December 14, 2011

• Dead Winter Dead

  I've long been a big fan of the 80s and 90s metal band Savatage who you might know from a couple of songs on my playlist. Many of you probably don't know them as they were not very well known but you might know one of their biggest songs that they are not known for. Sound confusing? Well let me explain.

  Savatage released a concept album in 1995 called Dead Winter Dead that dealt with a Serbian girl and a Muslim boy who fall in love during the Bosnian war. I was a big fan of the album which featured a song that, well this time of year is quite possibly the most played song on the radio. You do know the song even if you don't know the name of it. It is called "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)" and it is an instrumental combo of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman" and "Carol of the Bells." The song gets air play on such a wide range of stations this time of year, everything from oldies stations to classic rock stations (some say they are one in the same) to progressive, to adult contemporary to even a pop/dance station. And every time it comes on, I have to laugh knowing that while people know it as being done by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, I know it's true origins: Savatage.

  So just a quick post about the background of the song you probably all know but not the band.

  • 10:26 pm
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