20. Savatage Sirens 1983 (Combat Records)
Heavy Metal
Metallic metal from the land of southern rock.
The Lowdown
With so many albums having been left off this year’s list including albums by Motorhead, Tokyo Blade, Vanadium, Bitch and Krokus etc, Savatage have done well to be included for what is a raw and patchy debut. In fact all those previously mentioned albums quality wise could be seen as being better albums overall, but the Savatage debut album gets on the list ahead of those bands, as this album was just more relevant to the metal scene in 1983 and would be one of those albums from this period that would set the tone for much of the decade due to its style. The band were formed in Tarpon Springs, Florida by brothers Jon and Criss Oliva with Jon on vocals and Criss on guitar and they were the driving force behind the band and were soon joined by Keith Collins on bass and Steve “Doc” Wacholz on drums. Originally they had formed under the name of Avatar but were forced to change their name and chose Savatage instead (a much better name anyway) The band state that both
Sirens and their long EP
The Dungeons Are Calling were both recorded and mixed in just one day and were released as two different entities, largely I guess because debut double albums were a simple no go as far as labels were concerned and bands were also usually encouraged to leave songs that didn’t get on their debut for their sophomore instead. The band in their early days were something of a band of contrasts, as here was a band that in many ways were laying down roots to the future death metal sound (Florida would be a hotbead for death metal) whilst at the same time demonstrating certain musical attributes that would go onto characterize power metal, making Savatage an innovative metal outfit for their time due to their contrast of certain styles, which is impressive since the band came from southern rock country. Also a number of reviewers tend to be pretty negative on this album calling it too basic, but I dig the album for its rawness. Like a lot of bands on the lower end of these lists, the album is somewhat unbalanced in terms of quality and Savatage have gone in for an early barrage at the start of the album where the stronger tracks are located. The album starts with its classic title track “Sirens” as the band’s evident metal sound is at the forefront with Criss Oliva’s guitar and brother Jon Oliva’s to-die-for vocals welcoming us to the world of Savatage. Second track “Holocaust” is quite simply dominated by its killer riff and if you’re not into the album by now, then you probably never will be. “I Believe” is another quality track especially with its loca guitar histrionics in its latter part, making three straight tracks where brothers Jon and Criss just sound the business. After this things tend to get patchy, as tracks like “Rage” and “Twisted Little Sister” despite being blustery are nothing special, while album closer “Out on the Streets” sounds too tame for this album. But there are still strong tracks like the mid-paced pounder “On the Run” the lightning “Living for the Night” and its sister track “Scream Murder” which both sound like something Megadeth were inspired by at a future date. Overall
Sirens would result in being probably the darkest album in the bands discography in relation to their later releases, which would take on a more progressive metal/concept rock stance, just think the
Hall of the Mountain King and
Streets: A Rock Opera their best known albums. Now what always strikes me with certain metal bands around this time, is the distinctly metal sounding style that they have adopted, where bands like Savatage seem devoid of hard rock, blues or punk influences and just quite simply adopt a completely metallic sound and this sound is provided here by guitarist Criss Oliva, whose guitar sounds like a piece of processed metal, but all plaudits on the album surely go to the performance on Jon Oliva a man born to sing metal. In respect of these characteristics the band sound like they live and breathe metal and demonstrate that in the decade plus since the inception of this kind of music in the late 1960s, the genre had in many ways completely shed its early roots, by showing a much purer metallic direction largely thanks to bands like Judas Priest, making Savatage one of their many metal sons. Overall
Sirens is an album that should be listened to by anybody seriously into metal, it might not be as mean or as aggressive sounding as either the Metallica or Slayer debuts, but it’s still one of the beefiest sounding albums on this year’s list, with its early incarnation of both power and thrash metal grooves in places, whilst also sounding both mean and dark as well.
Jon Oliva (Shrieks of Terror) - Vocals
Criss Oliva (Metalaxe) – Guitar
Keith Collins (Bottom End) – Bass
Steve “Doc” Wacholz (Barbaric Cannons) – Drums
Production- Danny Johnson
20. Savatage The Dungeons Are Calling 1984 (Combat Records)
Heavy Metal
Six tales from the dungeons of torture.
The Lowdown
Even though I don’t include EP’s on these lists, this one is certainly worth a mention due to its relevance. Although this was recorded in 1983, this essential EP by Savatage wasn’t released in North America until 1984 and aficionados had to wait till 1985 in the UK for it.
The Dungeons Are Calling continues the mean and dark sound that was heard on
Sirens, but concentrates far more on the thrashier elements heard on that album, basically meaning that the aggressive end of
Sirens is what features on this EP. The songs here are based around the concept of the horrors of drug use and its six tracks are of equal strength making this EP stronger than the patchier
Sirens, in fact had Savatage released this package as they desired then we’d be talking top 10 at least for the Savatage debut album. Two of the songs here the title track “The Dungeons Are Calling” and “City Beneath the Sea” the latter track here is probably the pick of the six tracks are based around the masterful guitar of Criss Oliva, Jon Oliva’s blood curdling vocals and complex structures that would go onto feature as a typical thrash delicacy for some bands. The mid-paced pounder “Rage” from Sirens finds its sister tracks here in “By the Grace of the Witch” and “Midas Knight”. Whereas the band are at their fastest on “Visions” and “The Whip”. Also most of the songs feature atmospheric prologues and epilogues which gives the EP a somewhat distinctive vibe. The 1994 edition of this EP is further lengthened by a seventh track in "Fighting for your Love" and a live version of "Sirens". Finally it’s interesting to note that this EP only runs about 4 minutes shorter than Slayer’s
Reign in Blood, has an album cover that is top drawer thrash and in hindsight had the band released all these cuts with the thrash elements from
Sirens, we could´ve had a definitive thrash/speed album from this era. It wasn’t until 2011 that the whole package was released together where Jon Oliva stated “As it was meant to be.”
Jon Oliva (Shrieks of Terror) - Vocals
Criss Oliva (Metalaxe) – Guitar
Keith Collins (Bottom End) – Bass
Steve “Doc” Wacholz (Barbaric Cannons) – Drums
Production- Danny Johnson