Savatage
The Dungeons are Calling


4.0
excellent

Review

by ksoflas USER (8 Reviews)
June 1st, 2014 | 34 replies


Release Date: 1984 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Savatage' s sophomore effort is without a doubt their pinnacle till Paul O' Neil comes aboard.

Recorded during the summer of 1984 Savatage' s sophomore effort was released in Europe one year later and untill nowadays remains an exquisite sample of heavy/ power metal. '' The Dungeons Are Calling'' is, and will be, a timeless release cause of the fact that all six tracks included bring the seal of a masterpiece. This EP contains four new songs and two older, from the Avatar era, which are '' City Beneath the Surface'' and '' The Whip''.

While maintaining the original line-up, consisting of the Oliva brothers, Keith Collins and Steve Wacholtz, the band enlisted the help of producer Dan Johnson in order to maximise their potential and bring about their absolute, clean, super heavy sound even at this early stage of their career. Jon's interpretation again plays starring role while the rest of the group sounds more mature and comfortable than ever. The title track is arguably in the top five compositions the band ever wrote and shows clearly to everyone the healthy paranoia, that the group was driven from, during the mid eighties.

Crisse's brilliant guitar work consists of edgy, gigantic, ravishing, fantasmagoric riffs and memorable fast technical solos. Jon's phenomenal, otherwordly, elvish vocals take the listener from sweet emotional worlds to barbarian and inhospitable landscapes. The rabid rhythm section is one of the heaviest ever heard, really tight and gives you the impression of a constant pounding. Last, but not least, the lyrics are in every sense of the word awesome and complete uniquely the puzzle of this monumental creation.

'' The Dungeons Are Calling'' is a raw, dark, atmospheric, inspired, massive boulder of heavy/power metal for all the lovers of quality music to invest to.



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user ratings (105)
3.9
excellent

Comments:Add a Comment 
ksoflas
June 1st 2014


1422 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

It was really a pity that this Savatage release wasn't reviewed so here it is.



ksoflas
June 1st 2014


1422 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

All kind of comments are welcome.

TheNotrap
Staff Reviewer
June 1st 2014


18936 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

The title track is the best thing here.

Their best work is yet to come.



Have a savapos.



ksoflas
June 1st 2014


1422 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Of course it is. Its main riff is really something.

ksoflas
June 1st 2014


1422 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Thanks a lot man.

Recently i found out that you are from Portugal.

I am from Greece.

TheNotrap
Staff Reviewer
June 1st 2014


18936 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off

Cheers ksoflas.

Yep, I'm Portuguese. Cool, there are many Greeks around here.

ksoflas
June 1st 2014


1422 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Yes indeed. Where exactly do you live in Portugal?

manosg
Emeritus
June 1st 2014


12708 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Props for reviewing this album man. Always nice to see some love for Savatage, they're quite underrated on here. Have a pos from me too.

ksoflas
June 1st 2014


1422 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Thanks a lot Mano.

In Sava we trust till the end of time!

manosg
Emeritus
June 1st 2014


12708 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Hell yeah!

ScuroFantasma
Emeritus
June 1st 2014


11967 Comments


sweet concise and informative review ksoflas! pos'd.

ksoflas
June 1st 2014


1422 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Thank you my friend.

ksoflas
June 1st 2014


1422 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5o5VLJVk4o



Hell yeah!

warlordfun
June 1st 2014


453 Comments


Amazing band, one of my favourites. Pos for reviewing this one!

ksoflas
June 1st 2014


1422 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Every Savatage release must have a review for all youngsters to get to know their grandiose.We are talking about a huge and so underrated band.

Thanks for the pos Warlordfun.

BlackLlama
June 2nd 2014


2178 Comments


Terse review, and a little problematic in spots:

"Savatage' s sophomore effort"

You repeat this in the summary and the opening paragraph.

"Keeping the same line up that released the succesful debut '' Sirens'', Oliva brothers, Keith
Collins and Steve Wacholtz, appointed producer Dan Johnson and manage to create their absolute,
clean, super heavy sound from this early stage of their career."

Keeping the same line up that played on the bands successful debut; the Oliva brothers, Keith
Collins, and Steve Wacholtz. The band appointed produced Dan Johnson who was able to help bring
bring their clean, super heavy sound even at this early point in their career.

Just an example of a proper rewrite using a semi-colon to separate your initial clause. A cleaner
sentence break (your original was a run-on) and then a more concise/clear re-wording. The oxford
comma was just because :D

ksoflas
June 2nd 2014


1422 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

@BlackLlama Keeping the same line up that played on the bands successful debut; the Oliva brothers, Keith

Collins, and Steve Wacholtz. I think this sentence is incomplete.



Thanks for the feedback though.

ScuroFantasma
Emeritus
June 2nd 2014


11967 Comments


"I think this sentence is incomplete."

That's because it builds up to a point that is never made. The way you had it written originally, while not perfect, makes more sense that saying;

"Keeping the same line up that played on the bands successful debut; the Oliva brothers, Keith Collins, and Steve Wacholtz".

Because starting the sentence like that implies that there is a second part to mentioning the line-up. Instead maybe, a better way to expand on what Llama was going for is;

While maintaining the original line-up, consisting of the Oliva brothers Keith Collins and Steve Wacholtz, the band enlisted the help of producer Dan Johanson in order to maximise their potential and bring about their clean, super-heavy sound even at this early point in their career.

Also, 666 comments!

ksoflas
June 2nd 2014


1422 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

I prefer your version than Lama's and I will edit my review now.

Thanks for the feedback and congrats for the magic number of your comments.



I had a T-shirt that wrote '' 665 the neighbor of the beast'' ...hahahahaha.

BlackLlama
June 2nd 2014


2178 Comments


If you elminate the word "Keeping" as the first word in the sentence you can change the grammatic structure to something more fitting. I was just giving some examples :D

Though if you like Fantasma's phrasing, it should appear as thus:

"While maintaining the original line-up, consisting of the Oliva brothers, Keith Collins and Steve Wacholtz; they enlisted the help of producer Dan Johanson in order to maximise their potential and bring about their clean, super-heavy sound even at this early point in their career.

The semi-colon should be used to separate independent clauses in your sentence, else it turns into a run-on at that point :D





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