I can’t explain why, but I have never explored the music of Virgin Steele, which given my normal virtually encyclopaedic grab of rock is somewhat hard to explain for a band who has been around since 1981. Singer/bassist David DeFries has been there since the very beginning, while guitarist David Pursino has also been involved for more than thirty years. So when I came across this box set I thought it would be a good way to discover what I was missing through the years, but perhaps I had better let DeFries explain.
“Cheers, Greetings & Salutations Dear Ever Faithful Eternal Metal Listeners and Friends of the Musical Realm & Written Word Domain! I am putting pen to paper today to inform you all about what we have been doing over the past year and what this Box-Set you are now holding in your hands is all about, its backstory…how we arrived here at this place, and perhaps a bit more about where we might be heading.
As some of you may know we have been re-issuing the Virgin Steel catalogue bit by bit over the past several years, and in doing so we have consistently been adding copious amounts of Bonus Material to accompany all these various re-issue offerings. The last two albums scheduled as part of the re-issue campaign we began, are the albums: ‘The Book of Burning’ and ‘Hymns To Victory’. When those two albums first appeared they were released simultaneously, therefore we thought why not once again issue them at the exact same time, but…this time let’s include a brand new album and create a kind of Box Set package. Well…once we began planning and recording for such an endeavour we very soon accumulated far more material than what could possibly fit on one disc…so…we thought OK fine…we’ll plan on releasing two new discs chock full of new material to go along with these last two re-issues…and…shortly after that decision was made, we managed to record even more new material, so now we have in addition to the two re-issues, (which by the way do contain one bonus track each), well Friends we now have actually three brand new discs of VS material included within this special Box Set release!
I wish to stress the fact that what we have done here with our box set is include three brand new albums, not bundle in merely a collection of old bonus tracks we had hanging around for ages and ages… These 3 new discs contain either brand new original songs written and recorded within just these past few months, or brand new re-written covers of songs that we enjoy and felt could be re-cast in the VS style, or…new recordings of classic VS material done either in a special orchestral type setting or stripped way down and re-imagined in vastly different form. Again, at the risk of repetition…these aren’t tracks that have been sitting around in the vaults waiting…these are all newly recorded tracks completed specifically for this particular box set release. I don’t know if anyone has ever done this kind of thing before, but we felt that for us it was absolutely necessary to do this, and it makes perfect sense for where we are…at this moment.”
So yes, what we have here is five discs of music, only two of which have been released in his format prior to this. I had it in my mind that Virgin Steele were an out and out metal band, and while it is true in some ways it is incredibly wrong in so many others. Here we have orchestral music, or DeFries singing with just a piano for support. It is hard to actually know how to explain this album as it is incredibly diverse. There were times when it was only the vocals which allowed me to understand that it was still the same album(s). Although this is aimed very much at the hard-core fan, I am sure this should be treated as an entry into a band who has been around for nearly forty years. They’ve released something like seventeen studio albums during this time, and DeFries has one of the most amazing voices I have come across, and am still finding it hard to believe that what I am listening to is so at odds with what I thought the band were all about. I haven’t seen the full release, which apparently also comes with a detailed booklet, and have only heard the three “new” albums as opposed to all five, yet I have been blown away. Well worth investigating.
Rating: 9/10
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Track list:
CD 1 “Ghost Harvest (The Spectral Vintage Sessions)”
Vintage 1 – Black Wine For Mourning (new album)
1. SEVEN DEAD WITHIN
2. GREEN DUSK BLUES
3. PSYCHIC SLAUGHTER
4. BONEDUST (Orchestral Version)
5. HEARTS ON FIRE
6. CHILD OF THE MORNING STAR
7. MURDER IN HIGH-GLOSS RELIEF
8. FERAL
9. JUSTINE
10. PRINCESS AMY
11. WICKED GAME
– Clouds Of Oblivion Medley (Tracks 12 & 13)
12. LITTLE WING
13. THE GODS DON’T REMEMBER…
CD 2 “Ghost Harvest (The Spectral Vintage Sessions)”
Vintage 2 – Red Wine For Warning (new album)
1. THE EVIL IN HER EYES (Piano & Vocal Version)
2. FEELIN’ ALRIGHT
3. SISTER MOON
– Summertime Darkness Suite (Tracks 4, 5, & 6)
4. SWEATING INTO DAWN
5. SUMMERTIME
6. BLACK LEAVES SWIRL DOWN MY STREET
7. RIP OFF
– The Gods Are Hungry Triptych (Tracks 8, 9, & 10)
8. THE GODS ARE HUNGRY POEM
9. THE POISONED WOUND
10. THE BIRTH OF BEAUTY
11. PROFESSION OF VIOLENCE…
12. ROCK STEADY
13. NUTSHELL
14. SLOW & EASY “INTRO”
15. JESUS JUST LEFT CHICAGO
– Late Night Barroom Hoodoo Medley (Tracks 16, 17, 18, & 19)
16. SOUL KITCHEN
17.WHEN THE MUSIC’S OVER
18. CRAWLING KING SNAKE
19. WHEN THE MUSIC’S OVER “Reprise”
20. IMHULLU
– The Drained White Suite (Tracks 21, 22, & 23)
21. AFTER DARK
22. WAKE THE DEAD
23. THE GRAVEYARD DANCE
24. THE TRIPLE GODDESS
25.TWILIGHT OF THE GODS (Live Acoustic Rehearsal Version)
26. TRANSFIGURATION (Live Acoustic Rehearsal Version)
CD 3 “Gothic Voodoo Anthems” (new album)
1. I WILL COME FOR YOU (Orchestral Version)
2. QUEEN OF THE DEAD (Orchestral Version)
3. THE ORPHEUS TABOO (Orchestral Version)
4. KINGDOM OF THE FEARLESS (The Destruction Of Troy) (Orchestral version)
5. THE BLACK LIGHT BACCHANALIA (Orchestral Version)
6. ZEUS ASCENDANT
7. BY THE HAMMER OF ZEUS (And The Wrecking Ball Of Thor) (Orchestral Version)
– The Gothic Voodoo Suite (Tracks 8, 9 & 10)
8. RUMANIAN FOLK DANCE No. 3 “PE LOC”
9. DELIRIUM “Excerpt”
10. SNAKESKIN VOODOO MAN (Orchestral Version)
11. THE ENCHANTER
– The Fire & Ice Medley (Tracks 12, 13 & 14)
12. BONE CHINA
13. NO QUARTER
14. BONE CHINA “Reprise”
– Passion In The French Quarter Medley (Tracks 15 & 16)
15. CHLOE DANCER
16. GENTLE GROOVE
17. DARKNESS-DARKNESS
18. DEATH LETTER BLUES 19. SPOONFUL
CD 4 “Hymns To Victory” (re-release)
1. FLAMES OF THY POWER (From Blood They Rise)
2. THROUGH THE RING OF FIRE
3. INVICTUS
4. CROWN OF GLORY (UNSCARRED) (In Fury Mix)
5. KINGDOM OF THE FEARLESS (The Destruction Of Troy)
6. THE SPIRIT OF STEELE (Acoustic Version)
7. A SYMPHONY OF STEELE (Battle Mix)
8. THE BURNING OF ROME (Cry For Pompeii)
9. I WILL COME FOR YOU
10. DUST FROM THE BURNING & AMARANTH (Orchestral Versions)
– Bonus Tracks
11. NOBLE SAVAGE (Long Lost Early Mix)
12. MISTS OF AVALON
13. EMALAITH
CD 5 “The Book Of Burning” (re-release)
1. CONJURTION OF THE WATCHER
2. DON’T SAY GOODBYE (TONIGHT)
3. RAIN OF FIRE
4. ANNIHILATION
5. HELLFIRE WOMAN
6. CHILDREN OF THE STORM
7. THE CHOSEN ONES
8. THE SUCCUBUS
9. MINUET IN G MINOR
10. THE REDEEMER
11. I AM THE ONE
12. HOT AND WILD
13. BIRTH THROUGH FIRE
14. GUARDIANS OF THE FLAME
15. THE FINAL DAYS
16. A CRY IN THE NIGHT
– Bonus Track
17. QUEEN OF THE DEAD (Nordic Twilight Version)
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Links:
https://www.virgin-steele.com/
https://www.facebook.com/steamhammerofficial/
