Best Songs from Savatage's the Wake of Magellan

The Wake of Magellan is the 10th studio album by Savatage and was released through Atlantic Records on September 15, 1997, in Europe and Japan, and on April 7, 1998, in the United States. The album is a concept album based on two real-life events.

The first event, the Maersk Dubai incident, occurred less than a year before the album's release. During this event, the captain of a freighter threw three Romanian stowaways overboard in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. A fourth stowaway was saved through the courageous actions of a deckhand, who risked his own life to protect the young man.

The second event involved Irish reporter Veronica Guerin, who died fighting the rise of the drug trade in her country. Her death inspired significant public action and may have accomplished what she could not achieve during her lifetime.

These events are woven into the album's narrative, which tells the story of an old Spanish sailor who decides to end his life by sailing his small boat into the Atlantic until it sinks. He romanticizes this decision as a glorious, Viking-like way to die. However, when the ocean winds push him into a great storm and he believes his wish is about to be fulfilled, he suddenly sees a man drowning in the ocean. In an instant, he regrets his desire for death and fights to save the drowning man.

After many twists and turns, the sailor succeeds in rescuing the stowaway who had been thrown overboard. Upon returning to land, he comes to the profound realization that not only is every life precious, but every hour of life is equally valuable.

This is the first Savatage album to feature the same lineup as its predecessor (Dead Winter Dead) since Hall of the Mountain King in 1987. It is also the last Savatage album to include vocals from lead singer Zachary Stevens. Notably, Dream Theater is thanked in the album's liner notes.

Genres: Progressive Metal, Symphonic Metal

Personnel:
- Zachary Stevens - lead vocals
- Jon Oliva - lead vocals (featured on "Another Way" and "Paragons of Innocence"), keyboards
- Chris Caffery - guitars, backing vocals
- Al Pitrelli - guitars, backing vocals
- Johnny Lee Middleton - bass guitar, backing vocals
- Jeff Plate - drums
- Paul O'Neill - producer

All lyrics and poetry were written by Paul O'Neill and Jon Oliva.

The Top Ten

The Wake of Magellan