The day a new Savatage album is released, I will immediately cum in my pants......
In all seriousness, one of the most frustrating things about the whole situation is simply knowing that this band has so much more to say and do creatively, and they now have the resources to do whatever the fuck they want, yet they just choose not to do it. JOP, CIIC, Chris Caffery band, Machines of Grace....... There is so much Sava-esque stuff being made out there by ex-members, it's ridiculous. And there is actually a demand for the band, too. Jon already plays more Savatage songs at his solo gigs then his JOP material, and Zak recently has been doing his special Savatage Sets with CIIC, most notably the anniversary performance of TWOM. And there are a plethora of Savatage tribute bands out there as well; there are at least two of them in Chicago alone!
Fortunately, I think there is at least the possibility that we could be seeing some sort of Savatage performances again. Zak has even said that the more popular TSO becomes, the more of a demand there is to see some sort of Savatage show, and all these solo bands and side projects just push the original band's legacy even further into the spotlight. Really, I would not be surprised if between the popularity of TSO and the accessibility of the internet if Savatage has more fans now then they did back at their peak in the early and mid 90's. The band even almost made a Savatage reunion part of the TSO spring tour back in 2010 before Jon had to drop out due to family issues. Considering that even TSO themselves are playing more Savatage material recently then before, I think there is a very good chance that seeing Savatage play again in some form or another, is a very real possibility. It may not happen tomorrow, but with all the hype surrounding their legend fueled by their ongoing side projects, I think some sort of out-of-retirement show for Savatage is inevitable.
The main issue, though, is I think we still have quite a while before there is another actual Savatage album, mostly because Paul is so wrapped up in TSO, he simply doesn't have time to work on a new Savatage record, and whether I like it or not, Savatage is just not Savatage without Paul. JOP has shown what Jon can do on his own, and while excellent in it's own right, I don't think Jon's solo works are really worthy of the Savatage name. There is a certain epic scope to Savatage's works that JOP simply lacks, both in the music and in the lyrics, and there is just something about the Savatage records themselves that make them somehow seem bigger then JOP. No offense to Jon, of course, the man is a genius, but I really think the main reason why doesn't just call JOP Savatage is because he knows that he can't make a Savatage record without Paul.
Of course, that works both ways. TSO shows what Paul will make when he has total creative control, and while TSO is impressive in it's own right, it lacks the heart, the soul, and the sheer balls that Savatage had. Even Dead Winter Dead, that most symphonic of Savatage records which directly gave birth to TSO, had a certain bite to it that TSO just does not possess, and I think that is due to the fact that Jon and Savatage are more of sidemen to Paul in TSO, unlike the true partnership Paul and Jon had on the Savatage records. TSO is Savatage-lite, with a bigger and "better" spectacle, but lacking a certain substance and depth that the original band could muster.
Anyways, Paul says he has three TSO albums in the works: Romanov (which should be out next year), Gutter Ballet (which will remake the Streets story and have a lot of music borrowed from GB, Streets, EOT and HOR), and an as of yet unnamed third record. Despite all of this, I hope that at some point he and Jon make some time to do a new Savatage record, because I think the band that started it all really deserves one last chance in the spotlight. One more album (promoted though any media available to the band, including TSO), and a massive tour to support it, and trust me, Savatage will make a bigger, more direct impact on the metal world then they already have. And if the album and tour is successful enough, maybe, just maybe, they will consider keeping Savatage up and running for a whole new generation of fans that never had a chance to experience the band back in it's heyday, but are just now discovering Savatage for themselves.