| Virgin Steele 'The House Of Atreus Act 1' Noise , 1999 Lord Pale : Virgin Steele's The House Of Atreus Act 1 is the first installment of the bands metal opera revolving around the Trojan War and its aftermath . With elements of thrash and powermetal combining with grandouise keyboards , Virgin Steele's 22 tracks epic is varied and interesting but is let down on two fronts . The first and most obvious is David Defeis' vocals , as he tries to take on the role of an entire cast of characters and occasionally comes across as pompous and inadept . His voice suits the slower tracks like 'Iphigenia In Hades' well but lacks either the power or agression for the more upbeat pieces . My second gripe is that occasionally the synth is a little melodramatic and with a total of 7 instrumental tracks , it can become overbearing at times . he story line is gripping however and there are some genuinely catchy ( although cheesy ) pieces that offer appeal and make this a worthy listen . The music follows the highs and lows of the lyrics in appropriate style and a vast variety of tempos which keep the album from stagnating across its 70+ minute length . Overall an entertaining if not flawed album of power bombast . Favourite Tracks - And Hecate Smiled , Flames Of The Black Star , Agony And Shame Mark - 7/10 |
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