Search - Virgin Steele :: House of Atreus Act 1

Classic Metal

Alain Fournier | Hamilton, Pembroke Bermuda | 10/17/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As the title implies "The House Of Atreus Act 1" is the first CD of a set. The story is told in 2 Acts and the second CD is not surprisingly called "The House Of Atreus Act 2".
The action of "The House Of Atreus Act 1" takes place after the fall of Troy. It tells of the fate of Agamemnon King of Argos upon his return to his homeland. I won't go into details sufficient to say that its full of death and betrayals.
There are 10 different characters in the story. David Defeis sings all the parts. The only way to tell which character sings what is by consulting the booklet. David Defeis range is quite majestic going from a low treble to a high falsetto.
The album could be termed a metal opera in the truest sense. Overall the music is very grandiose and atmospheric. The album is composed of 22 songs. Four of the songs are 2 minutes or less and 3 more are 3 minutes or less. These songs are used as a transition from one scene to another or to set the mood for the next song and do an excellent job in the process. The album's song ranges from fast and melodic metal to gentler keyboard and acoustically driven songs. Each style complementing and enhancing the distinct trait of each other. This album is a very effective melding of classical, opera and heavy metal. The best songs on the album included "Kingdom of The Fearless" which kick starts the album with furious rifting and non stop bass drums. "Ring of Fire" another of the metal songs aptly demonstrate Dave Defies vocal range and serious memorable backing vocals. "Flames of the Black Star" with its catchy headbanging chorus. "And Hecate smiled" starts with David signing melodically while the piano and guitar slowly join him to rise into a frentic crescendo that then proceeds to slow down mournfully. There is not a weak song in the bunch. Overall an extremely good metal album that should be in the collection of any smart metal head."

Classic among classics from one of the half-dozen greatest r

king wolf | Jotunheim | 12/31/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Talk about "sustained excellence". There not only isn't a bad track on any of the Virgin Steele albums since Invictus, there aren't even any average ones. Every single song (excepting only the ridiculous "Saturday Night" on Hymns to Victory, the hits package) on all of these albums -- and that's hours of music -- is simply as good as epic, symphonic, "true" or power metal get.

It doesn't seem like they ever did get a high level of commerical success. It doesn't matter. We don't judge artists by their popularity nor by their worst works, we judge them by the aesthetic and spiritual quality of their greatest works. This record is one of the greatest albums in this genre you will ever hear. Virgin Steele deserves every bit of their legendary position in the history of metal, even if it's only the elites who seem to know they exist. You must add this one (and Invictus, and Part Two, and for that matter all their records with Pursino) to your collection right away -- unless you're some kind of tasteless doofus, of course, in which case you likely wouldn't have found out about this band anyway."