Sirens (Savatage album)

Last updated
Sirens
Savatage Sirens original cover.jpeg
Studio album by
Savatage
ReleasedApril 11, 1983
RecordedJanuary 1983
Studio Morrisound (Tampa, Florida)
Genre
Length35:51
Label Par Records
Producer Dan Johnson
Savatage chronology
City Beneath the Surface
(1982)		Sirens
(1983)		 The Dungeons Are Calling
(1984)
UK edition cover
SavatageSirens.jpg
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal 10/10 [4]
The Metal CryptStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Metal Forces 9/10 [6]

Sirens is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Savatage, released on April 11, 1983. The music on this album is heavier than in later Savatage albums, where the band developed their own style of progressive metal. [3] It has also been cited as a key inspiration for the then-burgeoning thrash metal scene. [7] [8]

Contents

According to frontman Jon Oliva, Sirens and the EP The Dungeons Are Calling were recorded and mixed all in one day. With most of the songs prepared no more than a week before the recording session, the band could only afford one day in the studio. The two albums together were to make Savatage's debut but since vinyl records limited the total running time, they were divided. In 2011, they were remastered and released together on the label Earmusic.

The cover of the English versions published by both Music for Nations and Combat Records in 1985 used the cover of the children's book The Borribles Go for Broke . [9] It was also used by Metal Blade Records for the first edition on CD and other subsequent versions.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Sirens" Jon Oliva, Criss Oliva 3:43
2."Holocaust"J. Oliva, C. Oliva4:34
3."I Believe"J. Oliva, C. Oliva5:25
4."Rage"J. Oliva, C. Oliva2:42
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."On the Run"J. Oliva, C. Oliva, Steve Wacholz3:33
6."Twisted Little Sister"J. Oliva, C. Oliva, Keith Collins3:39
7."Living for the Night"J. Oliva, C. Oliva3:20
8."Scream Murder"J. Oliva3:50
9."Out on the Streets"J. Oliva, C. Oliva5:15
Bonus tracks (1994 CD reissue)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
10."Lady in Disguise" (demo)J. Oliva, C. Oliva4:34
11."The Message" (demo)J. Oliva, C. Oliva3:38
Bonus tracks (2002 Metal Blade reissue)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
10."Target" (demo)J. Oliva, C. Oliva4:20
11."Living on the Edge of Time" (demo)J. Oliva, C. Oliva3:53
99."Untitled Acoustic" (hidden track)C. Oliva2:17
Bonus track (2011 EarMusic reissue)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
16."In the Dream" (acoustic version)J. Oliva, C. Oliva3:34

Personnel

Production

Charts

Chart performance for Sirens
Chart (2021)Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [10] 16

Related Research Articles

<i>Hall of the Mountain King</i> (album) 1987 studio album by Savatage

Hall of the Mountain King is the fourth studio album by the American heavy metal band Savatage, released in 1987 under the direction of producer Paul O'Neill. It is their first album produced by O'Neill, who was assigned to the band after the tour in support of Fight for the Rock. O'Neill's influence pushed Savatage to adopt a conceptual progressive metal style beginning with this album.

<i>Dead Winter Dead</i> 1995 studio album by Savatage

Dead Winter Dead is the ninth studio album by the American heavy metal band Savatage, released in 1995. It is a concept album, that tells a story from the perspectives of a Serb boy, a Bosniak girl and an old man. The story of the album is set during the Bosnian War, which was ongoing at the time.

<i>The Dungeons Are Calling</i> 1984 EP by Savatage

The Dungeons Are Calling is an EP by the American heavy metal band Savatage, released in 1984 by Par Records. Though the EP was not released until 1984, most of the songs featured on it and the debut album, Sirens, had been in the band set list since 1979, and are part of the Live in Clearwater and City Beneath the Surface EPs. The Dungeons Are Calling is a loosely based concept album and the title track, contrary to popular belief, is not about Hell or torture, but about the horrors of drug use. The song used many metaphors, which have been sometimes misunderstood.

<i>Edge of Thorns</i> 1993 studio album by Savatage

Edge of Thorns is the seventh studio album by the American heavy metal band Savatage, released on April 6, 1993, by Atlantic Records. It was the last Savatage album to feature guitarist Criss Oliva, who died six months after its release, and their first release with Zachary Stevens on lead vocals, following the departure of Jon Oliva from his role as singer in Savatage, although he did produce and write songs for the album.

<i>Streets: A Rock Opera</i> 1991 studio album by Savatage

Streets: A Rock Opera is the sixth studio album by the American heavy metal band Savatage and is a rock opera dealing with the rise and fall of the fictional musician DT Jesus. It was originally released in October 1991 on Atlantic Records. The album took almost a year to record, with pre-production beginning in October 1990. It was also Jon Oliva's last album as lead vocalist until 1995's Dead Winter Dead and 1997's The Wake of Magellan, where he shared lead vocal duties with Zak Stevens. He resumed lead vocal duties exclusively on 2001's Poets and Madmen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savatage</span> American heavy metal band

Savatage is an American heavy metal band founded by brothers Jon and Criss Oliva in 1979 in Tarpon Springs, Florida. The band was first called Avatar, but, shortly before the release of their debut album Sirens (1983), they changed their name to Savatage, as Avatar was already taken by at least one other band. Savatage is considered to be an integral part of the American heavy metal movement of the early-to-mid-1980s and has been cited as a key influence on numerous subgenres of metal.

<i>Power of the Night</i> 1985 studio album by Savatage

Power of the Night is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band Savatage, released in 1985. This record was produced by Max Norman, who later went on to produce Megadeth's 1992 hit album Countdown to Extinction.

<i>The Wake of Magellan</i> 1997 studio album by Savatage

The Wake of Magellan is the tenth studio album released by the American heavy metal band Savatage. The album was released in September 1997 in Europe and Japan, and in April 1998 in the US.

<i>Poets and Madmen</i> 2001 studio album by Savatage

Poets and Madmen is the eleventh studio album by American heavy metal band Savatage, released in 2001. It was their last album before their 12-year hiatus, which lasted from 2002 to 2014. The album has a loose concept inspired by the career and death of journalist Kevin Carter, but has much less narrative in the lyrics than the previous two rock operas penned by Paul O'Neill. Everything said in the album is fiction, except with regards to what is sung about Carter. The album is also noted as it is the only Savatage album to not feature a title song from the album, although the title was taken from lyrics to the track "Symmetry" from the band's 1994 album, Handful of Rain.

<i>Low</i> (Testament album) 1994 studio album by Testament

Low is the sixth studio album by American thrash metal band Testament, released on October 4, 1994 through Atlantic Records. It was the band's first album to feature a new lineup, with guitarist James Murphy and drummer John Tempesta replacing Alex Skolnick and Louie Clemente respectively, and the last album with bassist Greg Christian until 2008's The Formation of Damnation.

<i>Handful of Rain</i> 1994 studio album by Savatage

Handful of Rain is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Savatage, released in 1994. This is the first album since the death of the band's founding member and lead guitarist Criss Oliva. who had contributed to writing on its songs "Taunting Cobras" and "Nothing's Going On" before his death.

<i>Gutter Ballet</i> 1989 studio album by Savatage

Gutter Ballet is the fifth full-length album produced by the American progressive metal band Savatage. This was the second album created under the direction of producer Paul O'Neill and was initially released in December 1, 1989.

<i>Fight for the Rock</i> 1986 studio album by Savatage

Fight for the Rock is the third studio album by the American heavy metal band Savatage, released on June 30, 1986. It is their first album with new bass player Johnny Lee Middleton.

<i>Ghost in the Ruins – A Tribute to Criss Oliva</i> 1995 live album by Savatage

Ghost in the Ruins – A Tribute to Criss Oliva is a live album by the American heavy metal band Savatage, recorded between 1987 and 1990. Many of the tracks on this album have since been added to the re-releases of other albums in the Savatage discography by the German label SPV in 2002. The Japanese version of the album, titled Final Bell – Tribute to Christopher Michael Oliva and released by Zero Corporation in 1997, shows the track "Criss Intro" as "Criss Oliva Guitar Solo" on the track listing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Oliva</span> American heavy metal singer (born 1960)

John Nicholas "Jon" Oliva is an American singer and musician. He is best known as the co-founder, keyboardist and lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Savatage, which he co-founded with his younger brother Criss Oliva. Since 1996 he has also been a songwriter, musician and vocalist in Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Producer Paul O'Neill referred to Oliva in numerous interviews as the single greatest vocalist/musician he has ever worked with.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criss Oliva</span> American guitarist (1963–1993)

Christopher Michael Oliva was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and co-founder of the heavy metal band Savatage. During his lifetime, he released seven studio albums and one EP with the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Oliva's Pain</span> American heavy metal band

Jon Oliva's Pain was a musical project of Savatage co-founder Jon Oliva.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Caffery</span> American guitarist

Christopher Caffery is an American heavy metal guitarist, best known for his work as a member of Savatage and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Caffery has been releasing solo records singing and playing guitar for almost 20 years, releasing nine albums and many singles since 2004.

<i>Doctor Butcher</i> 1994 studio album by Doctor Butcher

Doctor Butcher was a side project involving Jon Oliva and Chris Caffery of Savatage which released one major self-titled studio album in 1994. The original album title, A Living Hell, was changed at the last minute.

References

  1. ↑ VV, AA (2012). HM - Il grande libro Heavy Metal (in Italian). Giunti Editore. p. 190. ISBN   978-8-80977-636-4.
  2. ↑ Bukszpan, Daniel (2003). The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal. Barnes & Noble Publishing. p. 218. ISBN   978-0-76074-218-1.
  3. 1 2 Orens, Geoff. "Savatage Sirens review". AllMusic . Rovi Corporation . Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  4. ↑ Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 312. ISBN   978-1894959315.
  5. ↑ Turnbull, Bruce (12 December 2010). "Savatage - Sirens". The Metal Crypt. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  6. ↑ Constable, Dave (August 1983). "Savatage - Sirens". Metal Forces . No. 1. p. 21. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  7. ↑ "Still the orchestra plays: Remembering Savatage's Criss Oliva". 28 November 2018.
  8. ↑ "Artillery Family Tree". 10 May 2021.
  9. ↑ The Borribles Go for Broke (covers). LibraryThing. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  10. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Savatage – Sirens" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.