''Fire of Unknown Origin'' is the eighth studio album by the American

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest h ...

band

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla". The band ha ...

, released on June 22, 1981. It was produced by

Martin Birch Martin Birch (27 December 19489 August 2020) was a British music producer and sound engineer. He became renowned for engineering and producing albums recorded predominantly by British rock bands, including Deep Purple, Rainbow, Fleetwood Mac, W ...

. The album, which included the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " cont ...

hit "

Burnin' for You "Burnin' for You" is a song by American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult. It was released as the lead single from the band's eighth studio album, '' Fire of Unknown Origin'', released in June 1981, where it was the album's second track. The song ...

" (#1 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart), represented a resurgence of the group's commercial standing after two albums with disappointing sales. It became the band's highest-charting studio album on the ''Billboard'' 200, peaking at number 24. ''Fire of Unknown Origin'' would be the final studio LP featuring the band's original lineup; during the subsequent tour, the band fired original drummer

Albert Bouchard Albert Thomas Bouchard (; born May 24, 1947) is an American musician. He is a founding member and the original drummer of the hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult and current drummer of The Dictators. He is the brother of former Blue Öyster Cult ...

Songs

Several of the songs were intended for the soundtrack of the animated film '' Heavy Metal'', such as "Vengeance (The Pact)," the lyrics of which follow in detail the plot of the "Taarna" segment of the movie. However, only the song " Veteran of the Psychic Wars" (ironically not written for the film), co-written by

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univers ...

author

Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, best-known for science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has work ...

, ended up in the film's final version and soundtrack. The title track was used in episode 17 of

season 1 Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughters album), 2012 * ''Season One'' (Saukrates album), 2012 See also * * * Season 2 (disambiguation) * Season 4 (disambigua ...

of ''

Supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

'' entitled "Hell House," written by long-time BÖC fan

Trey Callaway Trey Callaway is an American film and television writer and producer. In addition to working with Hollywood luminaries like Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ron Howard, and Tim Burton, Callaway has written and produced for shows like '' 9-1-1 ...

. The album's closing track, "Don't Turn Your Back," marks

Allen Lanier Allen Glover Lanier (; June 25, 1946 – August 14, 2013) was an American musician who played keyboards and rhythm guitar. He was an original member of Blue Öyster Cult. Lanier wrote several songs for Blue Öyster Cult albums, including "T ...

's final songwriting contribution to Blue Öyster Cult; it was played live by the group for the first time on June 17, 2016, at a special concert highlighting Lanier's music. The album's title track, "Fire of Unknown Origin," was originally considered for the band's fourth album, but was cut. The original version of the song is available through the band's 2017 compilation ''Rarities''. "Joan Crawford" was a moderate success, reaching #49 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Mainstream Rock chart Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in M ...

. The subject of the song is the actress of the same name, who had died four years before the song's release. A music video was created for the song, which was famously banned by MTV for featuring a sexually suggestive scene.

Track listing

Personnel

;Band members *

Eric Bloom Eric Jay Bloom (born December 1, 1944) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-lead vocalist, guitar and keyboard/synthesizer player for the long-running band Blue Öyster Cult, with work on more than 20 albu ...

– vocals, guitar, bass on track 5 * Donald 'Buck Dharma' Roeser – lead guitar, vocals, percussion on track 3, bass and sound effects on track 8 *

– keyboards *

Joe Bouchard Joseph J. Bouchard (; born November 9, 1948) is an American musician. He was the bassist and one of the lead singers of the hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult during their most successful period. He is the younger brother of original Blue Öyster ...

– bass, vocals *

– drums, synthesizer, vocals, mixing (uncredited) ;Additional musicians *

Karla DeVito Karla DeVito (born May 29, 1953) is an American singer and actress. Early life and education DeVito was born in suburban Chicago in Mokena, Illinois. She attended Willow Crest Grade School in Mokena and Lincoln-Way High School in New Lenox. S ...

– 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 *

– producer, engineer, mixing *Clay Hutchinson – engineer *Paul Stubblebine – mastering *Greg Scott – album artwork

Charts

Album

Singles

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...

Certifications

References

{{Authority control Blue Öyster Cult albums 1981 albums Albums produced by Martin Birch Columbia Records albums