An American-made power metal outfit beloved in Europe, Virgin Steele skillfully assimilates classical influences into its romantic, symphonic-based sound. Emerging in the early 1980s, the David DeFeis-led group perfected its signature blend of melody and might on 1985's Noble Savage, drawing comparisons to progressive power metal contemporaries like Manowar and Queensrÿche. Subsequent offerings like the Marriage of Heaven & Hell trilogy (1995-1998), the metal opera House of Atreus (1999-2000), the chamber music-inspired Gnostic concept LP Visions of Eden (2006), and the bombastic Nocturnes of Hellfire & Damnation (2015) and Passion of Dionysus (2023), saw the group looking to musical theater for inspiration.