It is said that there is no substitute for experience and guitarist Jack Starr can certainly attest to that fact. “I am a living connection to the music that is influencing the artists of today,” says Starr. His band Burning Starr debuted in 1986 and released their sophomore effort, No Turning Back, that same year. It’s an album Rockadrome.com calls a “classic,” an “essential blend of Judas Priest and Riot style melodic mid ‘80’s traditional power metal.” Now, after a 20 year hiatus, Burning Starr is back with Defiance, the band’s first release on Magic Circle Music. For Starr, Defiance is a testament to both his perseverance and his influence.
Starr began his professional career in 1982 with an invitation from guitar baron Mike Varney to appear on the Shrapnel Records compilation U.S. Metal Volume 2. Soon thereafter he founded the band Virgin Steele, whose eponymous debut was the inaugural release on Music For Nations, the British label now legendary for launching the careers of such industry heavyweights as, Metallica and Ratt. In 1984 Starr released his acclaimed solo CD, Out Of The Darkness, which features ‘80’s vocal kingpin Rhett Forrester (ex-Riot) as well as musicians from Rainbow and The Rods. In the mid-to-late ‘80’s his band Burning Starr became a cult sensation.