Sunday, June 29, 2008

666

Ever wonder what Vangelis did before he wrote that totally lame song from Chariots of Fire? Probably not, but he did have a satanic prog band of hairy Greek warlocks and pre-pubescent witches. Actually Aphrodite's Child started as a pretty run o' the mill hard psych band who released two sub-good albums. However, in 1972, after moving to Paris, Vangelis and his woolly coven recorded their meisterwerk. 666 is a massive conceptual double album based on The Book of Revelations, the bible's heaviest bit. Even though there is a strong occult vibe, and the subject matter is the Apocalypse, the material that makes up 666 is strangely upbeat and festive. Vangelis employed a myriad of instruments to meet the epic scope of his vision. 666 is easily one of the more satisfying ways to spend an hour, and I'm pretty sure the bible doesn't have any Hammond B3 or sitars in it.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

think again!

Roger Camden said...

>I'm pretty sure the bible doesn't have any Hammond B3 or sitars in it.

Lucky for us, I fact check pro-bono!

Results: no Hammond B3 or sitars, whatsoever.

Anonymous said...

I was pleasantly surprised to hear Robert Wyatt on "Break". Thanks for bringing us this odd little piece of proggy goodness.

Ambassador MAGMA said...

If you play the Chariots of Fire theme backwards, a demonic voice can be heard telling you to kill sprinters, drown hamsters and take piano lessons.


Will the Academy revoke his award after you've unearthed this? They did it to Nino Rota for slowing down his own music, right? Did he even win an Academy Award? Aw, who the fuck cares!

Anonymous said...

with the words of Tony Tiger, grrreat

Anonymous said...

one of the greatest records of european prog.their earlier releases sound too pop and flower power for my liking but this one is truly great.and what better material for a concept album than John's Apocalypse?Vangelis and Demis Roussos went on to find fame and fortune but they definitely never matched this album.

kombatrock said...

This album was in constant rotation for a year or so in the 90s on 87X and was recorded by the Feds while they survailed our broadcasts. The ritual orgasm piece has to be one of the creepiest/erotic things ever recorded. My vinyl copy has long been scratched, so thanks!

Devil Dick said...

the devil approves...

Lonely Ghost Transmissions said...

This is a great album...If I didn't already have it I would definitely d/l it.