To date the only offering from the 'Savatage' spin off 'Doctor Butcher' and a respectable offering it is too. Expanding on the early 'Tage' sound and introducing a slice of thrash 'Jon Oliva' and 'Chris Caffery' concoct a hard hitting album full of aggression and malice. Personally I think it's perhaps too nasty and distorted at times, but that's only my opinion and those who love the real heavy, biting stuff will get off on this. I always though 'Jon Oliva's' vocals were shot around this time, constant touring and some self abuse resulted in 'Jon' handing his vocal roll in 'Savatage' over to 'Zak Steven's'. Obviously he must have been well on the road of recovery when this was cut, as he sound just short of his best.

My favourite track of the albums kicks off their self titled debut, 'The Altar' has that pure early 'Savatage' feel and it sounds great to have 'Jon Oliva' back screeching through the lyrics in the way that only he can do. As with all the tracks on this album, 'Chris Caffery's' guitaring should not be overlooked and none more so than on this opener as his axe work is inventive, fast and relentless. More aggression is felt on the punishing 'Don't Talk to Me', a blazing ripper, which sees 'Jon Oliva' tearing at the lyrics wilfully, the rhythm is also a hard hitting delight. The pace softens for the delicate intro to 'Season of the Witch', but this leaves you off balance as the track matures into a dark brooder, full of evil sounding vocals and menacing lyrics. The tempo is picked up to thrash levels for the uncompromising 'Reach out and Torment Someone', similar in approach to early 'Metallica' but with a more updated feel, the telephone conversation going on in the background makes this number sound quit disturbing. Next up is the albums only slow number 'Juice' and although it's only a minute and a half long and acts as a precursor to the next track it's a fine laid back effort. 'The Chair' is filled with fine driving rhythm work and crushing hooks, a bit too hostile for my liking but the second half pickup is just brimming with glorious fret work, so it gets my vote. Other solid cuts include the plodding 'Innocent Victim', the damn right nasty but slightly repetitive 'The Pictures Wild' and the crude but thumping 'I Hate, you Hate, we all Hate'. The 'Doom' laden 'Lost in the Dark' is another winner, which sees a fine performance from 'Jon Oliva' as he tears apart the exquisite lyrics, the passion fuelled rhythm and guitar work also make this a treat. The album is brought to an end with 'All for One, None for All' an evil chugger with solid chorus and biting axe work.

More aggressive than I expected but an excellent release lead by two very talented and underrated musicians. If you enjoy early 'Tage' you should get something out of this release, if you enjoy the more theatrical feel of their 90's work, expect something more biting and a lot heavier.