Fire of Unknown Origin

Fire of Unknown Origin
Cover art by Greg Scott
Studio album by Blue Öyster Cult
Released	July 1981
Recorded	Kingdom Sound Studios, Long Island, New York The Automatt, San Francisco, California, 1981
Genre	Hard rock, heavy metal
Length	39:06
Label	Columbia
Producer	Martin Birch
Blue Öyster Cult chronology
Cultösaurus Erectus (1980) Fire of Unknown Origin (1981) Extraterrestrial Live (1982)
Singles from Fire of Unknown Origin
"Burnin' for You / Vengeance (The Pact)" Released: July, 1981 "Burnin' for You / Heavy Metal: the Black and Silver" Released: September 1981

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	9/10[2]

Fire of Unknown Origin is the eighth album by the American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released in 1981. It was produced by Martin Birch.

The album, which included the Top 40 hit "Burnin' for You" (#1 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart) represented a resurgence of the group's commercial standing after two albums with disappointing sales. Fire of Unknown Origin would be the final studio LP featuring the band's original lineup until 1988's Imaginos; during the subsequent tour, the band fired original drummer Albert Bouchard.

The album continues BÖC's tendency to write quirky songs, from the title track (featuring lyrics by Patti Smith) to "Joan Crawford". Many of the songs were intended for the soundtrack of the animated film Heavy Metal, such as "Vengeance (The Pact)", whose lyrics follow in detail the plot of the "Taarna" segment of the movie. However, only the song "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" (which, ironically, was not written for Heavy Metal), co-written by science fiction author Michael Moorcock, ended up in the film's final version and soundtrack.

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
1.	"Fire of Unknown Origin"	Eric Bloom, Albert Bouchard, Joe Bouchard, Donald Roeser, Patti Smith	Bloom	4:09
2.	"Burnin' for You"	Roeser, Richard Meltzer	Roeser	4:29
3.	"Veteran of the Psychic Wars"	Bloom, Michael Moorcock	Bloom	4:48
4.	"Sole Survivor"	Bloom, Liz Myers, John Trivers	Bloom	4:04
5.	"Heavy Metal: The Black and Silver"	Bloom, A. Bouchard, Sandy Pearlman	Bloom	3:16

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
6.	"Vengeance (The Pact)"	A. Bouchard, J. Bouchard	J. Bouchard, Roeser	4:41
7.	"After Dark"	Bloom, Myers, Trivers	Bloom	4:25
8.	"Joan Crawford"	A. Bouchard, Jack Rigg, David Roter	Bloom, A. Bouchard	4:55
9.	"Don't Turn Your Back"	A. Bouchard, Allen Lanier, Roeser	Roeser	4:07
Total length:				39:06

Personnel

Band members

• Eric Bloom – vocals, bass on track 5
• Donald 'Buck Dharma' Roeser – lead guitar, vocals, percussion on track 3, bass and sound effects on track 8
• Allen Lanier – keyboards
• Joe Bouchard – bass, vocals
• Albert Bouchard – drums, synthesizer, vocals, mixing (uncredited)^[3]

Additional musicians

• Karla DeVito – background vocals on track 4
• Sandy Jean – background vocals on track 9
• Bill Civitella, Tony Cedrone – additional percussion on track 3
• Jesse Levy – string arrangements on tracks 3 and 8

Production

• Martin Birch – producer, engineer, mixing
• Clay Hutchinson – engineer
• Paul Stubblebine – mastering
• Greg Scott – album artwork

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1981	Billboard 200 (North America)[4]	24
	UK Album Chart[5]	29

Singles

Year	Title	Chart	Position
1981	"Burnin' for You"	Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[6]	1
	"Joan Crawford"		49
	"Veteran of the Psychic Wars"		24
	"Vengeance (The Pact)"		16
	"Fire of Unknown Origin"		11
	"Burnin' for You"	Billboard Hot 100 (North America)[6]	40

Sales Certifications

Year	Country	Organization	Sales
1982	U.S.	RIAA	Gold (500,000+)[7]
	Canada	CRIA	Gold (50,000+)[8]

References

1. Jurek, Thom. "Blue Öyster Cult Fire of Unknown Origin review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
2. Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
3. Popoff, Martin (March 2009). "Fire of Unknown Origin". Blue Öyster Cult: Secrets Revealed! (2 ed.). Toronto, Canada: Power Chord Press. pp. 169–170. ISBN 0-9752807-0-8.
4. "Fire of Unknown Origin Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
5. "Fire of Unknown Origin Chart Stats". Chart Stats.com. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
6. "Fire of Unknown Origin Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
7. "RIAA Database Search for Fire of Unknown Origin". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
8. "Gold Platinum Database – Title: Fire of Unknown Origin". Music Canada. Retrieved 2012-01-15.