I still dont actually own Dungeons are calling yet, but having listened to it before I must say it ranks pretty high up on my list(almost overtaking streets which I dont care what anyone says, is THE best sava disc!!!!). The riffs are more catchy on this I think than sirens, and like some others pointed out, has a more dark/gothic vibe....not gothic like parachute pants gothic!...you know what I mean. The lyrics to the whip are lame and the track is definately my least fav, but its got a pretty cool riff anyways.

My favorate tracks are the title track, by the grace of the witch, visions, city beneath the surface, and if we are talking about the aniversery disc, I reallly like stranger in the dark as well.

Dungeons Are Calling pretty much follows where Sirens left off. And that is quite natural, becasue I think these songs were recorded at the same time as 'Sirens'. Dungeons... was released to finish the contract the band had with Par Records, so they could move forwards with their brand new deal with Atlantic. This album could not have been released today, as they no longer make min-LP's, EP's and cool stuff like that! And what a shame that would have been! The title track, By The Grace of the Witch (my favorite) & City Beneath The Surface (originally released as a single when they were still named Avatar) are all landmark Savatage tunes. But Midas Knight is another "forgotten" gem here. The Silver Edition reissue comes with 4 bonus tracks. Here is the original version of "Before I Hang", a song that Jon later re-recorded on his Global Warning album. Parts of "Stranger In The Dark" later appeared on the bonus disc for the "From the Gutter to the Stage" compilation, as the previously unreleased track "This is Where You Should Be".

You guys are going to hate me when we get to Streets.

Listened to some Savatage lastnight on the way home from practice and today while I was working and I came to the conclusion that I still dont really care for Sirens, and Dungeons was better. Sirens did seem a little ammatureish which is understandable they were still trying to find their sound. They arent horrible albums though just not classic ones to my ears.

OK kids, I think we're about ready to move on, soooooo... next up: 1985's POWER OF THE NIGHT, Savatage's major label debut...



Like all of the major labels at the time, Atlantic Records was snapping up metal bands from the indie-label underground at a pretty good clip between 1984-85, and Savatage were right there in the mix. Some of their freshly-signed labelmates at the Atlantic stable at this time included Malice, Loudness and Raven. POWER OF THE NIGHT, released in 1985, was produced by Max Norman (who was sort of the "hip" metal producer at the time, having worked already with Ozzy and the aforementioned Loudness) and he gives POWER OF THE NIGHT a cleaner, more polished studio sound than either of their previous records. The improved sonics give killer tracks like the anthemic title song, "Unusual," and "Stuck On You" that little extra "punch" that was missing from SIRENS or DUNGEONS. While stylistically, the bulk of POWER OF THE NIGHT is quite similar to the path Savatage had been on since SIRENS, they do seem to be streching a little bit on tracks like "Necrophilia," "Washed Out" and "Warriors," all of which nod to the newfangled thrash/speed metal sound that was all the rage at the time.

On a personal note...though it doesn't seem to get much love these days except from the Savatage diehards, POWER OF THE NIGHT is a personal fave of mine because it was the first Savatage record I heard in its entirety. I was familiar with some of the band's tracks like "Dungeons Are Calling" or "Sirens" due to hearing them on Metal radio back in the day, but in my freshman year of college (Fall of '88) I went to a party one night and the host's roommate happened to be playing this album in the background. I wasn't sure who it was so I tracked the guy down and said "Dude, who the hell IS this? It's frickin AWESOME!" he told me "Savatage," then he threw on "Hall of the Mountain King" for good measure. At that point I said something to the effect of "Wow, I think I just found my new favorite band," haha. (and yes, I bought both albums -- plus the others I'd been missing -- shortly thereafter.) The following year, that guy (Andrew) became MY new roommate, and I eventually introduced him to Crimson Glory, which became one of HIS favorite bands. That turned out to be a nice little Metalhead Exchange Program.

Sooooo anyway, sorry for the personal interlude...where the hell was I? Oh yeah... even though Atlantic Records signed a bunch of new heavy bands during the mid-80s, they clearly didn't know how to market any of them. I vaguely remember seeing a ton of LP copies of this album in cut-out bins (along with recent stuff by their labelmates Raven, Malice, and Loudness!) around 1986-87 or so (before I knew who Savatage was; I probably should've bought this one anyway, then I would've been ahead of the curve!), It seemed like Atlantic just threw the bands/albums out there with no promotion, and then wondered why they weren't instantly selling zillions of copies like Ratt or Def Leppard. Amazingly enough, despite this, Savatage ended up having the longest tenure at Atlantic Records of nearly any metal band, lasting well into the late 90s.

Have I babbled enough yet? One more thing... looking back, POWER OF THE NIGHT marked the end of the "first phase" of Savatage. From here (minus the burp in the catalog called FIGHT FOR THE ROCK, which we'll get to soon) the band's sound would go through numerous mutations and progressions, but POWER OF THE NIGHT is the last album of simple, straight up, no frills heavy metal from the band, as they had their sights set on bigger and better things.

One last note: when I saw Savatage for the first time in 1990 (the GUTTER BALLET tour -- have I mentioned lately that it was the best...show...EVER??), the title track to this album was still in the set list, and Chris Caffery sang lead on it while Jon Oliva took over on guitar. It was pretty frickin' cool. :metal:

Better but still not one i'd listen to a lot. Call me when we get to Hall Of The Mountain King 'cause i'm going to gush.

Freddy said it. POTN was the band's last 100% pure heavy metal record. It still is my favorite and more than likely will always be. From the ferocity of the title track to the beautiful melody of "In The Dream", there isn't a dud on this album. I have never tired of this one. All the others released after this rarely get listened to by me.

Not my favorite album by these guys, I was already a Savatage fan but 'Power of the Night' did not have that great live sound I had heard many times before.

The production was better of course and the songs were ok, but this album seemed to be that it was trying straddle the line between the tradition metal and thrash. At the time the album came out I thought it was a masterpiece but over the years I feel in love with their more progessive rock influences that would begin to creep starting with the next album and slowly begin to dominate their career.

Not a bad album but I look at as more transitional album and one could sense big changes were ahead for this band.

Good album! I have this one. Commenting on the earlier ones - I like Sirens and Dungeons, but this one is the best one so far!!!!

Just listened to this today as well. Actually I was trying to listen to them in order so I could keep up with this thread and I wasnt sure if this album came next or Hall Of The Mountain King. Thankfully I was right and I listened to this one first then Hall.

Anyway after not listening to it in full for quit some time I think it was a pretty good album. I liked just about most of it and the song arrangements were an improvement. Though I think the album was a little slower than the first two. Not as many thrashier songs.

I dont think this would be the end of the first phase of Savatage. I think that came after the next album. POTN also saw them use piano in the song In The Dream for the first time on an album (if im correct).

Im not crazy about the production. Even though it was done by Max Norman who I thought was the man at the time because he was doing all the Megadeth albums. Its strange also because this albums production is a little more polished which is what I think killed their thrash sound a little then on the next album it sounded more like the way they used to. That could just be me though.

I think my main problem with those early albums is that I used them live a few times a month and heard alot of these songs live before hearing the album, so I was always disappointed with the songs not sounding like they did on stage.

'Hall of the Mountain King' was the first time I heard these songs on vinyl before I heard them live, so maybe that is why I am not a bigger fan of their early catalog.

I was always the opposite about bands. Sometimes their live shows ruined albums for me or made me not like them live. luckily most of the live Savatage stuff I heard I liked so no problems there

This is one of those albums that I enjoyed much more as a teenager. But listening to it now it hasn't aged all that well. Not completely the band's fault, the production is pretty horrid - badly processed 80's drum sound, all high end and low end with no mid-range, the guitar sound is especially weak by comparison to their earlier albums. It sounds de-fanged.

There are definitely some highlights on here. Washed Out is one of my all-time favorite Savatage tracks, Criss' palm harmonic riff is killer. Necrophilia points in the direction they would explore later...while Skull Session sounds more like the Dungeon's era material, both tracks are awesome. Stuck On You is another cool track.

However, there are just too many mid-tempo tracks on here that sound like they were a little confused about what direction they wanted to take...so they end up coming off rather middle of the road sounding. Another thing about this album that bothers me are the lyrics, easily the most "bone-head metal" of their career. When the songs have the attitude behind them you can get away with goofy lyrics...but unfortunately they stand out all too clearly on this album.

I think their first two Atlantic albums sound like a band that was a little unsure about who they wanted to be. Major label "cold feet" was not uncommon during this era.

I'm really liking this thread. Since I wasn't really familiar with Savatage before, this thread is really informative, and I see myself buying more Savatage CD's in the future.

I remember liking this album less than the others I heard up to that point (Edge Of Thorns, Handful Of Rain, Hall Of The Mountain King and Streets) but still enjoyed it greatly. Criss could have played children songs and make them sound kick arse. The album cover is awesome IMO and fits the music perfectly (a common trait with Savatage albums). I don't have a copy of it anymore but it is high on my want list but I can never find it anywhere (much like Sirens). Can't wait til I'm financially stabe and can start internet shopping again, stores suck.

Personal story here. By the time Savatage became known to me merchandise became almost impossible to get and by the time I discovered the internet I couldn't find any stores selling Savatage merchandise. When I was in the navy I found a merchandise store in Croatia (a former Soviet Union country). I found many shirts by bands I had never been able to find before but soon I realized they were not official. However, I found a Savatage shirt and fake or not I got it and the front was the cover for this album (stragely though the band photo on the back was of the Edge Of Thorns line up ). Still have it though I've turned it into a sleeveless shirt due to the thing shrinking.

Okay.....power of the night. Pretty average album by Savatage, the tracks are all really mid tempo songs, and not as catchy guitarwork or vocals as the two previous ones. Songs like Unusual, hard for love, and stuck on you should have all been saved for the shitty fight for the rock album instead of this one. Too many campy lovesongs and not enough US powermetal for my taste. I will have to agree, this album has some major significance, because like the guys above said, this marks the end of the first era of the Sava timeline. I will say though that the second half of the songs are better than the first and its not complete downer(that goes to the shitfest called FFTR) but still not as good as the first two...dungeons in particular. My favorate track is warriors I think.

dungeons... :metal: :metal:
power of the night :metal: :metal:

I agree with Stender her. I find Power of the Night to be a step down from Dungeons. The top songs are better, like the title track and my favorite, Warriors. But as a whole, this album falls a little flat. I think the producer didn't know what to do with a band this heavy, and signing to a big label turned out to be a mixed affair for the band also (mor on that later, right?). As a fanboy I still like this album, but it is nowhere near a favorite.

I've always liked the last 4 albums with Criss over the first 4. Although I like all the albums with Criss.

Power Of The Night's a pretty good album. However its also the only one I own, so that makes it my favorite, and thats my whole 2 cents on Savatage

Wow how could you only own 1 Savatage album?