The title track received significant airplay on hard-rock radio and MTV's Headbanger's Ball. Gutter Ballet (1989) and Streets (1991) continued and solidified the partnership with O'Neill. During this time, Savatage embarked on several American and European tours, opening for bands such as Motörhead, Dio, and Megadeth.
Middleton's first appearance on a Savatage recording was 1986's Fight for the Rock, an album the band now refers to as "Fight for the Nightmare." "We recorded a great record," he says, but the record label "took our record, mangled the hell out of it, and tried to make us into something we weren't, when they thought the market was going more poppy. It was a learning experience."