On This Date (October 17, 1993) Criss Oliva / Savatage
themusicsover Criss Oliva
April 3, 1963 – October 17, 1993
Criss Oliva was the lead guitarist of Savatage, the progressive metal band he co-founded with his brother, Jon Oliva. The Clearwater, Florida band formed in the early ’80s and by the release of their second album in 1985, they were starting to make some noise outside of the region. Enough so to get the chance to tour with Megadeth and a multi-album deal with Atlantic Records. Savatage’s 1991 release, Streets: A Rock Opera was a tremendous succes, selling in excess of 1 million copies. Criss Oliva was killed instantly in the early hours of October 17, 1993 when an oncoming car reportedly driven by a drunk driver swerved into his lane and hit his car head on. He was 30 years old.
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