Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Dark Ride Of Fire......"Pure Excellence", March 16, 2001
First I want to say that Virgin Steele are excellent. My first love is "Heavy Metal".....Maiden, Dio, King, Priest, Old-Metallica, Gamma Ray, Fates, Savatage, ect. ect.Don't be fooled by anybody calling this CD an "opera". It's got some great piano pieces, and short ballads, but overall, this CD is pure "METAL". I could go on forever about how good this CD is, but I'll make it short and to the point. Virgin Steele is kind of on the dark side, many of their songs are focused towards fire, and destruction. If your not use to this kind of music, it may bother you at first. I myself, don't enjoy it when bands constantly scream evil chants down your throat. This is not Black Metal, or Death Metal. I'd call it Dark/Gothic/Melodic/Heavy Metal. One thing I really love about this CD is the vocals.....they are ferocious!!!! What makes these guys so good is that they mix everything together so well. I've never heard songs written quite like these. This whole CD is one giant story that will blow you away!!! I bought this CD with reservations......It's a priceless classic if you ask me. If you like any of the bands I mentioned above, you should have very little trouble placing this diamond right up there with all of your favorites.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Effort, June 16, 2000
This is one of those CD's that leaves you thinking "How in the heck can a band make an album like this?" There are some great composers in heavy metal that get no recognition. David DeFeis is one of them. I remember reading a review in a Philly paper on Dream Theater's Scenes From A Memory that stated that nobody writes conceptial albums anymore. Well, to the ignorant U.S. Press, that would be the case. To us knowledgable of great music now have House of Atreus Pt. I to add to a growing collection of amazing conceptial CD's. In fact, it is almost becoming a prerequisite anymore as the number of great bands increases, so will the necessity to be innovative. Man, who would've done an entire metal album about Greek Mythology in the 1980's? Wow, the first decade of the 21st century is looking bright for sophisticated metal fans.Note: I always comment on the singer in each of my reviews. David DeFeis's singing is one reason I did not give this a 5. It seems like he holds back. Maybe he's going for the emotional display instead of the range display, but it seems like no matter how he uses his raspy voice, it always sounds like he's partially whispering.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Metal, October 17, 2001
As the title implies "The House Of Atreus Act 1" is the first CD of a set. The story is told in 2 Acts and the second CD is not surprisingly called "The House Of Atreus Act 2".
The action of "The House Of Atreus Act 1" takes place after the fall of Troy. It tells of the fate of Agamemnon King of Argos upon his return to his homeland. I won't go into details sufficient to say that its full of death and betrayals.
There are 10 different characters in the story. David Defeis sings all the parts. The only way to tell which character sings what is by consulting the booklet. David Defeis range is quite majestic going from a low treble to a high falsetto.
The album could be termed a metal opera in the truest sense. Overall the music is very grandiose and atmospheric. The album is composed of 22 songs. Four of the songs are 2 minutes or less and 3 more are 3 minutes or less. These songs are used as a transition from one scene to another or to set the mood for the next song and do an excellent job in the process. The album's song ranges from fast and melodic metal to gentler keyboard and acoustically driven songs. Each style complementing and enhancing the distinct trait of each other. This album is a very effective melding of classical, opera and heavy metal. The best songs on the album included "Kingdom of The Fearless" which kick starts the album with furious rifting and non stop bass drums. "Ring of Fire" another of the metal songs aptly demonstrate Dave Defies vocal range and serious memorable backing vocals. "Flames of the Black Star" with its catchy headbanging chorus. "And Hecate smiled" starts with David signing melodically while the piano and guitar slowly join him to rise into a frentic crescendo that then proceeds to slow down mournfully. There is not a weak song in the bunch. Overall an extremely good metal album that should be in the collection of any smart metal head.
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