Hall of the Mountain King (album)
Hall of the Mountain King is the fourth studio album by Savatage, released in 1987 by Atlantic. It was produced by Paul O'Neill, his first time working with the band, and helped push Savatage toward a more concept-driven style. The album runs about 40 minutes.
Prelude to Madness is an arrangement of Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King; Grieg is credited for the following track, which is an original song. The intro of Prelude to Madness also borrows from Mars, the Bringer of War by Holst.
The title track was later re-recorded by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra as The Mountain on 2009’s Night Castle.
This Is Where You Should Be was recorded during the sessions but not included; it later appeared on reissues and compilations.
Gary Smith designed the cover art, and he also did airbrushed guitars for Criss Oliva at the time.
The album reached No. 116 on the US Billboard 200. It’s been ranked highly by metal publications, with Loudwire listing it as the 22nd best power metal album and Metal Hammer ranking it eighth.
In the liner notes, the band members list themselves by roles rather than instruments. The singles from the album were Hall of the Mountain King and Strange Wings, both released in 1987. Hall of the Mountain King sits between Fight for the Rock (1986) and Gutter Ballet (1990) in Savatage’s studio album chronology.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 09:24 (CET).