FIRE OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN

"And the only question, why was he the sole survivor?"

This album is a bit of a paradox to me. It has all the characteristics of a "sellout" record, being in line with most of the trends in mainstream radio rock around the time it came out and a very "commercial" sound in that it avoids doing anything too abrasive or experimental, but it somehow manages to defy all of that and come out sounding extremely authentic. In fact, it's the best BÖC album since Secret Treaties, even more so than the more adventurous "return to form" that was Cultosaurus Erectus. Almost every song on here is super synth-heavy, with those futuristic keyboards that were all the rage in the early 80s really overshadowing the guitars. It's kind of the defining trait of this album in contrast with everything before it. Somehow, this doesn't detract from things at all, instead only giving the record a fittingly sci-fi atmosphere.

The title track is a great opener, immediately introducing the new, revamped, synth-obsessed BÖC. While this album takes its name from the song, its roots go back much earlier, having been written and originally recorded in 1975 as an outtake from the Agents of Fortune sessions. While the original recording is an appropriately forlorn ballad with Albert on vocals, the tone of this final version is far more upbeat and synth-heavy despite the subject matter remaining as eerie and grim as ever. The lyrics, courtesy of Patti Smith, were originally meant to allude to the tragic death of Jim Morrison, but in BÖC's hands I get a bit of an alien abduction vibe. Great hook, great vocals, great synths, solid guitar solo, all around classic.

"Burnin' For You" is, along with "Don't Fear the Reaper" and "Godzilla" one of the few BÖC songs to have much of a presence in the cultural mainstream. While very much a smooth commercial rock song, that's not a criticism at all, and this is on par with Reaper when it comes to Buck's pop-oriented work. That's in no small part thanks to Buck's as-usual fantastic vocals. Lyrically this is just a love song, but the "infernal" imagery still gives it a bit of an occult-rock edge.

"Veteran of the Psychic Wars" is probably my favorite song here. It's a haunting ballad carried by pounding drums, and perfectly placed synths, with a really solid guitar solo on top. It's one of the most "80s-sounding" songs on here, but in a way that adds to rather than subtracts from its appeal. Anyone familiar with Hawkwind's "Warrior on the Edge of Time" will recognize Michael Moorcock's hand in writing the lyrics, with the title directly borrowed from one of the poems on that album. Obviously the song is about the Eternal Champion (a topic first touched on by "Black Blade" off the previous album), but the subtext of real-life PTSD and in particular the Vietnam War are almost certainly present as well.

"Sole Survivor" keeps things in this slower-paced, less hard-rocking space, though it feels far smoother and slicker than the almost tribal-marching Veteran. Great vocal delivery, haunting and slightly unconventional guitar solo, plus lyrics that kinda remind me of something you'd see on a Twilight Zone episode. While it has no real tangible connection to the Imaginos mythology as far as songwriting goes, and it'd be tough to fit it into Imaginos' narrative on a direct level, this song's story is certainly playing in the same conceptual space. The last survivor of the apocalypse, wracked with guilt but blessed with a mystic second sight, visited by a UFO...very much Mutant Reformation vibes. Albert Bouchard seems to agree with me, having included a cover of the song on his reconstructed version of the third Imaginos album.

"Heavy Metal: The Black and Silver" is Sandy Pearlman's only actual contribution to this album's lyrics. Despite my love of all things Sandy, this song is actually the one track here I feel is weaker than the rest. It's more hard-rocking, more 70s-ish compared to the rest, but in a way I don't care for so much. I don't dislike it, and it doesn't really drag the album down for me, but it's a little forgettable and I don't think the album would lose much without it. Not that fond of the inclusion of that "starlight, starbright" nursery rhyme either (I much prefer what Madonna did with it). The title seems to have been chosen as a tie-in with the Heavy Metal film that came out around the same time as this album, possibly even with the intent of having it as the film's theme song, but that unfortunately didn't end too well for the band. On that note...

"Vengeance (The Pact)" is a direct adaptation of the Taarna segment of Heavy Metal, pretty clearly intended to be used in said segment as part of BÖC's deal to have their music featured in the film. Unfortunately for them, the studio passed on both this song and the one intended as a theme song, instead opting to use only Veteran of the Psychic Wars...a song which had nothing to do with anything in the movie. None of that context ruins this, though! Really memorable and catchy, great riff, Joe Bouchard doing a great job on vocals, whole package. I especially love the bridge section, it really gives off a bit of a dramatic, "epic" feel well-suited to the source material.

"After Dark" opens with a cool bassline and winds up feeling very nervous, anxious, "on edge". I absolutely LOVE the chorus (and pre-chorus) vocals on this one, it's so damn catchy especially with that synth riff accompanying it. The verses feel a bit like filler in between, but they're short by design since the chorus is the real star here. The guitar solo is also far more reminiscent of the 70s than the 80s, at least compared with the other songs on this album. Not quite sure what's going on with the lyrics to this one, other than the fact I'm pretty sure "loose I fear" is meant to be a pun on "Lucifer". I've certainly seen people identify this as a vampire song, but seeing as the famously vampire-obsessed Joe isn't credited as a writer, I'm not sure about that.

"Joan Crawford" is quite a weird one. As the ominous piano intro indicates, here the album's usual synths are replaced by some light orchestral arrangements, namely the use of piano and a couple strings. The lyrics are easily the most arcane and obscure of any song on the album, with the allusion to Mommie Dearest and Crawford's checkered posthumous reputation being only one ingredient in a smoothie of weird and disconnected imagery only unified by by suggestions of paranoia and social collapse. Albert's friend and frequent collaborator David Roter is credited as a songwriter, and these kind of lyrics are something he's pretty good at. The bridge section, with the cacophony of sound effects followed by the undead Joan Crawford calling Christina on the phone, is probably the weirdest (and most memorable) moment on the whole record. This song is equal parts genuinely creepy and tongue-in-cheek funny, in the same way as the best 70s BÖC stuff.

Buck's only other vocal contribution on the album is the closing track, "Don't Turn Your Back". While still slick and synth-heavy, it's not quite as radio-friendly as Burnin' For You, and is probably the most underrated song here. It's got this quietly sinister feel to it that I really like, especially coming from the bassline. I believe this was another song intended for use in Heavy Metal, since the lyrics are pretty reminiscent of the noir-ish segment with the taxi driver, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

Unfortunately, this album's burst of creative energy wouldn't last. Albert Bouchard's issues with cocaine and resulting erratic behavior caused the band to fire him midway through this album's accompanying tour, and he wasn't exactly easy to replace. Albert had been at the heart of the band's songwriting process from the beginning, and without his input, their material suffered significantly. Fire of Unknown Origin may be the last time the original Öyster Cult recorded together, but at least it went out on a good note.

BEST TRACK: Veteran of the Psychic Wars

WEAKEST TRACK: Heavy Metal: The Black and Silver

Social review comments

Review related links

• Send comments to Soarel
• Report this review (#2878571)
• Buy BLUE ÖYSTER CULT music online with PA partners
• Show all BLUE ÖYSTER CULT MP3/Stream
• Go to BLUE ÖYSTER CULT page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Fire Of Unknown Origin page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for BLUE ÖYSTER CULT related discussions