┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │■ ■│ │ .-/ .-. │ │ _.-~ / ___ | ~-._ │ │ \:/ -~| / __/| .\:/ │ │ / || (:/:| \ │ │ / /\/| |:\___\| |\ \ │ │ / /:::|.::/:::/:.|:\ \ │ │ / /:::/ \\/:::/::/:::\ \ │ │ / .::\ \-~~~~-/\/:.. \ │ │ /..:::::\ /:::::..\ │ │ /::::::::- -::::::::\ │ │ \:::::-~ ~-:::::/ │ │ \:-~ ~-:/ │ │ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ P R E S E N T S │ │ │ │ │ │ + Virgin Steele - Nocturnes Of Hellfire And Damnation + │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Information ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Rls Date..2020-04-25 Encoder......LAME 3.100 ║ │ │║ Genre.....Heavy Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │ │║ Year......2015 Khz/Bitrate..44.1 / VBR kbps ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Ripper....Anthem Songs........14 ║ │ │║ Source....CD Covers.......Yes ║ │ │║ Url..http://ww.virgin-steele.com ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Notes ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Artist : Virgin Steele ║ │ │║ Album : Nocturnes Of Hellfire And Damnation ║ │ │║ Label : SPV ║ │ │║ Cat.No : SPV 268262 CD ║ │ │╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Description : ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ I honestly donÆt get much pleasure ramming my inscribed ║ │ │║ shotgun up the bum of ôNocturnes of Hellfire & Damnationö ║ │ │║ and sending it skywardùa feeling of displeasure with a side ║ │ │║ of cheerlessness is more like it. IÆm not testing the ║ │ │║ waters by saying Virgin SteeleÆs primeùone of the best ║ │ │║ stints of any heavy metal band everùis in the rearview ║ │ │║ mirror, but that didnÆt stop the group from releasing the ║ │ │║ neat ôVisions of Edenö after the remarkable ôThe House of ║ │ │║ Atreus: Act II.ö ôThe Black Light Bacchanalia,ö the bovine ║ │ │║ wonder that followed ôVisions of Eden,ö showed a huge ║ │ │║ decline in excellence, as the moments of Virgin ║ │ │║ Steele-esque brilliance it presented were strictly limited ║ │ │║ and suffocated by an ungodly excess of stuff that pretty ║ │ │║ much did nothing. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ôNocturnes of Hellfire & Damnationö learns from its ║ │ │║ predecessor, but concurrently embraces its errors. The ║ │ │║ grandiose approach here teeters on a delicate thread ║ │ │║ between immeasurable splendor and sounding downright ║ │ │║ infuriating. In the past, Ed Pursino and David DeFeis ║ │ │║ raised an empire of majestic imagery and beauty; saying it ║ │ │║ worked was an understatement. But on ôThe Black Light ║ │ │║ Bacchanalia,ö what they did was pretentious and without ║ │ │║ direction, and thus made the record nearly insufferable. ║ │ │║ Again, ôNocturnes of Hellfire & Damnationö dips between ║ │ │║ both sides of Virgin SteeleÆs quality spectrum, albeit ║ │ │║ conflictingly. There are excellent tracks here, but most ║ │ │║ range from listenable to tedious with the occasional ║ │ │║ I-want-to-throw-this-out-a-window cut on the side. ItÆs not ║ │ │║ so much of a return to better days as it is aged-induced ║ │ │║ inertia. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ There are a number of things to praise, and even to ║ │ │║ acknowledge as tapped from the sources of former glories. ║ │ │║ Ed Pursino has a strong presence on this album, thank ║ │ │║ Christ. His robust and intense riffing style makes a ║ │ │║ colossal impression on many of these songs, at times the ║ │ │║ antithesis of whatever he was doing on ôThe Black Light ║ │ │║ Bacchanalia.ö ôNocturnes of Hellfire & Damnationö also ║ │ │║ contorts itself around darker lyrical themesùSatan, ║ │ │║ occultism, doing evil stuff just because, etc.ùthat are ║ │ │║ represented in Virgin SteeleÆs unique little way. The tone ║ │ │║ is Virgin Steele with a blanket thrown over its head, so as ║ │ │║ to make it spooky. ItÆs a neat direction for the group, ║ │ │║ turning the lights down a notch and making a darker album ║ │ │║ that holds a traditional epic atmosphere under a different ║ │ │║ lens. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ But the initial hold of a more focused Virgin Steele record ║ │ │║ drops the ball early on. Virgin Steele was never a stupid ║ │ │║ band, crushing the unwise with a barbaric pestle stirring ║ │ │║ within a romantic mortar. The dumb mistakes within ║ │ │║ ôNocturnes of Hellfire & Damnationö are mostly outside the ║ │ │║ actual music, which has its fair share of blunders, too. ║ │ │║ Sticking out like a wart the size of Montana is the albumÆs ║ │ │║ unreasonably asinine running time: ôNocturnes of Hellfire & ║ │ │║ Damnationö runs for SEVENTY-NINE MINUTES OVER FOURTEEN ║ │ │║ SONGS, HOLY SHIT. Well, Virgin Steele made monstrous albums ║ │ │║ work back in the day, but the prime has passed and they no ║ │ │║ longer have the luxury to enthrall listeners by putting on ║ │ │║ a spectacle of incredible music. Case in point, way too ║ │ │║ much of this is filler, and trying to sift through the ║ │ │║ whole thing in one sitting is pretty much an endurance ║ │ │║ test. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ A fair number of these tracks are riff-based, giving ║ │ │║ Pursino room to do what he does best. The driving ║ │ │║ ôLuciferÆs Hammerö shows the Virgin Steele intensity ║ │ │║ returning to shine in its vigorous magnificence, while ║ │ │║ ôPersephone,ö easily the best one here, amplifies its epic ║ │ │║ assembly with the presence of powerful riffs pounding down ║ │ │║ on the profane soil. Having Pursino involved again saves ║ │ │║ ôNocturnes of Hellfire & Damnationö from becoming a total ║ │ │║ flop, because his guitar work is an integral part of the ║ │ │║ Virgin Steele blueprint, gushing with variety and color. ║ │ │║ The dark ôThe Plague and The Fireö creepily roasts on doomy ║ │ │║ riffs working to grind the bleak atmosphere into a fine ║ │ │║ puree of gloom, another slice that makes its existence here ║ │ │║ not just substantiated, but vital to the whole direction of ║ │ │║ the album. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ôNocturnes of Hellfire & Damnationö often fails to juggle ║ │ │║ this amenity and what the band is attempting, however. ║ │ │║ Virgin Steele circles back to the directionless, mundane ║ │ │║ bullshit of ôThe Black Light Bacchanaliaö with two ║ │ │║ watching-paint-dry ballads to end the monstrous opus, ║ │ │║ racking up a ridiculous thirteen minutes between the pair. ║ │ │║ ôDeliriumö is too long for its own good, a filler tune that ║ │ │║ takes its time to move slowly from one ear to the other, ║ │ │║ where it then drops to the ground and is never heard from ║ │ │║ again. I wouldnÆt mind ôWe Disappearö had the group shaved ║ │ │║ off the annoying hard rock riffsùa few extra minutes ║ │ │║ wouldnÆt have hurt, either. Speaking of hard rock, remember ║ │ │║ ôLife Among the Ruinsö and its awful direction that ║ │ │║ disappeared from later albums because it was terrible? ║ │ │║ Imagine it revived for whatever reason for eight minutes ║ │ │║ and some sizable change, and thatÆs ôDemolition Queenö in a ║ │ │║ nutshell. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ It seems DeFeis and crew are almost testing their luck by ║ │ │║ including ôQueen of the Deadö and ôBlack Sun-Black Mass.ö ║ │ │║ These two cuts were originally found on ExorcistÆs ║ │ │║ ôNightmare Theatre,ö the sole album of a short-lived speed ║ │ │║ metal band featuring none other than David DeFeis and Ed ║ │ │║ Pursino. As luck would have it, some meddling kids on the ║ │ │║ internet (metal fans are needlessly observant) quickly ║ │ │║ pieced together these tunes had been redone from ôNightmare ║ │ │║ Theatreö to match the Virgin Steele panorama. While heavier ║ │ │║ than most of their surrounding parts and among the best ║ │ │║ cuts here, the fact that DeFeis and Pursino are rerecording ║ │ │║ tracks from 1986 and packaging them into an album twenty ║ │ │║ years after the fact is needless and misguided. Nice try, ║ │ │║ guys. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ As for Dave, his voice sounds fine, but often his vocals ║ │ │║ are manipulated by effects, which are too obviously ║ │ │║ integrated into the album to not make them annoying. They ║ │ │║ sound especially awful on ôDevilhead,ö with its wonky ║ │ │║ chorus throwing DaveÆs voice around like one of those ║ │ │║ weasel ball toys spiraling around hither and thither. It ║ │ │║ seems Frank Gilchriest, longtime drummer of the fold, is ║ │ │║ out of the picture hereùa sad revelation, if true, because ║ │ │║ his percussion added ample magic to the majesty of former ║ │ │║ grandeurs, and that extra boost is what ôNocturnes of ║ │ │║ Hellfire & Damnationö profoundly lacks. In summation, this ║ │ │║ is a spotty affair that tries hard to conjure the flames of ║ │ │║ yesteryears, only the spells come out mostly half-assed, ║ │ │║ occasionally with a shade of splendor. Shave off the layers ║ │ │║ of inessential fat, and this might have passed with a ║ │ │║ recommendation. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ This review was written for: www.Thrashpit.com ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Tracklist ║ │ │╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │ │ │ │ 1. Lucifers Hammer 5:41 │ │ 2. Queen Of The Dead 4:16 │ │ 3. To Darkness Eternal 0:57 │ │ 4. Black Sun - Black Mass 5:08 │ │ 5. Persephone 7:28 │ │ 6. Devilhead 5:22 │ │ 7. Demolition Queen 8:19 │ │ 8. The Plague And The Fire 6:29 │ │ 9. We Disappear 7:54 │ │ 10. A Damned Apparition 1:33 │ │ 11. Glamour 5:19 │ │ 12. Delirium 7:33 │ │ 13. Hymns To Damnation 6:55 │ │ 14. Fallen Angels 6:05 │ │ │ │ │ │ Total Length : 01:18:59 │ │ │ │ │ │ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ╔═════════════════════╗ │ │ ║ Greetings To: ║ │ │ ╚═════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ Too all people who contributes to make this │ │ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │■ ■│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘