Not so long ago I met Chris Caffery on Bospop where he gave me his first solo release. I think a lot of Chris and Savatage fans will be delighted to hear he will bring his newest release in September into this world. The double CD, consisting 'Faces' and 'God Damn War' are two completely different kinds of albums. Nevertheless these albums are both recognisable as a typical Chris product. Because his urge to play music he can’t stand to lay low for such a while and now his effort finally concreted into two masterpieces of work.

'Faces', the first CD is showcasing his musical live and as the title predicted this is the most introspective album of this double CD. For these releases he found a few good musicians like bass player Dave Z, drummer Jeff Plate (Savatage drummer since 1994) and Paul Morris (Rainbow) on the piano. Before I decided to write this review I first listened these albums for a while in order to get familiar with it. My first impression was 'Unmistakably Savatage'. At this moment my opinion has changed a bit because it is very audible, he has put a more broad spectrum of influences into his songs like American classic rock, old school hard rock and classical pieces of musicianship. Yet his Sava background comes so once and whiles on the surface like on the ballad "Never". His vocal intonations are almost similar in comparison with Jon Oliva. A marvellous track with a sensitive but virtuoso solo in the middle. He really knows his skills. His vocal capabilities are wide. He can sing clean, speak like a magician and scream like a banshee. One of the most aggressive songs is 'Jealousy' with a lot of vocal variation. This song prints itself right from the beginning in your brain because of the speedy but catchy riffs and hypnotising vocals. For those who like Richie’s Rainbow you might like this impressive song which is called 'Preludio' It starts with a long and typical Ritchie Blackmore solo. At the end the song alternates into an Iggy Pop like song.

The second CD, 'God Damn War' is saying much about the United States right now. It’s clear he isn’t a republican. I think he wants to tell the world what he thinks about the war in Iraq. Let me tell you this. The title-track isn’t one of his sweetest songs he ever made. Pounding/staccato riffs and screaming vocals are erupting his inner frustrations. The next song, 'Fool Fool', one of my favourites, has the potential to grow and become a classic. Mid-paced heavy power chords are gearing on the neck of his guitar. Raw vocals are completing the hateful sphere. He made us clear he needs to lose a lot of tension he had to endure. The next song, 'Edge Of Darkness'’ is going on with this eruption of evil but this song happens to be a lot faster. What happens next is extraordinaire. The song 'Saddamize' with of course a lot of eastern influences starts with a strange kind of intro but the song goes about the madness of that war. Psychedelic solos are guiding this song till it fades away. The title 'Amazing Grace' tells a lot about Patriotic America but to me as an European, not much. Here we got another Sava like song! 'Piece Be With You' reminds me to the Gutter Ballet album and that is something I really like. Imagine Savatage but then with a little more aggression within. The next song is presenting his remarkable guitar supremacy. The end of this little propaganda adventure with Chris becomes a bit melodramatic/psychotic with the acoustical 'Curtains'. And again listen to his wide vocal intonations. Those who know are the ones who buy.