Savatage (/ˈsævətɑːʒ/) is an American heavy metal band founded by brothers Jon and Criss Oliva in 1979 in Tarpon Springs, Florida. The band was first called Avatar, but, shortly before the release of their debut album Sirens (1983), they changed their name to Savatage, as Avatar was already taken by at least one other band. Savatage is considered to be an integral part of the American heavy metal movement of the early-to-mid-1980s and has been cited as a key influence on numerous metal genres. The band has released eleven studio albums, two live albums, five compilations and three EPs.

For their fourth album Hall of the Mountain King (1987), Savatage teamed up with producer/songwriter Paul O'Neil. This new partnership earned the band significant critical acclaim, and O'Neil would work with Savatage on all their future albums until his death in 2017. The band's success continued with the albums Gutter Ballet (1990) and Streets: A Rock Opera (1991), both of which cemented their transition from their earlier power metal sound to progressive metal, with the band also experimenting with opera-inspired lyrics.

The band's seventh album Edge of Thorns (1993) garnered the band's only charting single "Edge of Thorns". On October 17, 1993, six months after the album's release, guitarist Criss Oliva was killed in a car accident. Following his death, Jon (along with producer Paul O'Neill) decided to continue Savatage in memory of his brother. The band released four more studio albums, and went through several lineup changes before going on an extended hiatus in 2002. During the years—partly even before the hiatus—members founded various new bands such as Jon Oliva's Pain, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Circle II Circle and Doctor Butcher. On August 2, 2014, Savatage announced that they were reuniting for the 2015 Wacken Open Air; despite having discussed the possibility of more shows and new music, the band resumed their hiatus. The members of Savatage claimed in interviews conducted in 2020–2021 that they were working on new material together, with a reunion of the band confirmed by Jon Oliva in April 2023. They are currently working on their first studio album in more than two decades, tentatively titled Curtain Call, with an intended release date of 2026.

Criss Oliva and his brother Jon formed their first band together, called Avatar, in 1979. Their former bands were Tower and Alien, respectively. In 1980, the duo met up with drummer Steve "Doc" Wacholz and practiced in a small shack behind the Oliva home that was dubbed "The Pit" by the band. Wacholz originally tried out to be part of Jon's band, Alien, but when the first Savatage lineup was taking shape, Jon, who was originally on drum duties, was relieved of them by Wacholz. They also gave Wacholz a nickname that would follow him throughout his career: "Doctor Hardware Killdrums", often shortened to just "Doc" or "Doc Killdrums", which referred to his hard playing style.

Criss, Jon and Wacholz played Tampa (where they had moved with their family in the late 1970s) and Clearwater area clubs for many years. In 1981, Ronald Leon Sisson joined them to relieve Jon of bass guitar duties. In late 2006, footage was released onto the internet of an early performance by Avatar at a gig in a Clearwater parking lot and was prominent in featuring an early version of the song "Holocaust", which would later be released on Savatage's first album and a cover of Van Halen's "Eruption" and the latter's cover version of "You Really Got Me". In 1982, Avatar took part in some heavy metal compilations, most notably The YNF Pirate Tape, a promotion by Tampa rock radio station 95YNF for local Florida bands. Shortly after its release, Avatar was forced to change its name due to copyright issues. Combining the words "Savage" and "Avatar", the band decided on Savatage.

We wrote out Avatar on a big piece of poster paper... and Criss said, "Put a big S (like Kiss) in front of Avatar," and it was like, "Savatar." I was like, "That sounds like a really bad dinosaur," but we liked the way it looked. So then finally, out of nowhere, I don't remember who it was—it might have been Criss' wife or my wife—somebody said, "Take the R out and put a GE," and we did, and it was "Savatage." I was like, "That was cool," not "Sa-va-tage," but "Savatage," like "Sava" for Savage and "Tage" for mystical or whatever. From that moment on we were Savatage.

— Jon Oliva

Their first album, Sirens (1983) and the following EP The Dungeons Are Calling (1984), were released on Par Records, an independent label. In 1984, they signed a contract with Atlantic Records and released their second full-length album Power of the Night in May of the following year. Power of the Night (produced by Max Norman) showcased the band's unorthodox approach to metal, which included Jon's liberal use of keyboards on songs like "Fountain of Youth" and Broadway-style song structures like the kind employed on "Warriors". It was well received by critics but fell short of sales expectations. Atlantic budgeted to provide funds to make a video for "Hard for Love", on the condition that it be retitled "Hot for Love" for broadcast purposes. The band refused to change the song and consequently the video was never released. In promotion of Power of the Night, Savatage embarked on the Monsters of the Universe Tour with Rogue Male and Illusion, and also played with Mötley Crüe, Quiet Riot, Exodus, Raven, Overkill and Armored Saint.