Every now and then a member or ex-member of Savatage releases a new album. In 2003 ex-Savatage vocalist Zak Stevens released his solo debut Circle II Circle. Later on this year Savatage mastermind Jon Oliva will release his solo debut Jon Oliva’s Pain. And Savatage guitarist Al Pitrelli has played with Megadeth. After naming half Savatage, you’ll notice that one key member is missing, Chris Caffery. After years with Savatage, The Trans Siberian Orchestra and a lot of other side projects, Caffery finally releases a solo album. The idea of releasing a solo album was an idea that has been breeding in Caffery’s mind for quite some time. Perhaps that explains the fact that Faces counts 16 tracks and the bonus cd God Damn War counts another 9 tracks.

But unfortunately I only received Faces. Faces turned out to be a diverse album. Caffery seems to be able to produce a great metal album without the help of Jon Oliva or Paul O’Neil. And the most surprising fact is that Chris Caffery seems to be a pretty good singer! From time to time he sounds exactly like a young Jon Oliva. Musically Faces is a great album. The music varies from powerful heavy metal to relaxing bluesy tunes. My personal favorites are “Pisses Me Off” and “Preludio”. So if you’re into Savatage and other melodic heavy metal, you’ve got to listen to this album!

Rating: 8.5/10