Review VIRGIN STEELE ‘The Passion of Dionysus’

When I was a kid I was fascinated by ‘Nobel Savage’, the classic from Virgin Steele. Music and artwork fit perfectly together and each song on this record is a little treat. Virgin Steele continued with a few additional records, thinking about longplayers like ‘Invictus’.

End of June, the next Virgin Steele longplayer will be released. It is called ‘The Passion of Dionysus’ and honestly, it is the biggest disappointment so far in 2023. Uninspired and equipped with a bloodless sound the album is miles away from the band classic.

Already the opener ‘The Gethsemane Effect’ gives you the shivers, but not in a good way.

The vocals are far too much in the forefront while guitars can hardly be heard. At the same time, you wonder if there is a bass on the album while keys are more present than anything else. And all is combined to a muddy and toothless sonic experience.

No doubt, the David DeFeis’ vocals are still good, and his voice is in good shape. But that’s the only plus on a list of disappointments with lengthy passages (‘The Ritual of Descent’) that raise the question why the songs needs to be 12 minutes long.

The only recommendation when it comes to ‘The Passion of Dionysus’ is to keep your hands off. Dionysus is the God of wine, vegetation, and fertility. His level of happiness after listening wouldn’t be sky high since what this release offers isn’t fruitful neither exciting. There are much more thrilling releases these days or listen to the earlier releases of a band that became their own legend.