[.ca] Fire Of Unknown Origin

Yes, that's right, 5 out of 5 Stars!:
While I had never been a really big fan of the band, I was quite taken with BOC's contribution to the "Heavy Metal" soundtrack, "Veteran of The Psychic Wars". To me, it had an huantingly cinematic arrangement - sci-fi lyrics, walls of pounding tom-tom's, and a perfect mix of synths and guitars. "Who on earth is this?", I thought to myself. Well, finding my answer, I then sought out the studio album that featured "Veterans...", hoping for more of the same. Luckily, I got it and classic tracks such as "Burnin' For You" and "Joan Crawford", as well as their original contribution to the "Heavy Metal" soundtrack (the song "Heavy Metal..."). Apparanently having two songs on the soundtrack called "Heavy Metal" was enough and BOC's song was kicked to the curb. Regardless, it is included here and is a stand-out track. Fans of the band and newcomers alike will find a lot to like here, especially if you're seeking a true representation of the band firing on all cylinders. A must-have.

Swan Song for the Original Lineup:
I love this album a lot, and consider it to be an almost perfect representative of all that was worthwile in early-80s AOR. This was a time when the biggest arena act was Journey followed closely by synth-laden "Subdivisions"-era Rush. It is no suprise, then, that this album has a certain slickness in the production, combined with a smattering of the calculation and cynicism that had come to dominate the artists of the era (think "Spinal Tap"). Gone are the experimental composition and oddball arrangements of the uncommercial masterpiece Cultosaurus Erectus (not to mention a few umlauts, of course), replaced by pop hooks so catchy that the primary single is still getting airplay ("Burnin' For You"). This band is so uncanny that even a deliberate quest for mainstream appeal produced enduring art. Beneath a treacly sea of early-80s synth (courtesty of Allen Lanier) resides a lyrical landscape that is both phantasmagorical and campy, often concurrently ("Joan Crawford"). Here Eric Bloom is at his lyrical apex -- "Sole Survivor" for instance links seemingly disparate cliches (post-Apocalyptic collapse and alien abduction) with a sensibility so unusual that the song works as both campy parody and haunting ode. Even more notable is the culmination of Bloom's Moorcock fascination in "Veteran of the Psychic Wars," one of the best BOC songs ever written. Buck Dharma continues to work his guitar magic, holding the album together with equal parts flash and rhythm. The emphasis is composition rather than total guitar domination, and Buck adds just the right touches to any number of tracks -- including some audience-saavy winks of uber-distortion on "Heavy Metal: The Black and the Silver", before letting it flow on the low key yet intensely paranoid "Don't Turn Your Back." Joe and Albert Bouchard also provide signature backing on this last album to feature the original lineup of the band. In some respects, this is the last true BOC album -- after its release, several underlying bad trends came quickly to the foreground. The exit of Al Bouchard and all he represented (the "Imaginos" project) resulted in a definitive break with the themes of the Sandy Pearlman period (though Pearlman returned later to produce the Club Ninja album, in an attempt to recapture lost magic), which significantly changed the dynamic of the band. On a related front, the band's fatigue with signature thematic and musical elements juxtaposed with the pressure of commercial formula to produce an increasingly hollow farce. Bloom's quirky lyrical sense degenerated into calculated self-indulgence on The Revolution By Night (amid flashes of brilliance, of course), which was quickly followed by a sudden dearth of original compositions by the band. Also Buck's graceful riffing began to atrophy into macho bombast through the Club Ninja period (though even the bombast is executed with breathtaking aplomb). The inspiration appears to have been flagging. One comes to perceive a band trapped by distant art-rock pretensions and a ludicrous name, living an unintended farce authored by people long departed, without a strong sense of identity or confidence. Or, to look at it another way, the band's animating sensibilities were in fundamental conflict with the bellicose and humorless zeitgeist of mid-80s rock. It is thus small wonder that a long period of disintegration followed this album. What is remarkable is that the band managed to stay together in some form and eventually reinvent itself with its recent (very good) music. Rock on gents.

No Mystery Of The Origin Here:
I have been a BOC Fan since day one..If you are new to BOC and are looking to read a review about this particular album, then I can tell you it is very good..not their best not their worst..I would like to more-so write here about the band..BOC is and has always been best appreciated as a LIVE band..Most of their studio work is very good. They have had a few "Rather Forgets" than yhey would like to admit..but Other than Led Zeppelin and a relative few others, what bands with the same amount of album releases haven't had a few bad apples fall from their trees.. BOC is a thinking mans band..esoterical lyrics and comical hidden traesures are often found when you really listen close. Donald Roeser(Buck Dharma) is one of the best guitarists from any era of rock and man as all of us BOC fans know..he is way too under rated.. If you are looking for the status quo or avante guard of rock look elsewhere..If you like solid imagination, ripping guitars and layered efficionic musicianship with thought and superb melodic structure, Then BOC will never disappoint.Joan Crawford, Nosferatu, Then Came The Last Days Of May, Astronomy, Black Blade, and way too many other songs to mention have set BOC on a high pedastal in my rock catalog..even if they do falter every now and then.. I do regard BOC as one of the top three bands in the history of rock..1. Led Zep, 2. Pink Floyd, 3. BOC ok my opinion..a lot of their songs are truly masterpieces of layerd melodic bliss that can best be appreciated lying back and drifting away in a dark room with a really good set of headphones cranked as loud as you can handle... I took their entire catalog recently and from it created a BEST OF of my own ending up with over four hours of material. Not all of their stuff is heavy and hard..in fact some of BOC's best work is somewhat mellow rock. their lyrics are not for the simple minded. They have a knack for being lyrically elusive requiring a "YOU FILL IN THE BLANKS" menatalty. If you have a low IQ then you can really enjoy the music but you may get a little frustrated trying to figure out what they are singing about from time to time. I don't say that to be insulting at all, rathet that they often use a lyrical vocabulary equal to at least college level reading. They are on the dark side but have a great sense of humor..If you have a little smarts to ya..BOC is a great band..just don't expect every thing to be great..they are to real for that..but every now and then they reach musical genious and perfection. That alone is why they are still around 30 plus years from inceptionand still have a very faithful if not fanatic CULT following.

Excellent album from an underrated band:
Many people think BOC wrote a "few" good songs and then they disappeared. This could not be farther from the truth. They are one of the best songwriting bands right up there with The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and Thin Lizzy. This album contains several classics such as Vengeance, Fire Of Unkown Origin, Burning For You, Veteran of the Psychic Wars, and Joan Crawford. Heavy Metal (Black and Silver) is heavy pounder that will satisfy any metal cravings. BOC is a very talented and versatile band. Their lyrics and sense of humor are quite unique. Cultosaurus Erectus and Spectres are two other fine albums that I highly recommend.

By Using Their Strengths, BOC Got Their 2nd Biggest Hit:
Blue Oyster Cult's two previous studio albums had been quite different from one another; "Mirrors" was a mostly light metal collection of pop attempts and the following "Cultosaurus Erectus" had been just the opposite, an almost stripped-down crunching guitar-dominated record. This may be why 1981's "Fire of Unknown Origin" received such a warm welcome; it sounded as gutsy and confident as their mid-70s breakthroughs, but was all the while accessible and easily enjoyable. The success of "Agents of Fortune" been seemingly accidental; it certainly wasn't what you'd call mainstream for 1976, but it was BOC's unlikely commercial breakthrough. Its follow-up, "Spectres" saw the band trying to find another runaway hit single like they had with 'Don't Fear the Reaper,' yet still keeping their heavy metal poison in tact (the next year they would tone down the metal side). "Fire of Unknown Origin" sounds like a mix of those two albums. It has all of the blazing, dark, cryptic musical imagery of "Agents of Fortune" and their earlier works, yet there is still a catchiness to a lot of the music, making it an album fans will want to play again and again. Old friends such as Sandy Pearlman, Richard Meltzer, and Patti Smith made cameo appearances, but their contributions were mostly limited to being lyrical, as this album catches the band out-showing the outsiders. The title track is one of those BOC songs that's almost-a-ballad-but-not, an overlooked classic, while the album boasts some other classics like the crunching mystic 'Veteran of the Psychic Wars' and 'Heavy Metal: The Black and The Silver,' but the group still managed to score a big hit with 'Burnin' For You' The old imaginary sci-fi movie themes pop up often, notably in 'Joan Crawford (Has Risen From the Grave).' These two songs nicely explain the recipe for the perfect contrast and chemistry between the voices of Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser and Eric Bloom as they sing their respective songs; Roeser sounds like the sincere wandering poet, while Bloom's voice is like the ghoulish captain of a phantom ship. Blue Oyster Cult wisely decided to embrace their strengths on "Fire of Unknown Origin," as opposed to the previous two experiments. "Mirrors" and "Cultosaurus Erectus" were far from bad albums, but if BOC was looking for another hit album/single while keeping their pioneering metal sound the top priority, this was the perfect blueprint.

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