Band:	Virgin Steele
Album:	The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell Part I
Style:	Heavy metal, Symphonic metal
Release date:	December 1994
Guest review by:	Belegûr

01. I Will Come For You
02. Weeping Of The Spirits
03. Blood And Gasoline
04. Self Crucifixion
05. Last Supper
06. Warrior's Lament
07. Trail Of Tears
08. The Raven Song
09. Forever Will I Roam
10. I Wake Up Screaming
11. House Of Dust
12. Blood Of The Saints
13. Life Among The Ruins
14. The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell
15. Blood And Gasoline [feat. Crystal Viper] [2008 re-release bonus]

1994 is the year when Virgin Steele stepped forward into the world of symphonic heavy metal and stepped away from the disappointing generic heavy metal style of their previous effort Life Among The Ruins. The stride towards well structured, intriguing, and mature themes really started with The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell Part I.

The album is conceptually driven, with a constant sense of drama, mystery, and intrigue present throughout. This creates a fantastic atmosphere that the band continued to experiment with and even improve upon in future releases. The charisma of chief songwriter and frontman David DeFeis adds to the drama, and his passion for the music is evident throughout each song with his rather unique vocal style, which seems to change from calm to aggressive with little effort.

Guitarist Edward Pursino must take credit for aiding in the creation of the new epic sound of the band. It would be easy to describe him as a tasteful guitarist who does not showoff, but is fully capable of producing some excellent riffs and solos. Nothing really seems out of place with this album; solos are where they fit, whether they be keyboard or guitar solos, songs always go somewhere without resorting to needless shredding or out of place changes in direction.

Of course this album is not perfect. Some great riffs are left in the background to make way for keyboards or vocals. The production is the weakest aspect of this album, but this does not mean the production is bad by any means. Songs like "Weeping Of The Saints" and "Life Among The Ruins" would only be improved if the fantastic riffs and drums were a little more prominent in the production.

A very strong album and the beginning of a new era for the band. The band took the best aspects of their albums from the 1980s and left behind the average songwriting and themes in the process. A true progression of the style that the band started to develop with Noble Savage and Age Of Consent. If you are new to Virgin Steele then this is the place to begin your journey.