Live music is ephemeral. You can't touch it, hold it, smell it, or taste it; what you see and hear one second is gone the next.

Live albums, on the other hand, are timeless. For those who were there, they offer the chance to relive an acoustic moment in time, and for the rest of us, they are the ultimate souvenir, a time-stamped milestone that captures an artist/band as they were. In the case of Savatage, "Japan Live '94" documents an extremely important and significant tour for a band that, after a devastating tragedy and massive personnel changes, stood on undeniably shaky ground, yet remained upright. It was the first stop on a journey that eventually led all the way to Sarajevo and Siberia—a journey that, even 30 years later, has not yet come to an end. To mark the 30th anniversary, the 1994 Savatage show from Japan is being released for the first time in its entirety as an audio release, featuring all 16 songs.