deilen | 1989 | background shouts and laughs | Gutter Ballet (1989) |
| Dan Campbell | 1989 | background shouts and laughs | Gutter Ballet (1989) |
| Abi Reid | 1991 | female background vocals | Streets: A Rock Opera (1991) |
| Mary Wooten | 1995 | cello | Dead Winter Dead (1995) |
| John West | 1999–2001 | backing vocals | Poets and Madmen (2001) |
| Jane Mangini | 2023–2024 | keyboards | Curtain Call (TBC) |

## Avatar (pre-Savatage) members

| Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
| Joe Conn | 1978-1979 | drums | none |
| Tony Ciulla | 1978-1979 | bass | none |
| Brian Belenon | 1979 | bass | none |
| Pat Dubs | 1980 (died 2002) | rhythm guitar | none |
| Rich Bigano | 1980 | rhythm guitar | none |
| Andy Gmelin | 1980 | bass | none |
| Fritz | 1980 | bass | none |
| Bob Boyer | 1980 | vocals | none |

## Line-ups

| Period | Members | Studio releases |
| 1978–1979 | Jon Oliva – lead vocals, bass Criss Oliva – guitars, backing vocals | |
| 1980–1981 | Jon Oliva – lead vocals, bass Criss Oliva – guitars, backing vocals Steve "Doc" Wacholz – drums | |
| 1981–1985 | Jon Oliva – lead vocals, keyboards Criss Oliva – guitars, backing vocals Steve "Doc" Wacholz – drums Keith "Thumper" Collins – bass, backing vocals | City Beneath the Surface EP (1983) Sirens (1983) The Dungeons are Calling (1984) Power of the Night (1985) |
| 1986–1987 | Jon Oliva – lead vocals, keyboards Criss Oliva – guitars, backing vocals Steve "Doc" Wacholz – drums Johnny Lee Middleton – bass, backing vocals | Fight for the Rock (1986) Hall of the Mountain King (1987) |
| 1987–1990 | Jon Oliva – lead vocals, keyboards Criss Oliva – lead guitar, backing vocals Steve "Doc" Wacholz – drums Johnny Lee Middleton – bass, backing vocals Chris Caffery – rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (touring 1987–1988) | Gutter Ballet (1989) Ghost in the Ruins – A Tribute to Criss Oliva (1995) |
| 1990–1992 | Jon Oliva – lead vocals, keyboards Criss Oliva – guitars, backing vocals Steve "Doc" Wacholz – drums Johnny Lee Middleton – bass, backing vocals John Zahner – keyboards, rhythm guitar, backing vocals (touring) | Streets: A Rock Opera (1991) |
| 1992–1993 | Criss Oliva – guitars, backing vocals Steve "Doc" Wacholz – drums Johnny Lee Middleton – bass, backing vocals Zachary Stevens – lead vocals | Edge of Thorns (1993) |
| 1993 | Criss Oliva – guitars, backing vocals Johnny Lee Middleton – bass, backing vocals Zachary Stevens – lead vocals Andy James – drums Wes Garren – keyboards, rhythm guitar, backing vocals (touring) | |
| 1994–1995 | Johnny Lee Middleton – bass, backing vocals (live only) Zachary Stevens – lead vocals Jon Oliva – keyboards, rhythm guitar, vocals Alex Skolnick – lead guitar Jeff Plate – drums | Handful of Rain (1994) Japan Live '94 (1995) |
| 1995–2000 | Johnny Lee Middleton – bass, backing vocals Zachary Stevens – lead vocals Jon Oliva – keyboards, vocals Jeff Plate – drums Al Pitrelli – guitar, backing vocals Chris Caffery – guitar, backing vocals | Dead Winter Dead (1995) The Wake of Magellan (1997) |
| 2000–2001 | Johnny Lee Middleton – bass, backing vocals Jon Oliva – lead vocals, keyboards, rhythm guitar Jeff Plate – drums Chris Caffery – lead guitar, backing vocals | Poets and Madmen (2001) |
| 2001–2002 | Johnny Lee Middleton – bass, backing vocals Jon Oliva – vocals, keyboards Jeff Plate – drums Chris Caffery – guitars, backing vocals Damond Jiniya – lead vocals Jack Frost – guitars | |
| 2002 | Johnny Lee Middleton – bass, backing vocals Jon Oliva – vocals, keyboards Jeff Plate – drums Chris Caffery – guitars, backing vocals Damond Jiniya – lead vocals Al Pitrelli – guitars, backing vocals Jeff Waters – guitars, backing vocals (substitute for Pitreli July to August) | |
| Band inactive 2002–2014 |||
| 2014–2015 | Johnny Lee Middleton – bass, backing vocals Jon Oliva – keyboards, vocals Jeff Plate – drums Chris Caffery – guitars, backing vocals Al Pitrelli – guitars, backing vocals Zachary Stevens – lead vocals Bill Hudson – guitars (touring) Vitalij Kuprij – keyboards (touring) | none |
| On hiatus 2015–2023 |||
| 2023–present | Johnny Lee Middleton – bass, backing vocals Jon Oliva – keyboards, vocals (not touring) Jeff Plate – drums Chris Caffery – guitars, backing vocals Al Pitrelli – guitars, backing vocals Zachary Stevens – lead vocals | Curtain Call (TBC) |