Fire of Unknown Origin by Blue Oyster Cult (CD, Aug-1985, Columbia USA)

Blue Oyster Cult, has always been one of my favorite bands. Mostly because they never fell into the overly-commercial "love song" genre, a hole that nearly all "big" bands eventually fall into. Their subject matter is always goth and different, and this one doesn't disappoint. Another of those rare CD's that you can just "let play" no skipping songs is required. A little commercial for them, and an obvious attempt to capture the popularity of Agents of Fortune (Don't Fear the Reaper) but just stunning in it's imagery. Fire of Unknown Origin is the opening salvo before the hit Burning for You, which was actually penned by Roeser and was set to be on his solo album, but persistant harping by Bloom got it to appear here (he KNEW it was gold) "Buck" is at his best on this one, learn to play the lead line from this and you'll develop a new respect for him. Veteran of the Psychic Wars follows that and sounds way ahead of it's time, like the soundtrack to a video game or something. "After Dark" rules and Joan Crawford (has risen from the grave) manages to be both amusing and macabre, a blend they hit often but never better than this. If you even remotely like this band, THIS is the CD you should start with.