Post by Hennessy Macklemore III on Nov 10, 2024 18:58:53 GMT
Christopher Caffery (September 9, 1967 - )
Years active: 1983-present
Country of origin: United States of America
Recorded vocal range: G♯1-A♯5 (A♭1-B♭5)
Band highlights:
- 1987 - Big Mouth (guitar, backing vocals)
- 1989-1990 - Savatage (rhythm guitar, backing vocals)
- 1992-1994 - Doctor Butcher (lead guitar, bass, backing vocals)
- 1995-2002 - Savatage (lead guitar, backing vocals)
- 1998-1999 - Metalium (guitar)
- 1999-present - Trans-Siberian Orchestra (lead guitar)
- 2004-present - Chris Caffery (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards)
- 2016-present - Artension (lead guitar)
- 2018-present - Spirits of Fire (lead guitar, backing vocals)
- 2023-present - Savatage (lead guitar, backing vocals)
{Full band history}
- 1983-1985 - Heaven (guitar)
- 1987 - Big Mouth (guitar, backing vocals)
- 1987-1988 - Savatage (rhythm guitar)
- 1988-1989 - Dirty Looks (guitar)
- 1989-1990 - Savatage (rhythm guitar, backing vocals)
- 1990-1992 - Witchdoctor (guitar)
- 1992-1994 - Doctor Butcher (lead guitar, bass, backing vocals)
- 1993-1995 - Sun Red Sun (guitar)
- 1995-2002 - Savatage (lead guitar, backing vocals)
- 1998-1999 - Metalium (guitar)
- 1999-present - Trans-Siberian Orchestra (lead guitar)
- 2002 - John West (guitar)
- 2004-present - Chris Caffery (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards)
- 2006 - John West (rhythm guitar)
- 2014-2015 - Savatage (lead guitar, backing vocals)
- 2016-present - Artension (lead guitar)
- 2018-present - Spirits of Fire (lead guitar, backing vocals)
Recorded high notes:
A♯5/B♭5: "Curtains"
A5: "Curtains"
G♯5/A♭5: "Beat Me, You'll Never Beat Me", "House of Insanity", "Sick and Tired"
G5: "Death By Design", "Pisses Me Off", "Saddamize", "The Mold", "Why"
F♯5/G♭5: "Abandoned" live at Jaxx Nightclub 2005, "The Fall", "The Mold", "Upon the Knee"
F5: "Curtains", "Damned If You Do, Dead If You Don't", "Fright Knights", "God Damn War", "My Light", "Power of the Night" live Anaheim 1990, "S.O.T.S.", "The Jester's Court", "Upon the Knee", "WORMS", "Your Heaven Is Real"
E5: "Arm and a Leg", "Beat Me, You'll Never Beat Me", "Damned If You Do, Dead If You Don't", "Fade into the X", "I", "I Won't Know", "It's S-A-D", "Lost Tonight", "My Light", "State of the Head", "The Fall", "The Jester's Court", "Watch", "Your Heaven Is Real"
D♯5/E♭5: "Arm and a Leg", "Damned If You Do, Dead If You Don't", "Edge of Darkness" live at Jaxx Nightclub 2005, "I See Red" YouTube clip 2021, "Just Fine", "Live, Kill, Die" demo, "Over and Over", "Saddamize", "66", "S.O.T.S.", "The Haunting of Man", "The Shining", "The Temple", "The Time", "Too Soon to be Too Late", "Why"
D5: "Abandoned" live at Jaxx Nightclub 2005, "Arm and a Leg", "Back's to the Wall", "Beat Me, You'll Never Beat Me", "Chained", "Damned If You Do, Dead If You Don't", "Death By Design", "Edge of Darkness", "Fright Knights", "Home Is Where the Hell Is", "House of Insanity", "I", "Inside My Heart", "Last Time", "Magic Man", "May Day", "Music Man", "My Light", "Once Upon a Time", "Piece Be with You", "Pins and Needles", "So Far Today", "S.O.T.S.", "Strange Wings" live at the Orange County Fair 2023, "66", "The Mold", "Too Soon to Be Too Late", "Upon the Knee", "Why", "Your Heaven Is Real"
C♯5/D♭5: "Abandoned", "Edge of Darkness", "Fade into the X", "Get Up, Stand Up", "Home Is Where the Hell Is", "I'm Sorry", "It's S-A-D", "Just Fine", "Life, Crazy Life!!!", "No Matter What", "Over and Over", "Reach Out and Torment Again", "Saddamize", "Sick and Tired", "The Haunting of Man", "The Mold", "State of the Head", "The Shining" YouTube clip 2023, "Too Soon to Be Too Late", "Watch"
C5: "Abandoned", "Alas", "Arm and a Leg", "Beat Me, You'll Never Beat Me", "Big Brother", "Chained", "Christmas Is", "Damned If You Do, Dead If You Don't", "Death By Design", "Erase", "Fright Knights", "Glitter", "God Damn War", "Home Is Where the Hell Is", "House of Insanity", "I Miss You…Sometimes" YouTube upload 2019, "I Never Knew", "Inside My Heart", "It's S-A-D", "Jealousy", "Just Fine", "Last Time", "May Day", "Music Man", "My Light", "Never", "Pins and Needles", "Pisses Me Off", "Preludio", "Power of the Night" live Anaheim 1990, "Reach Out and Torment Again", "Remember", "Seasons Change", "Shame", "Solitaire", "S.O.T.S.", "State of the Head", "The Feeling of a White Lie", "The Fleas", "The Haunting of Man", "The Jester's Court", "The Sign of the Crossed", "The Temple", "The Time", "Too Soon to Be Too Late", "W.A.R.P.E.D.", "Watch", "Why", "Y.G.B.F.K.M.", "Your Heaven Is Real"
B4: "Arm and a Leg", "Back's to the Wall", "Bag o'Bones", "Bridges" acoustic version, "Evil Is as Evil Does", "Faces", "Fade into the X", "Fool, Fool", "Glitter", "Home Is Where the Hell Is", "I", "Inside My Heart", introducing the Trans-Siberian Orchestra singers live Wilkes-Barre 2023, "I See Red" YouTube cover 2021, "I Won't Know", "Jealousy", "Just Fine", "Life, Crazy Life!!!", "Lost Tonight", "Madonna", "May Day", "Mettle Eastern", "My Light", "1989", "No Matter What", "Of Rage and War" live Anaheim 1990, "Once Upon a Time", "Over and Over", "Pins and Needles", "Protect My Soul", "Quaaludio", "Ripper's Rock House Song" live Akron 2013, "Shame", "66", "State of the Head", "The Feeling of a White Lie", "The Fleas", "The Mold", "The Shining" YouTube clip 2023, "The Wake of Magellan" live on Queens Public Television 2008, "W.A.R.P.E.D.", "Watch", "Why", "WORMS"
A♯4/B♭4: "Abandoned", "Bag o'Bones", "Chained", "Edge of Darkness", "Edge of Thorns" live on Queens Public Television 2008, "Erase", "Fright Knights", "God Damn War", "Home Is Where the Hell Is", "I Miss You…Sometimes" YouTube upload 2019, "I'm Sorry", "I Never Knew", "It's S-A-D", "Jealousy", "Just Fine", "Life, Crazy Life!!!", "Madonna", "Magic Man", "Music Man", "Never", "1989", "Pisses Me Off", "Preludio", "Power of the Night" live Anaheim 1990, "Remember", "Saddamize", "Seasons Change", "Sick and Tired", "State of the Head", "The Fall", "The Feeling of a White Lie", "The Haunting of Man", "The Jester's Court", "The Temple", "Twisted Little Sister" live Anaheim 1990, "WORMS", "Y.G.B.F.K.M."
A4: "Alas", "Amazing Grace", "Baby You and I", "Back's to the Wall", "Beat Me, You'll Never Beat Me", "Big Brother", "Bridges" acoustic version, "Checkmate", "Christmas Is", "Curtains", "Death By Design", "Election Day", "Evil Is as Evil Does", "Faces", "Fade into the X", "Fool, Fool", "Forever We'll Be", "Get Up, Stand Up", "Glitter", "Home Is Where the Hell Is", "House of Insanity", "I", "I Won't Know", "Jealousy", "Last Time" YouTube upload 2021, "Lost Tonight", "Magic Man", "May Day", "Music Man", "My Light", "Never", "1989", "Piece Be with You", "Pins and Needles", "Protect My Soul", "Reach Out and Torment Again", "Ripper's Rock House Song" live Akron 2013, "Seasons Change", "Shame", "So Far Today", "Solitaire", "State of the Head", "The Fall", "The Fleas", "The Mold", "The Sign of the Crossed", "The Temple", "The Time", "Too Soon to Be Too Late", "Walls", "W.A.R.P.E.D.", "White Witch" live Anaheim 1990, "Winter in Hamburg", "Your Heaven Is Real"
G♯4/A♭4: "Abandoned", "Bag o'Bones", "Curtains", "Election Day", "Erase", "Evil Is as Evil Does", "Fright Knights", "I", "I See Red" YouTube clip 2021, "It's S-A-D", "I Won't Know", "Jealousy", "Just Fine", "Life, Crazy Life!!!", "Live, Kill, Die" demo, "Mettle Eastern", "Music Man", "Over and Over", "Remember", "Ripper's Rock House Song" live Akron 2013, "Saddamize", "Seasons Change", "Shame", "The Fall", "The Feeling of a White Lie", "The Shining", "Walls", "W.A.R.P.E.D."
G4: "Abandoned", "Amazing Grace", "Arm and a Leg", "Baby You and I", "Back's to the Wall", "Bridges" acoustic version, "Christmas Is", "Edge of Darkness", "Edge of Thorns" live on Queens Public Television 2008, "Election Day", "Erase", "Evil Is as Evil Does", "Fright Knights", "Glitter", "Home Is Where the Hell Is", "I", "I Miss You…Sometimes" YouTube upload 2019, "I Never Knew", "Last Time", "Music Man", "My Light", "No Matter What", "Once Upon a Time", "Pisses Me Off", "Remember", "The Feeling of a White Lie", "The Sign of the Crossed", "The Time", "Walls", "Watch", "Why", "WORMS"
Recorded low notes:
E3: "Arm and a Leg", "Beat Me, You'll Never Beat Me", "Come Home", "Edge of Darkness", "Forever We'll Be", "Home Is Where the Hell Is", "I", "Jealousy", "Lost Tonight", "Mettle Eastern", "Once Upon a Time", "Quaaludio", "Too Soon to Be Too Late", "Watch", "WORMS"
D♯3/E♭3: "I Saw Red" YouTube clip 2021, "Just Fine", "Madonna", "Over and Over", "Pisses Me Off". "Sick and Tired"
D3: "Beat Me, You'll Never Beat Me", "Checkmate", "Come Home", "Death By Design", "Evil Is as Evil Does", "I", "I Never Knew", "Jealousy", "Seasons Change", "So Far Today", "The Time", "Upon the Knee"
C♯3/D♭3: "Alas", "Bag o'Bones", "I See Red" YouTube clip 2021, "Jealousy", "The Mold", "Upon the Knee"
C3: "Abandoned", "Bag o'Bones" live on Queens Public Television 2008, "Erase", "God Damn War" "Jealousy", "Live, Kill, Die" demo, "1989", "Pisses Me Off", "Preludio", "The Feeling of a White Lie", "The Sign of the Crossed", "The Time", "The Wake of Magellan" live on Queens Public Television 2008
B2: "Curtains", "No Matter What", "Piece Be with You", "Saddamize", "Shame", "66", "Walls", "Why"
A♯2/B♭2: "Abandoned", "Preludio", "Remember", "Sick and Tired", "The Feeling of a White Lie", "The Sign of the Crossed", "Watch"
A2: "Abandoned" live on Queens Public Television 2008, "Death By Design", "House of Insanity", "I", "I Won't Know", "Lost Tonight", "May Day", "Never", "Piece Be with You", "Preludio" live on Queens Public Television 2008, "Reach Out and Torment Again", "66", "S.O.T.S.", "The Feeling of a White Lie", "W.A.R.P.E.D.", "Why"
G♯2/A♭2: "Bag o'Bones", "Death By Design", "Over and Over", "Saddamize", "Shame", "Walls"
G2: "Arm and a Leg", "Curtains", "Evil Is as Evil Does", "I Never Knew", "Pisses Me Off", "Protect My Soul", "Saddamize"
F♯2/G♭2: "Curtains", "Over and Over", "Piece Be with You", "The Temple", "The Wake of Magellan" live on Queens Public Television 2008
F2: "1989", "Your Heaven Is Real"
E2: "It's S.A.D.", "Mettle Eastern", "No Matter What", "Walls", "Why", "WORMS"
D♯2/E♭2: "Over and Over", "The Feeling of a White Lie"
D2: "Beat Me, You'll Never Beat Me", "Big Brother", "Checkmate", "Upon the Knee"
C♯2/D♭2: "Upon the Knee"
C2: "The Feeling of a White Lie", "The Haunting of Man"
B1: "Walls"
A♯1/B♭1: "The Feeling of a White Lie"
G♯1/A♭1: "Walls"
.......................................................
*Blue marks soft falsetto notes.
*Green marks harsh distorted notes.
*Grey marks heavily fryish notes.
*Italics mark non-melodic notes.
*Underlines mark notes in backing vocals or otherwise muffled/obscured in the mix.
{Album ranges}Chris Caffery:
- The Mold (2004) - C3-C♯3-G5
- Faces (2004) - D2-F♯2-G♯5-A♯5
- Music Man (2004) - G2-B♭2-G5
- W.A.R.P.E.D. (2005) - D2-F♯2-G♯5-A♯5
- Pins and Needles (2007) - G♯1-B1-E5-F5
- House of Insanity (2008) - D2-B2-E5-G♯5
- Your Heaven Is Real (2015) - E♭2-G♭2-F5-A♭5
- The Jester's Court (2018) - B♭1-C2-G♭5
{Detailed bio}While best known as one of the guitarists for Savatage, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and Spirits of Fire, Chris Caffery's solo albums reveal him to be a VERY talented musician on many fronts - including as a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and perhaps most of all an incredibly skilled vocalist. It seems that he has chosen to mainly focus on playing guitar as his main career trade, but he could easily serve as a full-time vocalist as well with the level of chops he has in that department as well - in fact, I would even go as far as to say that he is a more technically impressive vocalist than either of the main Savatage singers. Caffery naturally has a lighter tenor voice, but his level of control over it allows him to push it in all sorts of directions both range-wise and tonally. At times, he can darken his tone to make his high range sound massive and powerful, delivering intense belting passages in a way that resembles Chuck Billy. Other moments showcase him using a more screamy and gritty approach towards high singing, but still with incredible control - at times bearing resemblance to Blackie Lawless and Devin Townsend while engaging in this mode. He can carry this screamy side of his voice as high as G♯5, but also has no shortage of strong, resonant low notes as well. Overall, he demonstrates an incredible ability to switch between different vocal modes in very short spans of time, in a way that I've seen matched by only a few other metal vocalists - one of them being Caffery's own former Spirits of Fire bandmate Tim "Ripper" Owens.
Caffery began his career in 1984 playing in the band Heaven, and while he did not release anything with them, that band served as an introduction for him to producer Paul O’Neill, who would go on to serve an important role in his later career. Heaven broke up in 1985, after which Caffery went on to play in the hip-hop rock band Big Mouth for a short stint, and recorded the album Quite Not Right with them. After this, he was contacted by O’Neill, who had started working with at the time up-and-coming Florida metal band Savatage, and through that connection was recruited to serve as their second guitarist during their 1987-1988 tour. However, during this tour, Caffery was required to play off to the side of the stage, hidden from the audience, and ended up quitting at the end of the tour due to his distaste about this. He briefly played in a band called Dirty Looks in the aftermath of this, but was later invited to join Savatage again just as they were finishing their 1989 album Gutter Ballet, and accepted on a more official member status this time. Though he did not record on that album, he was credited for guitars for it and pictured in the inlay photos for it. On the subsequent tour, he once again served as a second guitarist (this time featured in the main stage spotlight alongside the rest of the band), and occasionally performed lead vocals on their song "Power of the Night" during this tour.
Following this tour, Caffery left Savatage a second time, and formed the short-lived band Witchdoctor with his brother Phil. After the dissolution of this, he learned that Savatage vocalist/keyboardist Jon Oliva had left the band, and ended up forming a new project with him called Doctor Butcher. Their self-titled album was released in 1994, featuring Oliva on lead vocals, keyboards, and bass, while Caffery handled all guitars and some bass, with Johnny Osbourn on drums. Oliva and Caffery had high hopes for this band, but faced setbacks with it due to lack of record label support in the US. Doctor Butcher ultimately dissolved after only two years, partly due to the death of Oliva's brother Criss, who had been the main guitarist for Savatage since the band's founding. In the aftermath of this, Oliva returned to Savatage to write and record the album Handful of Rain, which Caffery was invited to be involved in as well, but initially declined, as he was still coping with the loss of Criss. However, he later did rejoin the band in 1995 on a more permanent basis, in their reformed lineup that also featured Oliva on keyboards, longtime bassist Johnny Lee Middleton, lead vocalist Zak Stevens, additional guitarist Al Pitrelli, and new drummer Jeff Plate. With this lineup, the band recorded two highly renowned concept albums - Dead Winter Dead in 1995, and The Wake of Magellan in 1998.
Dead Winter Dead ended up being a particularly significant album for Savatage, because it led to the creation of the spin-off project Trans-Siberian Orchestra, after the success of the track "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)". Trans-Siberian Orchestra featured all the members of Savatage in some capacity, but was thematically much more centered around Christmas stories, and usually featured a cast of different vocalists playing the different characters on its concept albums. This band quickly saw much greater and more immediate commercial success than Savatage, and eventually, after the release of the 2001 Savatage album Poets and Madmen, the members of that band decided to break up to focus on Trans-Siberian Orchestra more instead. Caffery has consistently served as one of the guitarists (in addition to overall band leader) for Trans-Siberian Orchestra since 1999, and regularly tours the east side of the U.S. with them every year around Christmas season.
Meanwhile, the late '90s and early 2000s saw a few other side projects for Caffery, including playing in the band Metanium, and serving as guitarist for the singer John West for a year in 2002. Most notably, however, he launched his solo career in 2004, which he released quite a bit of content in a short span of time. In that year alone, he released the EPs The Mold and Music Man, and then the double album Faces, which featured some of the songs from those two EPs, a variety of new songs, and a second disc titled The Damn War, which was all songs themed around war (most specifically the Iraq War, which was going on at the time. The following year, he released the album W.A.R.P.E.D. in 2005, which took the second disc of Faces and expanded upon it with a handful of additional war and politically themed songs. Following this, he kept up with new solo releases every few years - putting out Pins and Needles in 2007, House of Insanity in 2009, Your Heaven Is Real in 2015, and The Jester's Court in 2018. On all of these albums, he sang the vast majority of vocals in addition to handling most of the guitar duties, along with doing some bass, keyboards, and drums on several albums - even going as far as dabbling in saxophone on one track off Pins and Needles! Considering the amount of vocal skill he displayed on each of these albums, I find it somewhat shocking that he waited until this long in his career to make an outlet to showcase those abilities, but he certainly delivered when that time came. He has intermittently toured as a solo artist over the years (handling both guitar and vocal duties and also featuring Savatage drummer Jeff Plate as part of his band lineup), but has mostly only focused on this as a side gig while giving his other bands more attention.
Caffery's most recent band venture has been metal supergroup Spirits of Fire, which originally featured himself on guitar and backing vocals, Tim "Ripper" Owens on lead vocals, Testament bassist Steve DiGiorgio, and former Fates Warning drummer Mark Zonder, which formed in 2017. After the release of their self-titled debut album in 2019, Owens left the band and was replaced by Rhapsody of Fire/Angra vocalist Fabio Lione, with whom they released their second album Embrace the Unknown in 2022. In the meantime, aside from continuing his annual Christmas season tour with Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Caffery has reunited with Savatage as of 2023 (as part of a full reunion of the Dead Winter Dead lineup), with plans to record a final album and embark on a farewell tour before concluding the band for good. In addition to that, Caffery announced on his YouTube channel in 2022 that he was working on a new Doctor Butcher album, so we'll see what comes of that! In 2024, a 30th anniversary edition of Doctor Butcher’s debut album was released, including some bonus tracks such as an acoustic version of the track "Bridges" featuring Caffery on vocals!
Caffery began his career in 1984 playing in the band Heaven, and while he did not release anything with them, that band served as an introduction for him to producer Paul O’Neill, who would go on to serve an important role in his later career. Heaven broke up in 1985, after which Caffery went on to play in the hip-hop rock band Big Mouth for a short stint, and recorded the album Quite Not Right with them. After this, he was contacted by O’Neill, who had started working with at the time up-and-coming Florida metal band Savatage, and through that connection was recruited to serve as their second guitarist during their 1987-1988 tour. However, during this tour, Caffery was required to play off to the side of the stage, hidden from the audience, and ended up quitting at the end of the tour due to his distaste about this. He briefly played in a band called Dirty Looks in the aftermath of this, but was later invited to join Savatage again just as they were finishing their 1989 album Gutter Ballet, and accepted on a more official member status this time. Though he did not record on that album, he was credited for guitars for it and pictured in the inlay photos for it. On the subsequent tour, he once again served as a second guitarist (this time featured in the main stage spotlight alongside the rest of the band), and occasionally performed lead vocals on their song "Power of the Night" during this tour.
Following this tour, Caffery left Savatage a second time, and formed the short-lived band Witchdoctor with his brother Phil. After the dissolution of this, he learned that Savatage vocalist/keyboardist Jon Oliva had left the band, and ended up forming a new project with him called Doctor Butcher. Their self-titled album was released in 1994, featuring Oliva on lead vocals, keyboards, and bass, while Caffery handled all guitars and some bass, with Johnny Osbourn on drums. Oliva and Caffery had high hopes for this band, but faced setbacks with it due to lack of record label support in the US. Doctor Butcher ultimately dissolved after only two years, partly due to the death of Oliva's brother Criss, who had been the main guitarist for Savatage since the band's founding. In the aftermath of this, Oliva returned to Savatage to write and record the album Handful of Rain, which Caffery was invited to be involved in as well, but initially declined, as he was still coping with the loss of Criss. However, he later did rejoin the band in 1995 on a more permanent basis, in their reformed lineup that also featured Oliva on keyboards, longtime bassist Johnny Lee Middleton, lead vocalist Zak Stevens, additional guitarist Al Pitrelli, and new drummer Jeff Plate. With this lineup, the band recorded two highly renowned concept albums - Dead Winter Dead in 1995, and The Wake of Magellan in 1998.
Dead Winter Dead ended up being a particularly significant album for Savatage, because it led to the creation of the spin-off project Trans-Siberian Orchestra, after the success of the track "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)". Trans-Siberian Orchestra featured all the members of Savatage in some capacity, but was thematically much more centered around Christmas stories, and usually featured a cast of different vocalists playing the different characters on its concept albums. This band quickly saw much greater and more immediate commercial success than Savatage, and eventually, after the release of the 2001 Savatage album Poets and Madmen, the members of that band decided to break up to focus on Trans-Siberian Orchestra more instead. Caffery has consistently served as one of the guitarists (in addition to overall band leader) for Trans-Siberian Orchestra since 1999, and regularly tours the east side of the U.S. with them every year around Christmas season.
Meanwhile, the late '90s and early 2000s saw a few other side projects for Caffery, including playing in the band Metanium, and serving as guitarist for the singer John West for a year in 2002. Most notably, however, he launched his solo career in 2004, which he released quite a bit of content in a short span of time. In that year alone, he released the EPs The Mold and Music Man, and then the double album Faces, which featured some of the songs from those two EPs, a variety of new songs, and a second disc titled The Damn War, which was all songs themed around war (most specifically the Iraq War, which was going on at the time. The following year, he released the album W.A.R.P.E.D. in 2005, which took the second disc of Faces and expanded upon it with a handful of additional war and politically themed songs. Following this, he kept up with new solo releases every few years - putting out Pins and Needles in 2007, House of Insanity in 2009, Your Heaven Is Real in 2015, and The Jester's Court in 2018. On all of these albums, he sang the vast majority of vocals in addition to handling most of the guitar duties, along with doing some bass, keyboards, and drums on several albums - even going as far as dabbling in saxophone on one track off Pins and Needles! Considering the amount of vocal skill he displayed on each of these albums, I find it somewhat shocking that he waited until this long in his career to make an outlet to showcase those abilities, but he certainly delivered when that time came. He has intermittently toured as a solo artist over the years (handling both guitar and vocal duties and also featuring Savatage drummer Jeff Plate as part of his band lineup), but has mostly only focused on this as a side gig while giving his other bands more attention.
Caffery's most recent band venture has been metal supergroup Spirits of Fire, which originally featured himself on guitar and backing vocals, Tim "Ripper" Owens on lead vocals, Testament bassist Steve DiGiorgio, and former Fates Warning drummer Mark Zonder, which formed in 2017. After the release of their self-titled debut album in 2019, Owens left the band and was replaced by Rhapsody of Fire/Angra vocalist Fabio Lione, with whom they released their second album Embrace the Unknown in 2022. In the meantime, aside from continuing his annual Christmas season tour with Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Caffery has reunited with Savatage as of 2023 (as part of a full reunion of the Dead Winter Dead lineup), with plans to record a final album and embark on a farewell tour before concluding the band for good. In addition to that, Caffery announced on his YouTube channel in 2022 that he was working on a new Doctor Butcher album, so we'll see what comes of that! In 2024, a 30th anniversary edition of Doctor Butcher’s debut album was released, including some bonus tracks such as an acoustic version of the track "Bridges" featuring Caffery on vocals!