Virgin Steele
Band:
Virgin Steele
Album: Virgin Steele 1
Released: 1981 (2002 - Re-release)
Length: 70:50
Rating: 8.5/10
Band:
Virgin Steele
Album: Guardian of the
Flame
Released: 1982 (2002 - Re-release)
Length: 67:15
Rating: 8.5/10
Virgin Steele 1 (1981) and Guardians
Of The Flame (1982) have become available for the first time on CD through
Noise Records, making these rare releases from Virgin Steele, a New
York City outfit, readily available to the metal masses. Guardians Of
The Flame bleeds pure metal and it shows the essence of what classic
80s metal once stood for years ago! It's a pure classic, and it's great
to have releases like this available on CD. Virgin Steele 1 is not quite
as polished but there are still some essential metal moments including
'Danger Zone' and 'Pulverizer'. Virgin Steele 1 was also the very first
release on Music for Nations, catalog number MFN1. Metallica's vinyl
pressing on the Music For Nations label has also become a highly sought
after collectable.
I'm going to focus on Guardians of the Flame as it's my favorite of the
two,
and you can really hear a large improvement in many categories from
their
debut. 'Don't Say Goodbye (Tonight)' opens with a monstrous riff while
'Burn
The Sun' shows off heavy metallic vocals from David DeFeis. Track
three,
'Life Of Crime', has one of the more memorable choruses on Guardians Of
The
Flame while 'Birth Through Fire' is a simple and short introduction to
the
melodic and romping title-track. 'Metal City' highlights Jack Starr's
guitar
pyrotechnics, Starr went on to form Jack Starr's Burning Star following
1985s Noble Savage release with Virgin Steele, a few Burning Star CDs
have
recently been reissued through Metal Mayhem and other various outlets.
'Metal City' totally scorches and it's what I would consider the
highlight
within. ‘Go All The Way’, Hell or High Water and ‘A Cry in the Night’
round
out the rest of the original Guardians Of The Flame.
As far as the bonus tracks are concerned they create an extended
listening
experience making a good CD even better. They are all exceptional and
they
fit in well within the context of the release. The interview is also
entertaining, taking the listener back into the early 80s, but I've
always
felt interview tracks belong on a second disc (see the 2-CD versions of
Ozzy's The Ozzman Cometh and Iced Earth's Horror Show). But at the end
of it
all, there is some essential metal here and these CDs show the
beginning of
a longstanding career from Virgin Steele, one which has spanned
numerous
releases over twenty (plus) years.
By: Van Alan
Virgin
Steelel's Website
Virgin Stele -
Guardian of the Flame -
VIRGIN STEELE 1:
01. A) Minuet In G Minor B) Danger Zone
02. American Girl
03. Dead End Kids
04. Drive On Thru
05. Lothlorien (Bonus Track)
06. Still In Love With You
07. Children Of Tth Storm
08. Pictures On You
09. Pulverizer
10. Living In Sin
11. Virgin Steele
12. The Lesson (Bonus Track)
13. Life Of Crime (Bonus Track)
14. Burn The Sun (Bonus Track)
15. American Girl (Bonus Track)
16. Dead End Kids (Bonus Track)
17. Drive On Thru (Bonus Track)
18. Living In Sin (Bonus Track)
GUARDIAN OF THE FLAME:
01. Don't Say Goodbye (Tonight)
02. Burn The Sun
03. Life Of Crime
04. The Redeemer
05. Birth Through Fire
06. Guardians Of The Flame
07. Metal City
08. Hell Or High Water
09. Go All The Way
10. A Cry In The Night
11. I Am The One
12. Go Down Fighting
13. Wait For The Night
14. INTERVIEW extended version (1984 released by: Mark Snider)
15. Blues Deluxe Oreganata (I Might Drown) (Bonus Track)