VIRGIN STEELE - Life Among The Ruins. Digipak+Bonus CD

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Fecha: Lunes, 2014-11-10, 4:45 AM | Mensaje # 1

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VIRGIN STEELE - Life Among The Ruins
Edición Deluxe Digipak

Reedición de lujo en digipak con un montón de temas extras, descartes, versiones... Éste disco sale siempre muy mal parado siempre en las críticas y no es que sea malo, es que simplemente no parece un disco de Virgin Steele.

Aquí cambiaron radicalmente de estilo, alejándose del Heavy tradicional y dejándose influenciar fuertemente por el Hard Rock o el Hair Metal. En mi opinión el disco es muy bueno, pero es que parece más un disco de Whitesnake que de Virgin Steele, el DeFeis se parece a Coverdale cantando, alejándose de los tonos altos y ese abuso del falsete al que nos tiene acostumbrados en otros discos del grupo. Incluso la temática de las letras es totalmente distinta, dejando de lado las historias épicas para centrarse más en temas de relaciones amorosas y atracciones sexuales. Pero lo dicho, para los que no somos fanáticos de la banda, los que no nos asustan los experimentos o nos gustan otros estilos, es un álbum sobresaliente.

Reseña de RateYourMusic:
¿Virgin Steele sonando por momentos a Van Halen? Esto es lo que mejor define este Life Among the Ruins, sin duda.

Pues sí, después de editar un disco oscuro, forjando las raíces del Power Metal sinfónico, como fue Age of Consent, el señor David Defeis no quiso desaprovechar los ecos del Glam Rock y el Hard Melódico de finales de los ochenta/principios de los 90', aunque el Grunge y los sonidos mainstream ya estaban haciendo destrozos, editando un disco que se alimentaba en muchos de sus temas, de todos los sonidos pomposos de la década dorada, con temas bandera como "Sex Religion Machine", "Love Is Pain", "Cry Forever", o la azucarada "Too Hot To Handle". Aún así, dejó espacio para el Heavy Metal de autor, con personalidad propia, con temazos dignos de mención como "I Dress In Black", con un riff atisbando los aires próximos del Metal Progresivo, o la espectacular "Crown Of Thorns", con un estribillo de lujo, de vértigo.

Letras basadas en los deseos más desesperados del ser humano, cantando al amor y a los corazones rotos, gran Defeis en los trabajos vocales y de composición, con un espectacular Edward Pursino en las guitarras, tanto rítmicas como solistas.

Un disco curioso dentro de la discografía de estos colosos del Heavy Metal yankee.

Temas:

Disc One (Original)
1.1 Sex Religion Machine 4:44
1.2 Love Is Pain 3:52
1.3 Jet Black 4:12
1.4 Invitation 1:16
1.5 I Dress in Black (Woman With no Shadow) 4:45
1.6 Crown of Thorns 6:28
1.7 Cage of Angels 0:54
1.8 Never Believed in Goodbye 4:22
1.9 Too Hot to Handle 4:39
1.10 Love's Gone 4:28
1.11 Snakeskin Voodoo Man (Full Band Version - Bonus Track) 5:12
1.12 Wildfire Woman 4:43
1.13 Haunting the Last Hours 0:55
1.14 Last Rose of Summer 4:20
1.15 Snakeskin Voodoo Man (Live Acoustic Rhehearsal Version) 4:02
1.16 Jet Black (Live Acoustic Rhehearsal Version) 4:18
1:17 Purple Rain (Live Acoustic Rhehearsal Version) 4:50
1.18 Wildfire Woman (Live Acoustic Rhehearsal Version) 4:34
1.19 Eyes Without a Face (Live Acoustic Rhehearsal Version) 4:25

Disc Two: The "My Mourning Clothes" CD
2.1 When the Levee Breaks (New Bonus Track) 6:38
2.2 Sympathy for the Devil (New Bonus Track) 4:19
2.3 My Mourning Clothes (New Bonus Track) 7:50
2.4 Mambo Sun (New Bonus Track) 3:42
2.5 Ballrooms of Mars (New Bonus Track) 3:27
2.6 Wild Thing (New Bonus Track) 1:45
2.7 The Moonrise in your Skin (New Bonus Track) 0:55
2.8 Wild Thing Reprise (New Bonus Track) 0:57
2.9 The Magick of your Sin (New Bonus Track) 1:11
2.10 Sex Religion Machine (Rare New York Mix) 4:43
2.11 Jet Black (Rare New York Mix) 4:11
2.12 Crown of Thorns (Rare New York Mix) 6:28
2.13 Cage of Angels (Rare New York Mix) 0:54
2.14 Never Believed in Goodbye (Rare New York Mix) 4:23
2.15 Love Is Pain (Rare New York Mix) 3:53
2.16 Invitation (Rare New York Mix) 1:13
2.17 I Dress in Black (Woman With no Shadow) (Rare New York Mix) 4:43
2.18 Too Hot to Handle (Rare New York Mix) 4:37
2.19 Love's Gone (Rare New York Mix) 4:27
2.20 Flesh & Blood (Rare Never Released Demo Bonus Track) 4:41

Software: EAC-FLAC
Tamaño archivo: 1,18 GB
Portadas: Todas a 400 dpi.

Disponible sólo a los usuarios

2012 reissue of this album originally published in 1993. This edition comes with a bonus CD with a lot of outtakes, demos and covers of people like, for example, The Troggs, The Rolling Stones or Prince.

The fact is that this album is totally different to the music that Virgin Steele uses to play, far from epic Heavy Metal and closer to Hair Metal or Hard Rock, to bands like Whitesnake or Van Halen. Most criticized by fans, it's a great album if you like the bands and styles mentioned before.

Metal-Archives review:
Virgin Steele is best known as a power metal act with a flair for theatrics and grandiose orchestration. The first few Virgin Steele albums, released in 1982 and 1983 respectively, laid the groundwork for epic and orchestral power metal. The first two albums display Jack Starr's fiery guitar work and David DeFeis's exceptional vocal talents. Many bands have tried to emulate Virgin Steele, but very few have ever reached the combined levels of majesty and power of DeFeis and company's output. “Noble Savage” (1985) saw the departure of Jack Starr and the arrival of Edward Pursino. While Pursino did not display the same prodigy-like levels of fury and speed that Starr displayed, his laid back approach naturally complemented DeFeis ever-improving vocal abilities.

“Age of Consent” (1988) saw Virgin Steel further distancing themselves from standard 80's power metal and instead delving into a more mature, orchestral power metal sound. With standout tracks like, “The Burning of Rome” and “Chains of Fire”, Virgin Steele seemed to be poised on a groundbreaking power metal career. DeFeis began incorporating themes of ancient Greece and mythology and adding more orchestrations and interludes to accent the music. Rather than building on the momentum gathered from previous releases, Virgin Steele decided to go back to their roots for their fifth full-length, entitled “Life Among the Ruins”, released in 1993.

“Life Among the Ruins” shows Virgin Steele playing a bluesy, hard rock style. Put in perspective, many bands at the time were dabbling in groove metal and grunge or moving to a more commercially acceptable sound. “Life Among the Ruins” is definitely a Virgin Steele album, there is no question about that, but it's lacking the charm and power of the classics. DeFeis's vocals are still top notch at times, including the falsettos and growls that he is known for, but he also meanders into standard AOR and hard rock waters. Some vocal lines sound like glam era, high heel wearing vocalists of the eighties, and this album suffers for those sections. When DeFeis hits the nail on the head, watch out. His mid range vocals are some of the best in the business, but his performance here is lacking, despite a few standout moments.

The music itself is not just watered down or geared towards the audience of the day, though, as the guitars still retain a distinctive crunch at times. Like the vocals, there are moments of bliss here, but, frankly, the band fails to hit the mark. The guitar lines tend to drag on, as the riffs are simple and somewhat lacking energy. The drums are painfully standard hard rock material. The biggest difference with this album, when compared to other Virgin Steele albums, is the significant lack of orchestration and the more simplistic song structures. “Life Among the Ruins” is basically Virgin Steele adding more blues and rock elements into their sound, while taking away the power of DeFeis's rampant keyboard work and the edginess of the band as a whole.

The production is excellent and everything is crystal clear on the recording. There are a few catchy, fun tracks, but there is also a lot of filler. The ballads on the album are marginally weaker than what modern day Virgin Steele is known for. DeFeis captures some of the emotion he's going for, but falls short by sticking to the hard rock delivery. This is an average release, and is a far cry from Virgin Steele's best work. If you are new to the band, start with either “Atreus” or one of the “Marriage” albums. I would only recommend this to die hard fans of the band; a few glimpses of Virgin Steele's magick are present, but overall a release you could do without.

NO A LA LEY LASSALLE