Virgin Steele

 Today in 1999 Virgin Steele released the album The House of Atreus: Act I

Long Island, New York Heavy Metal/Hard Rock (early), Heavy/Power Metal (later)

Status:Active

Years active: 1981-present

Virgin Steele have been around since the early 80's, at which time they briefly achieved some acclaim for their early albums before seemingly disappearing from view. But they've always been around, garnering a considerable European following in recent years. On the more recent albums (since, say, Invictus), their experience shines brightly, a classic 80's power metal style (with more than a passing nod to mid-period Manowar), but at a higher level of maturity than a lot of bands jumping on the eighties bandwagon. With the recent The Book Of Burning, Virgin Steele shows no signs of slowing down.

T&T Records

David DeFeis - all vocals, keyboards, orchestration, effects, producer

Edward Pursino - acoustic and electric guitars, bass

Frank Gilchriest - drums

1. Kingdom Of The Fearless (The Destruction Of Troy) (7:39)

2. Blaze Of Victory (The Watchman's Song) (3:59)

3. Through The Ring Of Fire (5:24)

4. Prelude In A Minor (The Voyage Home) (1:13)

5. Death Darkly Closed Their Eyes (The Messenger's Song) (1:25)

6. In Triumph Or Tragedy (1:43)

7. Return Of The King (4:24)

8. Flames Of The Black Star (The Arrows Of Herakles) (6:30)

9. Narcissus (1:13)

10. And Hecate Smiled (2:57)

11. A Song Of Prophecy (2:16)

12. Child Of Desolation (4:48)

13. G Minor Invention (Descent Into Death's Twilight Kingdom) (2:58)

14. Day Of Wrath (1:51)

15. Great Sword Of Flame (4:29)

16. The Gift Of Tantalos (1:56)

17. Iphigenia In Hades (2:01)

18. The Fire God (4:42)

19. Garden Of Lamentation (1:47)

20. Agony And Shame (5:16)

21. Gate Of Kings (3:45)

22. Via Sacra (1:34)

Total Time: 74:00

"The Fire God" first appears on the 1986 Piledriver LP "Stay Ugly".

Recording information:

Recorded and mixed at Media Recording, Bellmore, NY.

Additional engineering by Ed Warrin (Last Chance Studios), Bellmore, NY.

Mastered at Frankford Wayne Mastering Labs, NY.

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 song "The Fire God" first appears on the 1986 Piledriver LP Stay Ugly