Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Blue Öyster Cult
Label: Columbia Records
Release: 1981
Running time: 39:06
Rating: 5/5
»Fire of Unknown Origin« was the eighth studio album from Blue Öyster Cult, the American masters of progressive-leaning hard rock and refined shades of heavy metal, who at this point in their career were stuck in a pretty serious commercial slump. The two records before it, both excellent and still fan favorites today, »Mirrors« (1979) and »Cultösaurus Erectus (1980), had done rather poorly sales-wise. »Fire of Unknown Origin« marked a sudden U-turn back toward the top of the radio charts, unexpectedly handing them a mega hit in the form of the legendary classic »Burnin’ For You«, still one of their most celebrated songwriting achievements.
It was the second BÖC album after »Cultösaurus Erectus« produced by cult producer Martin Birch (Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Fleetwood Mac), and it shows in a noticeably rawer sound than most of Blue Öyster Cult’s earlier studio efforts. Stylistically, »Fire of Unknown Origin« carried on their winning recipe of weaving punchy, often epic hard rock anthems together with intelligent lyrics, only with an even bigger dose of sophisticated synth arrangements compared to its predecessors. Keyboardist Allen Lanier finally flung the doors wide open to the synth technology of the early eighties, and the somewhat more electronic sound gave the legendary band a more modern look that kept pace with the times. Plenty of the songs on the album were originally meant to appear on the soundtrack of the cult animated film Heavy Metal, but in the end only »Veteran Of Psychic Wars« made it onto it, which is a shame, since a few of the tracks, like »Heavy Metal: The Black and Silver« and »Vengeance (The Pact)«, touch on the film thematically in their lyrics.
The title track is a punchy hard rock opener packed with sophisticated synth touches, epic guitar harmonies and (as usual) an arrogantly swaggering rhythm guitarist, Eric Bloom, on lead vocals. He shines especially in the mighty chorus, which pushes the song’s mysterious, melodramatic atmosphere to a boil. The conspiratorial lyrics about a ‘fire of unknown origin that carries off the protagonist’s girl’ came from Lanier’s girlfriend at the time, the famous American poet and musician Patti Smith. Interestingly, Eric appears on this album only as a singer, plus a few bass lines on »Heavy Metal: The Black and Silver«, while all the guitar parts were played by lead guitarist/vocalist Donald ‘Buck Dharma’ Roeser, whose melodic singing was largely responsible for the biggest hit on »Fire of Unknown Origin«.
That was, of course, the previously mentioned single »Burnin’ For You«, one of those unforgettable heavy rock creations that will withstand every test of time forever, and which took its place alongside BÖC hit classics like »Don’t Fear The Ripper« and »Godzilla«. Funnily enough, it’s actually the least metal song on the album, since besides the punchy hard rock riffs you can also pick up hints of AOR and even reggae. The winning recipe of this timeless classic lies mainly in Buck’s phenomenal vocal performance, which reaches its triumph in the epic chorus, while the guitar maestro’s untamed guitar passages are joined by mighty, choir-like backing harmonies, uncompromising drum fills and subtle reggae rhythms. And a few more interesting, if not downright bizarre, details about this evergreen: »Burning For You« ended up on the blacklist of ‘dangerous’ songs that the American government banned from airplay after the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, an event that’s still wrapped in conspiracy theories, while over the years it’s been covered by artists as stylistically different as Iced Earth and Lisa Marie Presley. Buck wrote »Burnin’ For You« together with longtime collaborator, lyricist and music critic Richard Meltzer, and it was originally intended for his solo debut »Flat Out (1982), but luckily he changed his mind at the urging of the rest of the band.
And that was far from the end of the great songs on »Fire of Unknown Origin«. Quite the opposite. The sci-fi epic »Veteran Of The Psychic Wars«, with lyrics co-written by the band’s longtime collaborator, the legendary British author Michael Moorcock, known for some of the greatest literary masterpieces in science fiction and fantasy, is still a wet dream come true for every fan of epic heavy metal. The phrase ‘veteran of a thousand psychic wars’ actually comes from the Hawkwind standard »Standing On The Edge«, found on the cult album »Warrior On The Edge Of Time« (1975), and refers to Moorcock’s popular character the Eternal Champion. No surprise there, given that Moorcock worked on both classics. The two ‘stars’ of this epic evergreen are Lanier and Bloom. The keyboardist, a man who knows every trick in the book, lays down ethereal textures that build a truly futuristic atmosphere, backed by warrior rhythms reminiscent of a military march, while Mr. Bloom shines with an epic vocal performance. Buck-style melancholic guitar passages flow constantly through the ‘cosmic’ waves of synth textures, ramping up the mighty mood until it’s easy to picture the ‘eternal champion’, after all the centuries of endless battles and ever-new (re)incarnations in different bodies, eras and dimensions, standing on the edge of rage.
On »Sole Survivor«, where a sullen Bloom is once again at the mic, as on the lion’s share of the songs on »Fire of Unknown Origin«, they cleverly used female backing vocal harmonies in the main chorus, giving this fine song, which is loaded with intelligent Buck guitar variations, as melodramatic an ambient effect as you could ask for. True to its title, »Heavy Metal: The Black And Silver« is an epic heavy metal anthem with a bristling guitar phrase up front and a rousing chorus built to get every long-haired dude in black leather up on their feet at gigs and shove their hands high in the air. As was tradition for them, ‘thunderer’ Eric Bloom always grabbed the lead vocal scepter on the tougher tracks, while the softer, more sophisticated melodies fell to ‘the eternal romantic’ Buck.
»Vengeance (The Pact)« is one of the toughest songs in BÖC’s whole career. With its triumphant chorus, all-encompassing epic mood, punchy yet melodic guitar passages and fantasy lyrics, it’s practically the prototype of what music critics later called power metal, largely thanks to bands like Helloween and Gamma Ray. The most interesting thing in this song is the sudden tempo change and the shift from the epic-melodic part into a somewhat more brutal section with a drum stampede and the enraged vocal approach of a ‘man in black shades’. This time bassist Joe Bouchard successfully helped Eric out with the triumphant vocal harmonies. The solid hard rocker »After Dark«, where a dark, mysterious atmosphere takes over again, opens with a rattling bass line and delicate guitar passages, while Eric’s vocals crank up the tense drama, especially in the mighty chorus. Playful synth touches weave wittily through the intelligent guitar variations and tie the central melody together nicely.
»Joan Crawford«, whose lyrics deal with the return of the famous American film actress Joan Crawford (her last role on the big screen was in the sci-fi horror flick Trog, 1970), or rather her sudden resurrection from the grave, and with the book Mommie Dearest, was yet another BÖC classic on this album. A melodramatic piano intro gives way to an energetic section driven by a punchy guitar riff, while the high point is an epic, slightly creepy chorus that conjures up the atmosphere of a black-and-white horror movie, not to mention the effects in between, like a ringing telephone and ‘zombie’ whispers. »Don’t Turn Your Back«, where Buck Dharma takes over the vocal baton after ‘a long time’, makes for an interesting close to the album with its mysterious atmosphere. It’s a track with exceptionally sophisticated synth arrangements, a thick bass line and the kind of emphatic melodic chorus you’d normally expect from Buck. On top of that, he manages to weave in one of the best guitar solos on the album.
»Fire of Unknown Origin« was the crown jewel on top of the Kronos sickle of masters of sophisticated heavy rock variations and keepers of conspiracy theories, so it’s no surprise that it’s still one of their most beloved records among fans today. Sadly, »Fire of Unkown Origin«, which on top of its superb music owed at least a bit of its big success to a great cover, with a horde of tattooed, hooded followers of the fictional ‘cult of the blue oyster’ (the latter visible in their hands), was also the last album by the original BÖC lineup. During the 1981 tour they fired drummer Albert Bouchard, who was briefly replaced by Rick Downey, their former lighting tech.
Lineup
Eric Bloom – lead vocals on tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8, bass on track 5
Donald ‘Buck Dharma’ Roeser – guitar, lead vocals on tracks 2 and 9, backing vocals and bass on track 6, percussion on track 3, sound effects on track 8
Allen Lanier – keyboards
Joe Bouchard – bass, backing vocals on track 6
Albert Bouchard – drums, synthesizer, backing vocals
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Karla DeVito – backing vocals on 4
Sandy Jean – backing vocals on 9
Bill Civitella – additional percussion on 3
Tony Cedrone – additional percussion on 3
Jesse Levy – arrangements on 3 and 8
Production
Martin Birch
Track list
1. Fire of Unknown Origin (4:09)
2. Burnin’ For You (4:29)
3. Veteran of the Psychic Wars (4:48)
4. Sole Survivor (4:04)
5. Heavy Metal: the Black and Silver (3:16)
6. Vengeance (The Pact) (4:41)
7. After Dark (4:25)
8. Joan Crawford (4:55)
9. Don’t Turn Your Back (4:07)
