I've mentioned Sirens on plenty of posts in the past but have never featured or written anything about it directly. I purchased this on the same fateful January 1984 day that I acquired Manilla Road's Crystal Logic while still on winter break from college. Neither album had much initial impact on me. They were both slow growers. Today I consider Manilla Road's album close to the top tier, whereas Sirens remains merely excellent to my ears. Primarily that's because there isn't any one track that makes you sit up and proclaim "did you hear that?" That is to say, there is no 'Dreams of Eschaton' here. But what Sirens did bring was a superbly crafted traditional heavy metal album. Fantastic bass heavy production with crunchy guitars and Jon Oliva's unique snarling and yelping vocals. Not a dud track among the nine songs on display. Though the band were to later incorporate progressive rock and opera themes, I prefer this earlier incarnation of the group. I think they were to peak on The Dungeons are Calling EP before experimenting with more commercial music and then onto the aforementioned progressive rock ideas of Hall of the Mountain King. Sirens is slower and heavier than the bands it's often compared to such as late 70s Judas Priest, same era Iron Maiden, and early Queensryche. It fills a unique space inside of an obvious context.
Ownership: LP: 1983 Par. Single sleeve. Acquired at Metamorphosis Records in Dallas (1984). One of those LPs that is likely to be tossed in the grave with me. Can't imagine ever parting with it. I prefer this cover to the Combat reissues that came along a couple of years later. Today, these original pressings go for quite a bit of moolah. There are a few pressings with the original album cover and I had mine in the wrong entry on Discogs. My copy has "legal rights" on the label (see photo ->).
CD: 2002 Metal Blade. Silver anniversary edition. Jewel case release with liner notes written by former drummer Steve Wacholz. Features three relevant bonus tracks likely taken from the same era (though not documented). Nice to have a supplement for this album.
1//84; 1/21/13; 9/28/19; 9/21/23 (new entry)
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