The Passion of Dionysus

The Passion of Dionysus is the fifteenth album by New York heavy/power metal group Virgin Steele, released via SPV/Steamhammer worldwide on June 30, 2023.

The Passion of Dionysus
Studio album by Virgin Steele
Released	June 30, 2023
Genre	Power metal, heavy metal, symphonic metal[1]
Length	79:47
Label	SPV/Steamhammer
Producer	David DeFeis
Virgin Steele chronology
Seven Devils Moonshine (2018) The Passion of Dionysus (2023)

The concept album tells the story of the Greek god Dionysus and his coming to Thebes to avenge the slander of his mother how it is described in Euripides' tragic play, The Bacchae. It explores the duality of the human emotional world between the rational and the irrational, thus taking up one of the most important themes of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

The album received mostly positive reviews, but was also met with some criticism. While many critics praised the complex compositions as well as the innovative songwriting, the production was often criticized for being too artificial.^[2] Paul Hutchings of Metaltalk.net called The Passion of Dionysus a "creative masterpiece".^[3]

With a duration of almost 13-minutes, "The Ritual of Descent" is the longest single track the band has ever released.

Track listing

All music and lyrics by David DeFeis

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Gethsemane Effect"	07:08
2.	"You'll Never See the Sun Again"	09:20
3.	"A Song of Possession"	05:51
4.	"The Ritual of Descent"	12:41
5.	"Spiritual Warfare"	07:50
6.	"Black Earth & Blood"	02:24
7.	"The Passion of Dionysus"	08:09
8.	"To Bind & Kill a God"	08:18
9.	"Unio Mystica"	09:15
10.	"I Will Fear No Man for I Am a God"	08:46

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Metal Temple	[4]
Maximum Volume	[5]
The Metal Circus	[6]
Metalhead	[7]
Blabbermouth	[8]
Metal Factory	[9]
Tutto Rock Magazine	[10]
Metal Hammer	[11]
Via Nocturna	83%[12]

For those who have followed VIRGIN STEELE all these years, this will not be unfamiliar terrain at all. This will be what they were expecting. High quality music brought to us by an extremely dedicated David DeFeis, who did all of it, except for the guitar parts. And I for one applaud him, because he has made “The Passion Of Dionysus” into a very good record, making sure that VIRGIN STEELE is once again noticed as a force to be reckoned with.

— Metal-Temple.com

Personnel

• David DeFeis - all vocals, keyboards, orchestration, bass, drums, producer, engineer
• Edward Pursino - 6 string guitars
• Josh Block - 7 string guitars, engineer