Last week every Savatage fan in the world was taken by surprise when the band was announced to be taking part in the Monsters Of Rock festival to be held in Brazil in 2025.
Later on, we knew the Savatage‘s line-up for that one-off show would be comprised of Johnny Lee Middleton (bass) Chris Caffery and Al Pitrelli (guitars), Jeff Plate (drums), and Zak Stevens (vocals), which left everyone with the same question: Where’s Jon Oliva?
Today we have gotten a bit of clarification from Oliva himself, via a Facebook post on the Savatage Legion group, made on his behalf. The statement reads:
“Hello Savatage Fans
This is Jon Oliva. I want to set a few things straight for everyone. First of all, I am very excited for Johnny, Chris, Zak, Jeff & Al to play again. I feel it’s important for the fans to enjoy our music live, and believe me these guys will kick ass.
As far as I go, I was going to do these shows but unfortunately, I’ve run into more health issues. I want you all to know that if there was any way I could do these shows I would, but my health issues are more serious than I originally thought. As most of you know I fractured my spine in 3 places and have recently been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis as well as Meniere’s Disease. My doctors are working with me to get healthy again.
I am working closely with the guys and will be involved in every other aspect of the show. I am 100 percent behind the guys doing this and I promise I will return as soon as possible.
In the meantime, I am working in the studio on new material I love you all, and thank you for understanding my situation, I know my brothers will deliver the goods.
Enjoy Sava Legions, much love to you all
Jon Oliva”