The dream seems distant, except for a concert with the Trans Siberian Orchestra in 2015, Savatage's news is desperately empty. Since then, everything seems frozen and nothing seems to change quickly. Only the T.S.O. continues its activities by paying tribute on stage to its mentor Paul O'Neil. Chris Caffery is not out of work, returning solo three years after a decent "Your Heaven Is Real" with a fifth album, "The Jester's Count".
We remember that on his previous opus, the guitarist was picking in a lot of styles. He does it again by offering us a very varied album, at the same time theatrical, flamboyant and heavy with very good titles and some nice surprises. On several occasions, Chris likes to get closer to the Savatage sound of the early days. 'Upon The Knee',' 1989' and 'The Jester' Court' offer heavy riffs not far from the thrash, rather loud vocals worthy of Jon Oliva's and breathtaking solos.
Next, Caffery confirms a pretty touch-and-go side. "Lost Tonight" is a great musical moment. For more than 8 minutes, he picked up on the Queen and the T.S.O. side, his epic character, his choirs and his cannons giving him a beautiful metal opera look. The cover lets you guess it, Caffery likes the theatrical side and he enjoys himself with 'Watch' and 'The Feeling Of A White Line' which sound like Alice Cooper with a dark and threatening song and a small progressive touch on the second. Progressive is also in the spotlight with the instrumental "Luna Major", a breathtaking piece in the spirit of a Dream Theater with a high-flying technique. "Magic Man" and "Inside My Heart" are leaning towards a heavy classic close to UFO and Iron Maiden, Caffery is tearing himself away a little bit the voice but the result remains very nice. Finally there are some curiosities, 'Protect My Soul' and its acoustic guitar sounds pop and country in a pure US radio spirit, and 'Chekmate' is a very short track close to an English pop of the 60s, surprising and successful.
"The Jester's Count" is a fresh and varied album that allows Chris Caffery to have a nice break by confirming a multi-card side. He also suggests that if one day Savatage decides to move again, he will have a quality composer at his disposal.