By Vinnie Apicella

After listening to what soon will be hailed in metal circles as this year's crowning achievement, one can only imagine how this multi-talented power trio will pull this off live. Based on the great Greek Tragedy that was born during the fabled Trojan Wars, Virgin Steele's "The House of Atreus: Act I" is nothing short of brilliant. A theatrical masterpiece set to heavy metal and classical music, "Kingdom of the Fearless", the underlying theme presented here, is billed as "A Romantic-Barbaric Opera" and there's simply no better way to express it. A majestic tale of triumph and tragedy clash in an epic struggle set forth in an ongoing sequence of events that turn your CD player into your own private theater of deliverance. David DeFeis, the mastermind behind this challenging work of art, waves the banner of true metal all the way and has since the earliest signs of its emergence at the dawn of the 1980's. For American metal fans that might be getting their first taste of Virgin Steele (as their material for the most part was only available to lucky Europeans, who will absolutely rejoice after hearing this) think in terms of another true metal powerhouse, Manowar. Vocally similar, Defeis leads the march here less so in a "raise your fist", "metal forever" context and rather in an "Achilles, Agony & Ecstasy" direction. In fact if you can imagine a hybrid of Queen and Manowar in their most operatically diligent forms, then expand wholly on the adventuresome dramatization that carries forth this quest, you'll begin to understand the majesty of this composition! "The House of Atreus" is broken into 22 separate parts that each significantly contribute to the story being presented here. Each song captures the essence of the respective "part" it's expected to support as the ensuing "scenes" suggest, where the music expands and contracts in conceivably every possible direction setting the mood as dictated from the history from which this was bore. Tempos range from slowly foreboding to the mid-paced, to off the scale ferocity intertwined with defining moments of brief instrumental interludes that suggest the great dramatic sequences of mental imagery that subconsciously formulate during this emotionally-charged listening journey! Every stirring piece flows effortlessly to the next-"Kingdom of Fear" / "Blaze of Victory", "Day of Wrath" / "Great Sword of Flame…" and full liner notes and storyline are provided to aid in navigating our way through to the end where we're left in a dramatic foothold… until the completion of Act II which is currently underway to provide closure to this twisted yet compelling story!

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