Description

The House of Atreus, Act 1 is an incredibly ambitious project even for Virgin Steele, a band whose recent recordings centered on no less a concept than The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. It is essentially a partial retelling of the Greek tragedy concerning the royal family cursed by a hideous act of cannibalism and doomed in the aftermath of the Trojan War; the music is appropriately epic and grandiose, borrowing from classical and prog rock as well as traditional, straight-ahead British-style metal. To be sure, there are times when the music collapses under its own bombast or the weight of its pretensions, but it's surprising that Virgin Steele pulls off this project as well as they do. Track listing: 1. Kingdom Of The Fearless (The Destruction Of Troy) 2. Blaze Of Victory (The Watchman's Song) 3. Through The Ring Of Fire 4. Prelude In A Minor (The Voyage Home) 5. Death Darkly Closed Their Eyes (The Messenger's Song) 6. In Triumph Or Tragedy 7. Return Of The King 8. Flames Of The Black Star (The Arrows Of Herakles) 9. Narcissus 10. And Hecate Smiled 11. A Song Of Prophecy 12. Child Of Desolation 13. G Minor Invention (Descent Into Death's Twilight Kingdom) 14. Day Of Wrath 15. Great Sword Of Flame 16. The Gift Of Tantalos 17. Iphigenia In Hades 18. The Fire God 19. Garden Of Lamentation 20. Agony And Shame 21. Gate Of Kings 22. Via Sacra