Guitarist Chris Caffery (Savatage, Trans-Siberian Orchestra) has checked in with the following update.

"This handwriting is from none other than Jon Oliva himself!!I have a new album project I'm working on...details will come out soon. The deals are signed and the record should be released mid 2017. No, Jon isn't singing or in the project, it's not a new Savatage record, so that should keep you guessing, but he is helping me write a few things. It feels great to create with the master again! 

The project is great friends and amazing musicians and one brilliant singer with an amazing metal producer...and yes, I'm a tease!

More details soon!"

Caffery recently posted a tribute on Facebook to his long time guitar tech Kyle Sabel, who recently passed away.

"For 16 years I had the privilege of having the most bad ass guitar tech on the planet. Not only was he my tech he was my friend. Truly my brother. I spent the last 16 Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years with Kyle. While most other people were home with their families, we were together somewhere in the world in some hotel being each other's family. Kyle was the guy everyone turned to when life at home wasn't the rosiest or life's problems caught up with you. He made the days on and days off a lot easier just by always being able to make us smile and laugh. Many times when he was crying inside.

Many people knew and loved Kyle. He was one of the funniest and nicest people I had ever known. He was what we always considered a great road guy. Meaning he did his job well but he also always made people smile. Made people who were away from home at the holidays feel like they were home. I did over 1000 shows with him as my tech and I think maybe something went wrong w my rig 3 times. And it was never his fault! I may have been out of tune less times than fingers on one hand.

Every single guitar I had built for me it would be a constant text communication about specs, colors, pickups...then what straps would I use and what guitars do we leave home this tour. There were a couple guitars that he was like. 'When we retire that's mine...' Playing those will have a new meaning from now on!

Far beyond my guitars and that stage he was my friend. We laughed and cried together for almost two decades. We mourned the loss of our friends, band mates and families together. We never once so much as even had a single argument.

Other than my own mother, Jon Oliva, Igor, Jeff Plate and my own brother I have not spent more time with any single individual in my life. It's really hard to express exactly what I'm feeling right now but there will definitely be a huge void in many people's lives with Kyle gone away with the Angels."

Read the complete tribute to Kyle here.