''The House of Atreus Act I'', released in 1999, is the ninth studio album by the American heavy metal band

Virgin Steele Virgin Steele is an American heavy metal band from New York, originally formed in 1981. The band released a few career highlights albums (''Noble Savage'', ''The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Part I'', ''The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Part II'' ...

. It has the subtitle ''A Barbaric-Romantic Opera''. This album is the first part of a

metal opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been a ...

inspired by the Oresteia, a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...

which concerns the end of the curse on the House of Atreus. The music was intended to be the soundtrack for theatrical shows, with actors impersonating the characters of the tragedy. The metal opera was actually performed under the name "Klytaimnestra - The House Of Atreus" in European theatres from 1999 to 2001, with the production of the Memmingen Opera House company and Landestheater Production. The song "The Fire God" first appears on the 1986 Piledriver LP ''Stay Ugly''.

Track listing

All songs by David DeFeis except tracks 5, 7, 8, 15 and 18 by DeFeis / Ed Pursino

Personnel

Band members

* David DeFeis - all vocals, keyboards, orchestration, effects, producer *Edward Pursino - acoustic and electric guitars, bass *Frank Gilchriest - drums

Production

*Steve Young, Ed Warrin - engineers *Michael Sarsfield - mastering

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:House of Atreus Act I, The 1999 albums Virgin Steele albums Rock operas Noise Records albums Works based on Agamemnon (Aeschylus play)