Band : Jon Oliva's Pain
Album title : Festival
Label : AFM Records
Distributor : AFM Records - Rock Inc. - Suburban
Release Date : 19/02/2010
Release : CD

I suppose Jon Oliva does not need an introduction.  Some time ago, when I was a bit younger, not married with a kid, and enjoying life as much as I could as I single I was more into metal than into AOR or hard rock, and one of my favorite bands was Savatage.  That's why I also tried to keep up with Jon Oliva ever since.
Now this new album is once again a stunning album, showing of all his capabilities.  This stuff is as good as what Savatage ever produced, and can easily be compared to some of the previous Jon Oliva's Pain albums, like "Tage Mahal" or "Maniacal Renderings".
The general impression of the album is that the atmosphere is rather dark.  The opening half of it is pretty heavy stuff, whereas the second half is softer, starting with the very simple, but strong song "Looking For Nothing"
It is an album with a lot of variation, ranging from heavy stuff, to a song like "Winter Heaven", which starts out like a ballad, but goes on to become a real headbanger, and ending with "Now", a ballad that relies heavily on a piano.

To sum it up: another great album by Mr. Oliva.

85/100

Erik Morren.