Warthur This was recorded at the same sessions that yielded Savatage's debut album, Sirens, which in practice means it's much of a piece with it (especially given the fairly tight schedule they were on). It's pretty engaging, but as with Sirens we don't really get that much of what would make Savatage truly stand out coming through here; they're still rooted in NWOBHM-ish trad metal, and the power metal and progressive elements that would eventually be hallmarks of their sound are mere whispers on the wind at this stage. Not bad, but anyone with a decent range of early 1980s metal in their collection has already heard plenty of stuff like this.

martindavey87 After the release of their 1983 debut, Savatage were quick to follow up with this EP, 'The Dungeons Are Calling', that consists of songs that were originally recorded for 'Sirens', but left off due to time restraints.

Overall the selection of tracks is good, but these are pretty much leftovers from the bands previous release, and that's exactly what they sound like. 'City Beneath the Surface' and the title track are standout songs that prevents this EP from being a complete waste, but the rest of the songs are pretty average, especially when compared with Savatage's later material.

As with their first record, the production could be better, but it's raw, grittiness suits the music perfectly, giving it a distinctive 80's metal sound.

'Dungeons' has since been released with 'Sirens' on one CD, "how it was meant to be", according to Savatage mastermind Jon Oliva, which is probably just as well, because as a stand-alone release, I don't think there's much worth picking up here unless you're a dedicated member of the Savatage Legion.

UMUR "The Dungeons Are Calling" is an EP release by US, Florida based power/heavy metal act Savatage. The EP was released through Par Records in March 1984. It bridges the gap between the band´s debut- and second full-length studio albums "Sirens (1983)" and "Power of the Night (1985)". The 6 tracks on the 32:02 minutes long EP were recorded during the sessions for "Sirens (1983)" but ultimately left off that album because of the limited space on vinyls. The material is from the same time period though (1979-1983) and several had appeared in the band´s live set since 1979. So the additional text on the album sleeve which reads: "Features lost Savatage tracks", isn´t completely true, but you don´t really want to write the word "leftover/outtake" material on an album sleeve.

There´s not much "leftover/outtake" quality about the material on "The Dungeons Are Calling" though, as the tracks are of an equal quality to the material featured on "Sirens (1983)". Stylistically it´s traditional heavy metal played and sung by very competent musicians. Even this early on Savatage displayed great playing skills and sophisticated songwriting ideas. The rhythm section is tight, Criss Oliva has a rare tone and feel to his guitar playing, which provides the music with an extra bite and conviction, and Jon Oliva has a powerful rusty voice and a commanding delivery (and also adds some occasional piano and keyboards to the mix).

The sound production is raw and pretty well sounding for the time, and upon conclusion "The Dungeons Are Calling" is a good quality release by Savatage and for fans of "Sirens (1983)" it´s a mandatory listen. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.