saw Criss Oliva in my aunt's basement when I was extremely burnt out as a college student (years ago) while I was listening to When the Crowds are Gone on repeat cuz I was so done and just hanging by a thread.
Saw an even darker than the black of the unlit room I was in "swoosh" thing, I thought it was like an intruder, so I closed my laptop really slowly to see better even though it was on its lowest brightness setting... and.... there he was, Jackson warrior in hand, playing along. What makes it crazier is I didn't know what he looked like at all. But after I looked it up, he matched perfectly. If I don't tell any other story for the rest of my life I would be happy to retell this one as many times as I am asked. It was a cool experience.
If you've ever been to like, a GOOD traditionalish metal show, you probably know that energy. And there was no shortage of immaculate heavy metal energy during the encounter. He didn't say anything or move around, he didn't need to. He was Criss Oliva, guitarist of Savatage, coming to pick my weary spirit off the floor where I really wasn't sure if I wanted to continue college. A couple months later I ran out of tuition savings anyway, so of course, you know, it died anyway but while I had it Criss got me to fight another day. And that's not even the story where metal LIT ER AL LY saved my life.