Artist: ELVIRA MADIGAN
Album: "ANGELIS DEAMONAE(CD)"

Year: 2004
Media type: CD

Finally it is here!
The long awaited release of the groundbreaking covers-album. Sounding like no other coversalbum this innovative CD features songs by Tori Amos, Scorpions, Chris deBurgh completely reborn into speed/black metal!

This is an album like nothing else! Only including covers of songs by non-metal artists it sounds like an original Elvira Madigan release! Full with complexity, innovative songs and it overflows with speed/black metal...
well almost ANY metal! And it is awesome!

The long awaited follow up to "Witches - Salem (1692 vs 2001)", full to the brim with extreme metal and in the form of interpretations of non-metal artists. This album is a must have for any one who loves metal!

TRACKLISTING:

1. Chrono Cross (Music: Y. Mitsuda)
2. Iieee (Music & Lyrics: T. Amos)
3. Alien Nation (Music & Lyrics: Schenker / Meine)
4. Under Norrskenet (Music: M. Wester / Lyrics: P. Backman)
5. At Zanarkand (Music: N. Uematsu)
6. Jacob?s Ladder (Music: M. Jarre)
7. Spanish Train (Music & Lyrics: C. DeBurgh)
8. The Leader (Music & Lyrics: C. DeBurgh)
9. The Vision (Music & Lyrics: C. DeBurgh)
10. What About Me? (Music & Lyrics: C. DeBurgh)
11. Prisoners of Fate (Music: Y. Mitsuda)

More info:
From the keyboard of Marcus H Madigan

The year is 2001. It is November and the final tracks have been mixed on an album that will eventually open many doors for Elvira Madigan. The album is "Witches - Salem (1692 vs 2001)" and it has taken two full years to record this enormous piece of undisputed art. But this great album did not come free of charge... For in fact all the batteries within now need to re-charge!
It becomes obvious that there is no way in hell I am going to start right away with the next Elvira Madigan album. I have - without a break or time to reflect - recorded continously since early 1998 (or was it even late 1997?). That period has spawned - from nothing - three seperate Elvira Madigan titles and now there is an urgent need for time off! So how does one best take a time off when ones little "darling" starts to get attention? Either I do nothing for six months (which feels rather stupid...), or I embark on a slightly different journey. And behold! Suddenly, the choice becomes obvious. I'm going to do something I have always wanted to do!!

Yes "Angelis Deamonae - Wiccan Aftermath" is an album devoid of credits to Marcus H Madigan as a songwriter. The title refers partly to the albums clash of opposite worlds (with almost all the songs hailing from non-metal genres here interpreted in forms of metal), and partly to the fact that it is the aftermath of the album "Witches..." ("Wicca" being a modern term of witchcraft). Make no mistake though! As You may hear, it sound very little as an album unthoughtfully put together with different "favourites" of the artist himself, and more like any other conceptual piece of original Elvira Madigan material. Thanks to the carefully selected and heavily interpreted tracks, as well as the many instrumentals - this release feels just as vital as any other of Elvira Madigans work and sounds little like any other "covers" -album on the market today. Well, who am I convincing... All one needs to do is to put it in the CD player and my case will already have been proven.

To say that this CD is only "aftermath" is not entirely true either. For as much as I needed some sort of break, I also needed time to work on the original album to follow up "Witches..." (an album currently in recordingsessions). This promotion text is not to cover that particular album in the making, but it might be wise to say that the time spent to make "Angelis Deamonae" was also used for a well needed pre-production for an album that is entirely conceptual (including also the storyline - which is a first time for Elvira Madigan). The coming album is such a huge undertaking that this little coversalbum is a nice way to say... "Hello! Yes, I am still very much alive. So be patient, there is much more to come!" as well as putting out some killer tracks finally recorded the way they should have sounded from the beginning.


To make this promotext even longer, here is a walkthrough
of the entire album:

First, the album starts off with "Chrono Cross" (Y. Mitsuda) from the best-selling japanese Playstation RPG with the same name. I myself, spend quite some time with these kinds of games and including some of the wonderful music they contain on an Elvira Madigan album could be little else than highly apropriet. It is slightly more "positive" in its' soundscape than one would expect from my albums, but then again, one should never be sure what to get from an Elvira Madigan title anyway! The original is by no means particularily poor in any way, but this version is obviously more heavy metal and more guitar oriented. And it suites perfect as an introduction to...

...Track no 2. "Iieee" (T. Amos). I suppose one has to be a huge Tori Amos fan to ever recognize this one. But since the lady herself chose to release a covers album containing ao "Reign in Blood" by Slayer heavily interpreted, I though it only natural to treat her with the same kindness. The lady is a true favourite of mine but I never actuarly planned on covering one of her tracks. This one popped up in the end of the recording sessions after several other tracks I had intended to record unfortualy was dismissed. This album was to be filled by tracks that sound as if they were Elvira Madigan originals or it wouldn't be recorded at all. There is nothing worse than getting secondary versions of tracks that are about a hundred times better in their originals. Either Elvira Madigan would make them better, or completely different and interesting in a different aspect. This one falls into the latter of those alternatives since the original is awsome. This one is truly very different from what Tori Amos released herself. But as hard as it may be to understand, not much has changed...
This is probably the fastest track on the album and has an awsome arrangement.

Track no 3 is the only song on the album originally recorded by a Hard Rock/Metal act. "Scorpions" own version is indeed very heavy and the riffs are great. But the singing have always felt - in my oppinion - like there was something missing. So thoughts have indeed sprung to mind much earlier how heavy it would be with more brutal vocals. So here it is. More heavy, and more metal! "Alien Nation"!

"Nordman" is a name few Swedes are oblivious to. Being a mainstream phenomena in Swedish charts with surprisingly high standards this folk/pop act hit our country like a ton of bricks in the early nineties. Track no 4: "Under Norrskenet" (M. Wester/P. Backman) is heavily interpreted and sounds quite different than the original on this CD, yet does not sound strange in any way if one has heard that version of the early nineties. Folk has been a huge part of my life and therefor Elvira Madigans, so the fact that this track was recorded and included on this CD was by no means unexpected. When thoroughly going through the many songs I thought might make good Elvira Madigan covers this song felt right from the beginning. I just had to make it a little more "Black". And so it was done.

By the time we now reach track no 5 we have worked our way through three tracks with normal contents of vocals so it is high time for some instrumental mood-settings. So we take a leap back to the world of videogames and end up with the internationally know "Final Fantasy". This title named "At Zanarkand" (N. Uematsu) hails from the tenth Final Fantasy title. These japanese composers are obviously huge names in their own territory, and I can truly understand why! Paving my way through the game it became clear I wanted this track on my covers-album! This title differs little from it's original.

Another instrumental title enters at no 6 where it flows into the previous - as well as the successing one. This is a track I expected would be recorded for Elvira Madigan somewhere along the way. And even before the thought of this CD came up. One of my all time favourite films is "Jacob's Ladder" and it just so happens, that this track with the same name (by M. Jarre) is about the best score for a soundtrack ever! Though the original contained something I did not provide - namely a full orchestra - I did manage to create the beauty, horror and imagery through sound the original contains. And for this, the song has a natural place on the album. Strange how much of my personality that ended up on this album where not a single track is written by me. Be it Playstation videogames I am nuts about or movies I rank among the very top!

No 7 is "Spanish Train" (C deBurgh). I never thought this was possible. But suddenly I found myself trying this song out and found that it worked quite well. I suppose most metal-heads know little about the music of this character named Chris deBurgh and for those who have heard his name - there is mostly one dreadful ballad that comes to mind. Yet I have found hidden treasures among his releases and a world most do not know. This track was never a song I had planned to record. I had several other alternatives (some among which are included on this album), which felt more natural.
The original version of this track is highly orchestral and practically impossible to recreate. Yet I felt a sudden need to sink my teeth into this extremely dramatic tale of cardgame performed by the Devil and the Lord. Although Elvira Madigans version contains so many different ingredients than the original they both provide the same dramatics, build-ups, moods and melodies - and this was essential if the track would be remade by for this CD.
Even though one might suspect the original composer is of the faith I take to heart to widely critizise most of the time... It might be quite fun to know that the LP this orginal track appeared on was banned in South Africa for the lyrical contents. So why not cut the cards, and deal us all a hand of five!

Even before I learned to play any instruments, or much less started writing music... I have dreamt to perform the three songs that now follow. When I started playing bass and sang in previous bands this trilogy has been on my mind. When I tried to learn guitar, at times I jammed together with the originals just imagening how extremely great these songs would be if they were rerecorded. Heck, the original songs feel like metal but still - they are not! When a pop/rock singer makes a conceptual trilogy about armageddon and the four horsemen of apocalypse what else can a metal-head do than re-record these three songs on an album filled with non-metal tracks gone mad! To be honest, these three tracks are responsible for this album being recorded at all. It was because of my ambition to one day recreate them that the idea spawned to make "Angelis Deamonae - Wiccan Aftermath". And I am so excited these songs finally end up on an Elvira Madigan title!! So that covers no 8, 9 and 10...

And therefor we can leap onto nr 8 without delay. This instrumental hails from "Chrono Cross" as well (se details of the first track!). Not much to say really, than that I like the melody and something was missing in order to round up the album

Best regards
Marcus H Madigan 2004 - Elvira Madigan

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