VIRGIN STEELE „Life Among The Ruins”

Music: Hard Rock with an american feel and some Led Zeppelin influences
Cool songs: Love Is Pain, Crown Of Thorns, Never Believed In Good-bye, Too Hot To Handle, Wild Fire Woman, Last Rose Of Summer

I have thought about the alternative verison of the title as „Love Among the Ruins”. Love is the linking word for every track. All from more carnal relations to romantic feelings is to be found here. I don't know if it was planned but I think it was the right move. So let's start from the beginning.

„Life Among The Ruins” was released in 1993. Before such masterpieces as both „Marriages”, „Invictus” and „Atreus I & II”. But after such good and heavy LPs as „Noble Savage” and „Age Of Consent”. On those previous albums you could find several tracks which were just pure sexual and based on the love stories which could have been read in the cheap magazines. However, those tracks were great, had rock'n'roll feeling and fit to the album with no problems. Maybe a bit more commercial stufff than usual. It makes no difference to me. I like it the same as the later albums. For me Steele will be always number 1.

I think that you know that heavy metal epic concepts were used during band's career in such things as „Noble Savage”, „Burning Of Rome” or „Thy Kingdom Come”. There is no reason to treat it as a bad move. There is no genre better than Heavy Metal to use epic songs. Be serious. Do you think that there can be epic techno or epic hip-hop. The answer is NO. But the main difference between „Life…” and the other Virgin Steele albums is…lack of epic songs. On this CD we can simply find few heavy rockers and some power ballads. It isn't wrong of course. We can find nice straight rockers as „Too Hot Too Handle”. That's a good song with a little of Van Halen and a nice chorus. Think about the title and tell me what's this song about…

But on the other hand there is „Wild Fire Woman”. A beautiful, mystical song with an atmosphere of forest and romantic love burning in her heart (or something :-). The similar is „Last Rose Of Summer”. For me it's just a bridge between the old times („Come On And Love Me”, „Seventeen”) and the new ones („”I Will Come For You”, „Emalaith”).

I must tell you that listening to this album is very enjoyable. Don't expect any bombastic overtures as „Invictus”. Pure love. It's worse sides and better. Romatic or less. Sometimes hateful. But always it's love. Love Among The Ruins. I wish I could ask David about it. I am really curious. This whole concept… It makes me wonder….

note: 8.5/10