Savatage
Dungeons are Calling

Erroneously considered by most as an EP, "The Dungeons are Calling" from 1984, proves to be a full-fledged album by the legendary American band, even though it consists of only 6 tracks, and for this reason, it is by no means to be underestimated or considered unimportant. If the previous "Sirens" amazed us with its originality, this work proves to be a perfect successor, consolidating the path traced the previous year... even being even more distinct in sound compared to the previous one, in short, it is not inferior at all, in fact...

The album opens with the eponymous track "The dungeons..." a melancholic and emphatic arpeggio, where one tries to understand what a faint, suffering voice says in the distance almost like an echo... it seems to truly come from the depths of hell... Dungeons, indeed... the dungeons that "call," when it is understood that Jon Oliva's voice painfully says: ...The dungeons a-re ca-lli-ing.... for m-ee fo-r me-e, that's when the true piece begins... very unique and exceptional as a whole, the guitar chorus accentuated mid-piece by the synthesizer... is a Battle Horse that the band will often and willingly use in their live performances... one of the most beautiful pieces they have created; it will end just as it begins... without falter... only the creak of a door... and a bang that implies it has closed... just like the door of a dungeon... The second piece "By the grace of the witch" is a classic metal ride, while distorted guitars and frantic rhythms will compose "Visions"... to be heard at full volume, like the overpowering and majestic "Midas Knight"... how I adore this piece, I cannot explain the sensations it provokes in me, punitive, evil, violent, and imperious without compromises. Ladies and gentlemen, we are facing true Metal... or at least one of its highest expressions. An exceptional vocal performance by Jon Oliva, who does not disdain even here his very famous high notes, the piece "City beneath the surface" begins with a synthesizer, which frankly in those 45 seconds of activity reminds me of the tones of the movie "Terminator"... very intense.. this sound will be heard again only at the end of the track... then at the end "The whip". 

A massive album all of a piece. The silver version contains 3 additional B-SIDES tracks from that era... not to be missed either, this fabulous MASTERPIECE... LONG LIVE TO HEAVY METAL!