After more than two decades without a proper tour, SAVATAGE is preparing to return to the stage. The American metal band, known for its fusion of heavy, progressive, and power metal, has been largely inactive in the live scene since 2002, with their last full performance taking place at Wacken Open Air 2015. Now they are set for a series of concerts across South America in April and Europe in June. The return begins in Brazil, where SAVATAGE will perform at the Monsters Of Rock festival on April 19 at Allianz Parque, São Paulo. The event will also feature SCORPIONS, JUDAS PRIEST, EUROPE, OPETH, QUEENSRŸCHE and STRATOVARIUS. However, one key member will be missing: Jon Oliva, SAVATAGE‘s founding vocalist and keyboardist. In 2023, Oliva suffered a T7 vertebra fracture in three places, a severe injury that has left him relying on a wheelchair. Additionally, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and Ménière’s disease, conditions that have further complicated his health.

In an interview with Brazilian music journalist Marcelo Vieira, Oliva repeatedly emphasized that his injuries prevent him from taking part in the tour, explaining how his condition has affected even basic activities, let alone performing.

“Oh, I feel like shit,” Jon said. “Well, I’ve learned my lesson. First of all, never fracture your spine. That’s my first tip, because it’s incredibly painful and it takes a long time to heal. And, unfortunately, I fractured my spine in three places. Other than that, I’m okay, except with the fracture, I mean, I can’t sing. I can’t really move around that well yet because it isn’t completely healed yet. And I can’t do therapy, physical therapy, because it’s not healed enough yet for that. So I’m basically stuck, and it sucks and I’m very disappointed, but what are you gonna do? Things happen. And if I would’ve hit where I did a foot to the left, I’d be dead right now. My truck, my vehicle got cut in half and I missed being grounded to a tree by about a foot. It was scary. And it was a freak accident. I hit a puddle on the road, I hit a puddle and I hydroplaned and I went off the road and hit a tree, and the tree cut my car in half. And, like I said, I just missed hitting the tree with my body by about a foot, they said.”

After Vieira noted that Oliva will still serve as SAVATAGE‘s “musical director” for the upcoming shows and inquired as to what “this new dynamic” has been like for Jon and the rest of the band, Oliva said: “Well, it’s weird, it’s strange, but I put everything together. I was the first one that started putting this whole tour thing together. And then when the accident happened, I ended up in the hospital for seven months and my managers were, like, ‘Well, I guess we’re just gonna cancel.’ I’m, like, ‘Oh, man. No, no. Let me think on this for a little bit.’ And I talked to all the guys, and I said, ‘Well, look, what if you guys just go and do it and do it without me for this time, for this run, and then when I’m healed up, I’ll come back and everything will be like it used to be.’ I didn’t wanna disappoint the SAVATAGE fans because everyone was looking forward to it and the guys in the band were really looking forward to it. And then, of course, I got in that accident and it screwed everything up. And I’m not that egotistical of a guy where I’m, like, ‘Well, if I’m not there, nobody’s gonna play.’ I’m not like that. So I talked with everybody. I put a setlist together, song list together, and I said, ‘Okay, well, you guys wanna do this? Let’s do it. I’m with you.’ I’m gonna go to all the rehearsals and everything like that. I’ll be there doing musical directing and stuff and whatever.

“The guys are hungry. They’re gonna do great,” Oliva continued. “I’m very confident that that they’re gonna kick your ass. I mean, I wish I could be there, but physically I can’t. And I won’t go out on stage if I can’t be at a hundred percent. And with this injury, there’s just no way that I can sing at a hundred percent, and I won’t do that. I’d rather just let the guys do it, and when I’m healed up — hopefully next summer, next spring, summer — I’ll be okay to be back in there and I’ll be back out there.”

Asked if this return to the stage is a “one-off celebratory event” or if fans can expect the band to continue to release new material in the future, Oliva said: “Well, we’ve basically got a whole album that’s written, that I’ve been working on and worked on some stuff with (guitarist) Chris Caffery and I worked on some stuff with (guitarist) Al Pitrelli and some stuff on my own, and we basically got all the material. It’s just we were getting ready to start working on it together and this accident happened. I was actually on my way to the studio when this accident happened. It was just bad timing, and what are you gonna do? I mean, it was just a freak accident, but that stuff happens. I’m lucky to be alive. I decided, well, let the guys go and do these shows in South America and maybe a couple shows in Europe and then we’ll get to work on the album. And I can do that, I can work on the album, as I am right now, but I can’t do any live performances, because I can’t stay on my feet that long with this spine thing, and I can’t sing. I sing from my diaphragm, and let me tell you, trying to sing with a fractured spine is very painful — it’s like being stabbed with a screwdriver. So until I’m better, I’m sending the guys out there to bust ass, and they’re gonna do great. And they’re very excited, and I’m excited for them. And there’s a few surprises we have in store.”

Regarding the musical direction of the new SAVATAGE material, Jon said: “It’s a little bit of everything. There’s some really great, great heavy, heavy dark songs. There’s some great progressive, QUEEN-ish type songs. It’s a little bit of everything. As a matter of fact, there’s so much stuff, it might have to make it a double album, ’cause I’ve just got too much material. And it’s all good. I’m not gonna just slap together some crappy album and call it SAVATAGE: ‘Here you go.’ No. Every song has gotta be a 10, and so far every song we’ve worked on is really good. And I think you guys are gonna love it.”