Avatar

Long before Christmas Eve in Sarajevo, Trans-Siberian Orchestra was a metal band called Savatage. And long before madness reigned, and prior to crawling through the gutter and into the streets, Savatage existed as Avatar. Their only vinyl offering was a 7” 3-track EP released in 1983, shortly before they changed their name and the rest became history.

The lineup and tracks here are familiar to any serious Sava-fan, with the band’s classic roster already intact. ‘Sirens’ is still one of the bands hallmark songs and appeared on their 1983 album of the same name. Also included here are ‘City Beneath the Surface’, which was a highlight of their set list through most of the 1980s (hearing Jon repeatedly screaming “Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood!” will haunt my nightmares forever), and ‘The Whip’; both these tracks later appeared on their 1984 EP.

Even on this first vinyl recording, the band had firmly established their unique sound. To paraphrase an old review on the Metal Archives site, while most fantasy-minded 80s metal bands wanted to sing about knights and castles, it was the dungeons that called to the Oliva brothers. At their best, as on ‘Sirens’ and ‘City Beneath the Surface’, the band sounded truly subterranean, with a stygian, suffocating style and Jon’s maniacal vocals weaving deranged and darkened tales. In their prime, no other band sounded quite like Savatage.

This EP isn’t perfect, as closer ‘The Whip’ showcased the other side of Savatage; the band was not above reverting to some rather juvenile, single-entendre lyrics at times, especially when it came to songs about sex and women (this track, ‘Twisted Little Sister’, ‘Hard for Love’, etc). While the BDSM lyrical themes made sense for a band that dwelled in the dungeons, way too many 1980s metal bands penned tunes about visits to see Mistress Spanks-A-Lot for any such songs to be particularly interesting or effective, especially 30+ years after-the-fact. Frankly, I always found it hilarious that so many bands would sing about being raging True Metal Warriors fighting the world, and then turn around and croon about wanting to be tied up and whipped. “Oh, what are those marks on my back? Those are from, uh, my quest to destroy the mainstream poseurs and crush the ice-veiled throne of Ultima-Thule….. pay no attention to the fuzzy handcuffs and wooden paddle beside my bed”.

What more can I say? You know the band, and you know the songs. This is where it all began.

A final note to vinyl collectors: this is a tough one to find anymore, and the copies on yellow vinyl are almost impossible to come by and cost a small fortune (see other sections of this website for more details on the yellow vinyl variant). Also, buyers beware, as black vinyl bootlegs have been in circulation for over 20 years, so do your homework before spending a big chunk of your paycheck for a copy.

Ueber die drei goettlichen Songs City beneath the surface, Sirens und The Whip muss ich hier keinerlei Worte verlieren. Avatar waren ihrer Zeit weit voraus. Nach ihrer Umbenennung in Savatage wurde Sirens Titelsong des neuen Albums. Erst 1985 wurden dann auch die beiden anderen Songs kommerziell auf The dungeons are calling verwurstelt. Die Single gibt es Original in 3 verschiedenen Versionen: In schwarzem Vinyl mit silbernem und weissem Label (wie die Sirens LP auch) und die praktisch unauffindbare Version in gelbem Vinyl. Das Originalcover ist oben gewoelbt. Die gute Single wurde dann spaeter gebootlegt, mit weissem Label und ohne Woelbung beim Cover. Ansonsten ist der Unterschied ohne Lupeneinsatz wohl kaum zu erkennen.