FIRE OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN

Even though I tend to group this album with their previous album "Mirrors" as far as being radio friendly, I do like this one better. It seems BOC is trying to find that perfect place somewhere between Radio friendly tunes and progressive art. They come close here, but I think they really hit it on the head two albums ago with "Specters". There is a return to more progressive elements here on this album, but its not quite on par with some of their earlier albums. Nevertheless, I do like this album a lot. Especially the second side.

Everything on the first half of the album is enjoyable. But the second half really hits closer to the mark starting with "Vengence (The Pact)" which is the most proggy song on here. I love the way each song flows into the next on this side to and it almost makes it feel like a suite of songs that are meant to be heard together. I love the song "After Dark" which seems to fly foreward at a breakneck speed and has a killer guitar solo in the middle. "Joan Crawford" is one of my all time favorite songs that starts out with an excellent piano solo which eventually crashes into the frantic pace of the main song. The middle section of this song is a perfect example of what I like to call "organized chaos" with the continued frantic pace and what sounds like a bunch of possessed appliances and devices. The song then breaks into an almost scary reprieve and builds back into the frantic chorus. This is an almost perfect song, and is more of a "Muse"-type prog. The last song is "Don't Turn Your Back" which is somewhat similar to the terrible final song from "Mirrors" (Lonely Teardrops), but at least it's not as annoying as that song and is a lot more likeable. Again, this is not a prog masterpiece, but it is much better than "Mirrors" with the second side almost raising it to 4 stars, but not quite. If the entire album was like the 2nd side, then this would definately be essential. I'll rate it 3 stars but it deserves 3.5.

Edit May 2020: I can't believe I only gave this 3 stars as it remains a favorite of mine. The fact that it stands the test of time as well as it does makes me want to bump it up to 4 stars. BOC is one band that I continued to love even when they became more commercial, and could find great music in even their "lesser" albums. However, I don't even consider this a lesser album. "Joan Crawford", "Vengence" and other still are some of my all-time favorites.