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See Pro-Shot Video Of SAVATAGE’s Performance At 2026 WACKEN OPEN AIR Festival
Savatage’s 30 July 2026 performance at Germany’s Wacken Open Air festival has been released as professionally filmed video by Wacken TV. The footage highlights the band’s continuing return to major live stages and features performances of “Gutter Ballet”, “Edge Of Thorns” and “Hall Of The Mountain King”.
The concert formed part of the band’s “Prelude To Madness” European tour, featuring Zak Stevens, Al Pitrelli, Chris Caffery, Johnny Lee Middleton and Jeff Plate. Plate missed the first two festival dates for medical reasons and was replaced by Blas Elias; the article also recalls Savatage’s 2015 Wacken reunion, which attracted 80,000 fans, and their renewed headline activity since 2025.
In short
- Wacken TV released professionally filmed Savatage performance footage.
- The set includes three classic Savatage songs.
- Jeff Plate briefly missed early 2026 tour dates for medical reasons.
Explained simply
Savatage are an American heavy metal band formed in Florida in the late 1970s. Their music and line-up have changed over the years, and several members have also been involved in the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, a group known for combining rock with orchestral music.
Wacken Open Air is a major heavy metal festival held in Germany, where Savatage reunited on stage in 2015 before returning to headline shows from 2025. The band’s European tour features singer Zak Stevens, guitarists Al Pitrelli and Chris Caffery, bassist Johnny Lee Middleton and drummer Jeff Plate; drummer Blas Elias filled in for Plate at the festival’s first two dates while Plate was away for medical reasons.
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