Editing Edge of Thorns (section)

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox album
| name       = Edge of Thorns
| type       = studio
| artist     = [[Savatage]]
| cover      = EdgeofThorns.jpg
| alt        =
| released   = {{start date|1993|04|06}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Savatage - Edge Of Thorns |url=https://metalstorm.net/bands/album.php?album_id=1017&band_id=146&bandname=Savatage |access-date=June 27, 2023 |website=Metal Storm |language=en}}</ref>
| recorded   = 1992–1993
| venue      =
| studio     = [[Morrisound Recording]] (Tampa, Florida)<br /> 321 Studios (New York City)
| genre      = [[Heavy metal music|Heavy metal]],<ref name="allmusic"/> [[power metal]]<ref name="rockhard"/>
| length     = 59:54
| label      = [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]
| producer   = [[Paul O'Neill (rock producer)|Paul O'Neill]], [[Jon Oliva]], [[Criss Oliva]]
| prev_title = [[Streets: A Rock Opera]]
| prev_year  = 1991
| next_title = [[Handful of Rain]]
| next_year  = 1994
}}

'''''Edge of Thorns''''' is the seventh studio album by the American [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]] band [[Savatage]], released on April 6, 1993, by [[Atlantic Records]]. It was the last Savatage album to feature guitarist [[Criss Oliva]], who died six months after its release, and their first release with [[Zachary Stevens]] on lead vocals, following the departure of [[Jon Oliva]] from his role as singer in Savatage, although he did produce and write songs for the album.

The drums on this album sound different from other Savatage records, as [[Steve "Doc" Wacholz]] decided to use electronic drums. Although most of the drum kits sound authentic, a difference in the timbre of the toms can be heard.<ref name="SavaFAQ">{{cite web |url=http://www.savatage.com/bandinfo/faq2.html |title=Savatage FAQ: Section 2 - The Albums Part1 |publisher=Savatage Official Website |accessdate=April 7, 2018 }}</ref>

"All That I Bleed" and "Miles Away" were the last songs Jon Oliva, Criss Oliva and the producer [[Paul O'Neill (rock producer)|Paul O'Neill]] wrote together. For that, they are still Jon Oliva's two favorites on the album.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ear-music.net/en/artists/releases/details/savatage/edge-of-thorns/ |title=Savatage - Edge of Thorns |publisher=[[Edel AG]] |date=2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022005437/http://www.ear-music.net/en/artists/releases/details/savatage/edge-of-thorns/ |archivedate=October 22, 2014 |accessdate=April 9, 2018 }}</ref>

The woman in the picture of the album art is Dawn Oliva, Criss Oliva's wife.{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}} Gary Smith, who also did the front and back covers for ''[[Hall of the Mountain King (album)|Hall of the Mountain King]]'', the front cover for ''[[Gutter Ballet]]'', the back cover for ''[[Streets: A Rock Opera|Streets]]'', and all of Criss Oliva's airbrushed guitars, painted the cover. The face in the trees is supposed to be Jon Oliva, though producer O'Neill disputes that despite its publication in a Criss Oliva interview from 1993. The cover is supposed to represent good (the woman) vs. evil (the face in the trees). According to Criss Oliva in a 1993 interview, "The girl is surrounded by fear and innocence. But the face in the trees is evil. Everything around her is evil. It's about good and evil. The songs on the CD reflect this, too."<ref name="SavaFAQ" />

The opening piano riff to the title track was used extensively in the [[MTV]] reality series ''[[The Real World: San Francisco]]'' during scenes involving the hospitalization of [[Pedro Zamora]].