For more than five years, Trans-Siberian Orchestra fans have awaited "Night Castle," the follow-up to the band's last CD, "The Lost Christmas Eve."
The wait is over. The CD was released Oct. 27, and it debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200.
The CD is another one of TSO's epic rock operas. This time the background is the Cambodian Civil War. A newlywed special forces lieutenant, after meeting Erasmus in a dream, finds himself as a prisoner of war and meets General Tran-Do, of the Khmer Rouge.
The general is touched by the lieutenant's story and searches for the solider's wife and child. And the story is told by a mysterious stranger to a young girl on a beach.
Songs from "Night Castle," including the single "The Nutrocker," the band's homage to prog-rock trio Emerson Lake & Palmer, will be performed in the second half of the TSO concert next week.
TSO founder Paul O'Neill told the Deseret News in an interview earlier this month that he would have been happy if the two-CD package landed somewhere in the Top 30.
"It debuted at No. 5, which we never expected," said O'Neill. "We were a little nervous about the album."
One of the reasons is it took so long to finish. But, as O'Neill said, he wanted to make sure everything was in place, especially the singer who would take on the lieutenant and Tran-Do.
O'Neill said the theme of redemption is deliberate in all the CDs — "Christmas Eve and Other Stories," "The Christmas Attic," "Beethoven's Last Night," "The Lost Christmas Eve" and "Night Castle."
"Everybody messes up in life," he said. "But it's never too late to undo them. And I tell my daughter, 'Words count, but deeds count more and the results of those deeds count even more. There are two counts of morality — morality of intentions and morality of results. If your intentions aren't matching our results, admit it and change.' "
O'Neill wrote "Night Castle" for a woman named Angela Dawson, who lived in Baltimore.
"She lived with her husband and five kids in the worst area, and drug dealers were selling crack to kids on her corner," he said. "She told them to stop, but they told her to get lost. So she called the cops."
The drug dealers told her to move, but she refused, said O'Neill. So the dealers poured gasoline on her house and set it on fire.
Dawson and her kids died in the fire, and her husband, after coming out of a coma and finding his wife and kids died, died shortly after, said O'Neill.
While the story in "Night Castle" isn't about Dawson, or her circumstance, it is about being courageous and doing the correct thing, said O'Neill.
"So many of our rock operas are about doing the right thing," he said. "I write about that, but she did it."
Some people are enjoying the CD because of the songs, and others are enjoying it because of the story, said O'Neill.
"The whole idea behind Trans-Siberian Orchestra is a full hard-rock band with a full symphony and 24 lead singers," he said. "This way I could do anything. And when we were recording 'Night Castle,' I wrote Tran-Do, who was a real person and died just a couple of years ago, around (singer) Rob Evans. And the hardest part was I wasn't happy with the person going head-to-headwith Tran-Do, because Tran-Do is so intense.
"Rob could have done both parts, but I wanted a different voice," O'Neill said.
TSO guitarist Al Pitrelli suggested vocalist Jeff Scott Soto, who sang for a time with Journey.
"I said, 'Al, Journey is a high tenor band,' " O'Neill said. "This role calls for a baritone. And Al said, 'Paul, Jeff is a baritone.' "
So, Soto, who joined TSO last year, met with Paul and sang some parts.
"He just tore those songs apart.
"You need a certain amount of power, or else Rob is going to run you over like a tank. It just worked out great.
"Also, it wasn't going to be a rock opera, but a rock album of 10 songs, but somehow it spun out of control."
If you go ...
What: Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Where: EnergySolutions Arena, 301 W. South Temple
When: Nov. 25, 4 and 8 p.m.
How much: $25-$57.50
Phone: 801-467-8499, 800-888-8499
Web: www.smithstix.com, www.energysolutionsarena.com
e-mail: scott@desnews.com