Savatage

American progressive heavy metal band form Tampa, Florida formed in 1978 as Avatar, but changed their name to Savatage just prior to the release of their debut album <i>Sirens</i> in 1983, disbanded in 2002, but reformed in 2014. Members: Criss Oliva (1978–1993; died 1993) Steve "Doc" Wacholz (1979–1993) <a href="/c/books/credit/443133/jon-oliva/">Jon Oliva</a> (1980-1992, 1993-2002, 2014-present) Keith "Thumper" Collins (1981–1985) Johnny Lee Middleton (1986-2002, 2014–present) Chris Caffery (1987–1990, 1995-2002, 2014–present) Zak Stevens (1992–2000, 2014–present) Andy James (1993) Jeff Plate (1994-2002, 2014–present) Alex Skolnick (1994) <a href="/c/books/credit/443130/al-pitrelli/">Al Pitrelli</a> (1995–1999, 2002, 2014–present) Jack Frost (2000–2001) Damond Jiniya (2001-2002)