THE CHEMICAL WEDDING is the 5th studio album by English heavy metal singer Bruce Dickinson. It was released on July 14, 1998 and included the single "Killing Floor". The album draws some inspiration from the works of William Blake - of whom some paintings are featured in the artwork, as well as both sung and spoken excerpts from Blake's prophetic works - although the name of the album and its title track derive from the Rosicrucian manifest the Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz. As with the previous album, it featured Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith.
The film, CHEMICAL WEDDING, with a screenplay by Dickinson, was released in May 2008. It features the title track from the album on its soundtrack, but concerns a story about the reincarnation of Aleister Crowley and is otherwise unrelated.
Lyrical themes:
Dickinson said of the album: "Each song has a sort of frame in which it operates. The first song is about fear, the second song is about tragedy, the third song is about union. You could pick a theme or a topic for each song so that's what the song is about and then you put it in a frame. For example, one of the songs is about failure and the song is called "The Trumpets of Jericho." In the story of the trumpets of Jericho in the Bible, the walls fall down when the tribes of Israel walk around the city and blow their trumpets. Except in this song they don't, it doesn't work. You've done everything right, everything's cool but the wall's still standing. And what do you do? How do you face up to that fact? And it's all part of the whole alchemy thing. What were the alchemists trying to do? They were trying to achieve something that was virtually impossible, they spent their whole lives trying to do it, and all of them failed, or pretty damn near all of them failed. So, what does that feel like, and how does that work, and why keep carrying on. So that's the way the songs kind of work. And you don't have to go into them in all this detail, you could just sit back there and let it hit you over the head like a sledgehammer cause the album works it's just a really heavy album. But it's all there if you want to dig through the words."
Album is truly thunderous, but maintains a melodic quality throughout. The opening track, "King In Crimson" sets the pace for a fast and furious record. The title tune is classic metal with a mid-tempo groove. "Killing Floor," complete with references to Satan, conveys a dark, angry mood. "Book of Thel" makes it clear that the pairing of former Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith and Dickinson is as potent as ever. The musicianship and production are rock solid, and Dickinson is showing a newfound vocal control. Fans of this amazing singer and lyricist will find this disc quite satisfying, as it holds up to all previous efforts.
Personnel: Bruce Dickinson (vocals); Arthur Brown (spoken vocals); Roy Z, Adrian Smith (guitar, keyboards); Greg Schultz (keyboards); Eddie Casillas (bass); Dave Ingraham (drums); Frazeeke MC, The Guru, Willy 666, Craig Lichtenstein (background vocals).
Recorded at Sound City, Van Nuys, California and Silver Cloud, Burbank, California.
Audio Mixers: Roy Z; Stan Katayama. Engineers: Joe Floyd, Stan Katayama, Roy Z.
Produced by Roy Z.
Track Listing:
1. King in Crimson - 4:43 2. Chemical Wedding - 4:06 3. The Tower - 4:45 4. Killing Floor - 4:29 5. Book of Thel - 8:14 6. Gates of Urizen - 4:25 7. Jerusalem - 6:42 8. Trumpets of Jericho - 5:58 9. Machine Men - 5:41 10. The Alchemist - 6:04
The Chemical Wedding (1998) (CMC INTERNATIONAL)
ReplyDeleteAlbum Description:
THE CHEMICAL WEDDING is the 5th studio album by English heavy metal singer Bruce Dickinson. It was released on July 14, 1998 and included the single "Killing Floor". The album draws some inspiration from the works of William Blake - of whom some paintings are featured in the artwork, as well as both sung and spoken excerpts from Blake's prophetic works - although the name of the album and its title track derive from the Rosicrucian manifest the Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz. As with the previous album, it featured Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith.
The film, CHEMICAL WEDDING, with a screenplay by Dickinson, was released in May 2008. It features the title track from the album on its soundtrack, but concerns a story about the reincarnation of Aleister Crowley and is otherwise unrelated.
Lyrical themes:
Dickinson said of the album: "Each song has a sort of frame in which it operates. The first song is about fear, the second song is about tragedy, the third song is about union. You could pick a theme or a topic for each song so that's what the song is about and then you put it in a frame. For example, one of the songs is about failure and the song is called "The Trumpets of Jericho." In the story of the trumpets of Jericho in the Bible, the walls fall down when the tribes of Israel walk around the city and blow their trumpets. Except in this song they don't, it doesn't work. You've done everything right, everything's cool but the wall's still standing. And what do you do? How do you face up to that fact? And it's all part of the whole alchemy thing. What were the alchemists trying to do? They were trying to achieve something that was virtually impossible, they spent their whole lives trying to do it, and all of them failed, or pretty damn near all of them failed. So, what does that feel like, and how does that work, and why keep carrying on. So that's the way the songs kind of work. And you don't have to go into them in all this detail, you could just sit back there and let it hit you over the head like a sledgehammer cause the album works it's just a really heavy album. But it's all there if you want to dig through the words."
Album is truly thunderous, but maintains a melodic quality throughout. The opening track, "King In Crimson" sets the pace for a fast and furious record. The title tune is classic metal with a mid-tempo groove. "Killing Floor," complete with references to Satan, conveys a dark, angry mood. "Book of Thel" makes it clear that the pairing of former Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith and Dickinson is as potent as ever. The musicianship and production are rock solid, and Dickinson is showing a newfound vocal control. Fans of this amazing singer and lyricist will find this disc quite satisfying, as it holds up to all previous efforts.
Personnel: Bruce Dickinson (vocals); Arthur Brown (spoken vocals); Roy Z, Adrian Smith (guitar, keyboards); Greg Schultz (keyboards); Eddie Casillas (bass); Dave Ingraham (drums); Frazeeke MC, The Guru, Willy 666, Craig Lichtenstein (background vocals).
Recorded at Sound City, Van Nuys, California and Silver Cloud, Burbank, California.
Audio Mixers: Roy Z; Stan Katayama.
Engineers: Joe Floyd, Stan Katayama, Roy Z.
Produced by Roy Z.
Track Listing:
1. King in Crimson - 4:43
2. Chemical Wedding - 4:06
3. The Tower - 4:45
4. Killing Floor - 4:29
5. Book of Thel - 8:14
6. Gates of Urizen - 4:25
7. Jerusalem - 6:42
8. Trumpets of Jericho - 5:58
9. Machine Men - 5:41
10. The Alchemist - 6:04