Fire of Unknown Origin



Fire of Unknown Origin is the eighth album by the American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, released in July 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; 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". 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 author Michael Moorcock, ended up in the film's final version and soundtrack.

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

Personnel

 * Band members
 * Eric Bloom – vocals, guitar, 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)


 * 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