Guardians of the Flame | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 1983 | |||
Recorded | 1983 | |||
Studio | Sonic Sound Studios, Freeport, New York | |||
Genre | Heavy metal | |||
Length | 41:38 | |||
Label | Music for Nations (UK) Roadrunner (Europe) Mongol Horde (US) King (Japan) | |||
Producer | David DeFeis | |||
Virgin Steele chronology | ||||
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2002 edition CD cover | ||||
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 6/10 [2] |
Imperiumi | |
Metal Forces | 8/10 [4] |
Guardians of the Flame is the second album from New York power metal band Virgin Steele, released in 1983 by Music for Nations. Sanctuary reissued the album in 2002 with songs previously released in the EP Wait for the Night , a live recording, and an interview with the band. [5]
Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contrast with the heaviness and dissonance prevalent for example in extreme metal. Power metal bands usually have anthem-like songs with fantasy-based subject matter and strong choruses, thus creating a theatrical, dramatic and emotionally "powerful" sound. The term was first used in the middle of the 1980s and refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a later more widespread and popular style based in Europe, South America and Japan, with a lighter, more melodic sound and frequent use of keyboards.
Virgin Steele is an American heavy metal band from New York City, originally formed in 1981.
Music for Nations is a British independent record label focusing mainly on rock and metal. It was a subsidiary of the larger label distributor Zomba Records, which was a division of BMG and later Sony Music Entertainment.
David DeFeis is an American singer, keyboard player, songwriter and producer. He is the main composer and leader of the heavy metal band Virgin Steele.
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument played using a keyboard, a row of levers which are pressed by the fingers. The most common of these are the piano, organ, and various electronic keyboards, including synthesizers and digital pianos. Other keyboard instruments include celestas, which are struck idiophones operated by a keyboard, and carillons, which are usually housed in bell towers or belfries of churches or municipal buildings.
Jack Starr is a heavy metal and blues guitarist and songwriter born of a French mother and American father. He learned to play guitar by ear, copying the riffs of R&B records. His first semi-professional band was Les Variations in France with future members of Trust. In the U.S. Starr emerged on the rock and metal scene in 1981, forming, together with Joey Ayvazian, David DeFeis and Joe O’Rielly, the first incarnation of the heavy metal band Virgin Steele. The new band was selected in 1982 by Mike Varney of Shrapnel Records to appear on the label's compilation album U.S. Metal Volume 2. The song Starr sent in for the compilation was "Children of the Storm". After only two albums, Virgin Steele of 1981 and Guardians of the Flame of 1982, Starr left Virgin Steele in 1983 because of musical differences with the band’s front man and other main songwriter David DeFeis.
Virgin Steele is the eponymous debut album by New York heavy metal band Virgin Steele, released independently in 1982. This was the first album released by Music for Nations in Europe and was subsequently released by Mongol Horde Records and Maze Records in Canada. Music for Nations pressed 5,000 copies of the original LP. Sanctuary Records reissued the album on CD in 2002, with bonus tracks and some previously unreleased demos.
Visions of Eden is the eleventh album by American heavy metal band Virgin Steele, released on September 8, 2006 via Sanctuary Records. The album is subtitled The Lilith Project - A Barbaric Romantic Movie of the Mind. It is a concept album based on Gnostic beliefs, which critically revisits the traditional Christian mythology about the creation of the Earth and the Biblical accounts of Adam and Eve.
Age of Consent is the fourth full-length album by US heavy metal band Virgin Steele. The album took eight months to complete, a change from Noble Savage which was recorded in only a few weeks, and was finally released in October 1988. It received scarce promotion and distribution by their small label, resulting in very low sales. The songs of this album follow in style and content the music of the previous album Noble Savage, adding a more polished sound and production. At the time of release, the band faced legal and financial setbacks that brought to the unofficial disbandment of Virgin Steele. Joe O'Reilly, although credited for playing bass on the album, was ill at the time of recording and was ghosted by DeFeis and Pursino.
Life Among the Ruins is the fifth full-length studio album by US heavy metal band Virgin Steele. It was released in 1993, after almost five years of inactivity. The song "Snakeskin Voodoo Man" was present only in the American release and was instead released as a single in 1992 in Europe, at the same time of the VHS Tale of the Snakeskin Voodoo Man. The VHS featured videos for "Snakeskin Voodoo Man", "Love Is Pain", "Invitation-I Dress in Black" and "Cage of Angels-Never Believed in Good-Bye", interviews and backstage footage. The music of this album is bluesy hard rock and melodic metal, more similar to early Whitesnake's recordings than the epic power metal of albums like Noble Savage and the following The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Part I. This is the first album with bassist Rob DeMartino, who replaced Joe O'Reilly, retired from the scene.
Invictus is the eighth studio album from New York-based power metal band Virgin Steele. It is the third part of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell saga, exploring the relationships and conflicts between humanity and divinity. The album's name is Latin for Unconquered.
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Part I is the sixth studio album by American power metal band Virgin Steele, released in 1995. It is the first part of a trilogy of concept albums, comprising also The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Part II and Invictus, about the relationship between humanity and divinity. The songs of the album do not follow a storyline, but they were inspired by religion, mythology, poetry and the personal beliefs of lyricist DeFeis.
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Part II was the seventh studio album by American power metal band Virgin Steele and it was the second of three albums in "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" series. It was mostly written and composed by David DeFeis and Edward Pursino. It is a well received album for its romantic and lyrical approach and its being a major influence on symphonic metal.
The House of Atreus Act I, released in 1999, is the ninth studio album by the American heavy metal band Virgin Steele. It has the subtitle A Barbaric-Romantic Opera. This album is the first part of a metal opera inspired by the Oresteia, a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus which concerns the end of the curse on the House of Atreus. The music was intended to be the soundtrack for theatrical shows, with actors impersonating the characters of the tragedy. The metal opera was actually performed under the name "Klytaimnestra - The House Of Atreus" in European theatres from 1999 to 2001, with the production of the Memmingen Opera House company and Landestheater Production.
The House of Atreus Act II, released in 2000, is the tenth studio album by the American heavy metal band Virgin Steele. It was released as a double CD album. This album is the second and final part of a metal opera inspired by the Oresteia, a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus which concerns the end of the curse on the House of Atreus. The music was intended to be the soundtrack for theatrical shows, with actors impersonating the characters of the tragedy. The metal opera was actually performed under the name "Klytaimnestra - The House Of Atreus" in European theatres from 1999 to 2001, with the production of the Memmingen Opera House company and Landestheater Production.
Noble Savage is the third studio album of the American heavy metal band Virgin Steele, released in 1985 by Cobra Records. The album was reissued in 1997 on CD by Noise Records with six bonus tracks. The remastered edition of 2008 by Dockyard 1 added two other extra tracks. In May 2011, the album was reissued once more by Steamhammer Records, a subsidiary of SPV with the same track list as the 1997 release, but with an added bonus CD containing 13 additional tracks.
Wait for the Night is an EP released in 1983 by the heavy metal band Virgin Steele promoting the album Guardians of the Flame. This EP was released in Europe by Music for Nations with a different cover, a different track listing and the name A Cry in the Night. It is the last release of the band with guitarist Jack Starr.
Magick Fire Music is an EP released in 2000, by the American heavy metal band Virgin Steele, promoting the upcoming full-length album The House of Atreus Act II.
Hymns to Victory is a compilation album of the American heavy metal band Virgin Steele. It was released in January 2002 by Noise Records, to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the band, together with the album The Book of Burning.
The Book of Burning is an album of the American heavy metal band Virgin Steele. It was released in January, 2002 by Noise Records, to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the band, together with the compilation Hymns to Victory. The Book of Burning was cause of a new controversy between founding members David DeFeis and Jack Starr about the format of the recording, with the result of Starr renouncing any involvement in the production of the album and in other reunion projects.
This is the discography of Virgin Steele, an American Heavy metal band founded in 1981 in Long Island by Jack Starr. It includes twelve albums, two EP, and various other media.
The Black Light Bacchanalia is the twelfth album by New York heavy/power metal group Virgin Steele, released via SPV/Steamhammer on October 22, 2010 in Germany, Austria & Switzerland, and the rest of Europe on October 25, 2010 & on November 9, 2010, in the USA.
Out of the Darkness is the first solo album by the American guitarist Jack Starr, originally released in 1984 through Passport Records in the US. A 30-year anniversary edition was issued by German label Limb Music in early 2014.
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