Blue Öyster Cult "Fire of Unknown Origin"

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.

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.

"Joan Crawford" was a moderate success, reaching #49 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. 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

Side one

1. "Fire of Unknown Origin" Eric Bloom/Albert Bouchard/Joe Bouchard/Donald Roeser/Patti Smith 4:09
2. "Burnin' for You" Roeser/Richard Meltzer 4:29
3. "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" Bloom/Michael Moorcock 4:48
4. "Sole Survivor" Bloom, Liz Myers, John Trivers 4:04
5. "Heavy Metal: The Black and Silver" Bloom/ A. Bouchard/Sandy Pearlman 3:16

Side two

1. "Vengeance (The Pact)" A. Bouchard, J. Bouchard 4:41
2. "After Dark" Bloom, Myers, Trivers 4:25
3. "Joan Crawford" A. Bouchard, Jack Rigg, David Roter 4:55
4. "Don't Turn Your Back" A. Bouchard, Allen Lanier, Roeser 4:07