VIRGIN STEELE – Nocturnes Of Hellfire & Damnation [Deluxe Edition Bonus CD] (2015)

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Cult legend New York metal band VIRGIN STEELE have just released their new album “Nocturnes Of Hellfire & Damnation“. The regular edition was already featured HERE.
But the record come out in 3 different versions (with different artwork too), a 2 LP gatefold, and this Deluxe Digipak version including a bonus disc.

The main “Nocturnes Of Hellfire & Damnation” is a recommended listening delivering a creative showcase of Virgin Steele and frontman & mastermind David DeFeis.
But this bonus CD also is a very interesting piece of music; not just a 4-track or so, this is a full disc with over of 70 min of music.
This extra disc features some classic cover stuff in the beginning, like the ‘Halloween Theme’ of the legendary movie, ‘D.O.A.’ or a very cool interpretation of Black Sabbath’s self-titled song ‘Black Sabbath’, completely re-worked in the Virgin Steele way. All these combined with a short medley of Zeppelin’s ‘The Immigrant Song’.

Additionally, there are no less than 9 new original songs, that just didn’t fit on this album or previous albums. I can’t help the feeling that this extra disc is an experimental stage for Virgin Steele to show some other sides of their work or even more, to use some songs that would have ended up as b-sides in times of old.
The epic ‘Riderless Horse (Save Your Breath)’ or the hard rock affair ‘The Devil Drives’ must be some of these left-over tunes. They don’t fit into the context of the album, but rocks very good, specially the rocking groove of the latter.

Same with ‘Anger Never Dies’, that has a certain Deep Purple spirit in the riffing, combined with an unusual, different epic spirit that’s even near to bands like Kansas.
‘Funeral Games’ (which has a very balladic feeling, despite the title) and ‘Haunted Wolfshine’ deliver atmospheres similar to Queensryche, while ‘A Greater Burning Of Innocence’ is an acoustic song with reverberating guitars.
‘West Of Sumer’ (one ‘m’) or ‘The Birth Of Beauty’ are the best of the bunch, that show some of the typical trademarks of classic Virgin Steele; strong riffs, top vocals, groove and some epicness.

If you enjoyed (as me) the main “Nocturnes Of Hellfire & Damnation”, this bonus disc is a must.
For casual listeners this includes more accessible material, quite melodic and with a certain hard rock groove.
Strongly Recommended.

Deluxe Edition Bonus CD:

01. Halloween Theme
02. D.O.A.
03. The Witch In The Forest
04. Black Sabbath
05. The Immigrant Song
06. Black Sabbath “Reprise”
07. Riderless Horse (Save Your Breath)
08. The Devil Drives
09. Anger Never Dies
10. Funeral Games
11. The Plot Sickenth
12. Haunted Wolfshine
13. West Of Sumer
14. A Greater Burning Of Innocence
15. The Birth Of Beauty

BUY IT !
www.amazon.de/Nocturnes-Hellfire-Damnation-Virgin-Steele/dp/B00WU4XD94
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