Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Virgin Steele
Label: Noise Records
Released: 1983
Length: 67:05
Rating: 3.5/5
The ideas were clearly boiling over. The follow-up to “the first one” tops the debut in every respect. The sound is deeper, the production even more cranked up, i.e. metalized. For the time, that sound was a real treat in heavy metal, which was winning masses upon masses of new warriors for its ranks, because the “golden age of the eighties” was just around the corner.
“Guardians Of The Flame” differs from the debut mainly in that the epic and gothic flavor in the songs has overpowered the band’s blues roots. Sure, the record has the perfect bluesy hard rocker “Go All The Way”, but the title track and the grandiose “The Redeemer”, which with its structure incredibly evokes Rainbow’s Stargazer, are packed with rhythmic and thematic twists that complement each other brilliantly. “Metal City” and “Burn The Sun” are pure madness, the latter with an opening riff that recalls the Black Sabbath-style “In For The Kill” from the album “Seventh Star” (1986).
So, to sum up. The band’s character is once again defined by total aggression. I repeat. Wild, passionate, erotic and utterly untamed. In other words, alive. David DeFeis’s keyboards are even more expressive, including his bravura soloing inside some of the songs. Not to mention the energetic singing of this little notorious, debauched hedonist (read: a pleasure-seeker without limits), who in his spare time, and on stage too, loves to wave a (totally real) sword around. Genius with no expiration date.
Besides remixing and remastering, David added four bonus tracks. On the last of them, “Blues Deluxe Oreganata (I Might Drown)”, recorded live on stage in December 1990, you can hear the guitar of Edward Pursino, who replaced Jack Starr in the band in 1984. There you go, now you can finally complete your Virgin Steele collection. Like every one of them, the revived “Guardians Of The Flame” is an equal, first-rate story in its own right and, given the technology available back then, an outstanding achievement for 1983. Damn, it still ignites today!
Line-up
David DeFeis – vocals, keyboards
Jack Starr – guitar
Joe “O” – bass
Joey Ayvazian – drums
Production
David DeFeis
Track list
1. Don’t say goodbye (tonight)
2. Burn the Sun
3. Life of Crime
4. The Redeemer
5. Birth through Fire
6. Guardians of the Flame
7. Metal City
8. Hell or high Water
9. Go all the Way
10. Cry in the Night
BONUS TRACKS ON THE 2002 REMASTERED REISSUE:
11. I am the one
12. Go down fighting
13. Wait for the Night
14. Interview
15. Blues Deluxe Oreganta (I might drown)
