''Sirens'' is the debut album by American heavy metal band

Savatage Savatage () was 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 thei ...

, released in 1983. The music on this album is heavier than in later Savatage albums, where the band developed their own style of

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...

. According to frontman Jon Oliva, ''Sirens'' and the long EP ''

The Dungeons Are Calling ''The Dungeons Are Calling'' is an EP by the American heavy metal band Savatage, released in 1984 on Combat 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 ...

'' 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 Edel SE & Co. KGaA is a German independent media company based in Hamburg. As a label and publishing group, it also operates marketing and sales for artists and smaller music labels. The repertoire of the Edel labels includes dance, rock and po ...

. The cover of the English versions published by both

Music for Nations Music For Nations (MFN) is a British independent record label focusing mainly on rock and metal. It was a subsidiary of the larger label distributor Zomba Records, which was a division of BMG and later Sony Music Entertainment. Launched in 1 ...

and

Combat Records Combat Records was an American independent record label founded in 1983 and based in New York City. The label specifically was for heavy metal and punk rock acts, Notable artist include: Megadeth, Circle Jerks, Nuclear Assault, OZ, Death, ...

in 1985 used the cover of the children's book '' The Borribles Go for Broke''. It was also used by

Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distrib ...

for the first edition on CD and other subsequent versions.

Track listing

*The track "Out on the Streets" was later re-recorded by the band on their 1986 album, ''

Fight for the Rock ''Fight for the Rock'' is the third full-length album by the American heavy metal band Savatage. It is their first album with new bass player Johnny Lee Middleton. Released in 1986, it is largely regarded as the band's worst release by both fan ...

'' and an acoustic rendition was recorded by Jon Oliva and included as bonus track in the 2010 ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

''. *The track "Lady in Disguise" was also later re-recorded for the 1986 album, ''

'', but with different arrangements. *The track "Scream Murder" was covered on American progressive metal band Vanquishes' album ''Speed Metal Demon''. * The track "Holocaust" was covered by American

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

band Six Feet Under and is featured on their cover album ''

Graveyard Classics ''Graveyard Classics'' is a cover album by American death metal band Six Feet Under. It includes cover versions of such classic rock hits as "TNT" by AC/DC, "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple, and "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix. It is the band' ...

Personnel

;Savatage Interesting to note is that in the liner notes for the album, they gave themselves roles instead of listing their instruments. *

Jon Oliva John Nicholas "Jon" Oliva (born July 22, 1959) 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. Sinc ...

– Shrieks of Terror (lead vocals) *

Criss Oliva Christopher Michael Oliva (April 3, 1963 – October 17, 1993) 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. ...

– Metalaxe (guitars, backing vocals) *Keith Collins – The Bottom End (bass, backing vocals) * Steve Wacholz – Barbaric Cannons (drums, percussion) ;Production *Danny Johnson – producer *Jim Morris – engineer *Mike Fuller – mastering *The Music Connection - album coordination *Jeffrey S. King – US edition artwork *Terry Oakes – UK edition artwork, illustrations *Eddy Schreyer – re-mastering

Charts

References

External links

Sirens entry at official Savatage homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sirens (Savatage Album) 1983 debut albums Music for Nations albums Savatage albums Albums recorded at Morrisound Recording