Assembly (Theatre of Tragedy album)

Assembly is the fifth studio album by the Norwegian metal band Theatre of Tragedy, released in 2002. It continued the group's move from gothic to a more electronic and pop style of music. This style was described as similar to "Siouxsie and the Banshees jamming with Ace of Base".[1]

Assembly
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 4, 2002
RecordedLate 2001, Karillo Studio, Porvoo and MD Studios, Helsinki, Finland
GenreIndustrial rock, electropop
Length42:29
LabelNuclear Blast
ProducerHiili Hiilesmaa
Theatre of Tragedy chronology
Closure: Live
(2001)
Assembly
(2002)
Storm
(2006)
Singles from Assembly
  1. "Envision"
    Released: 2002
  2. "Let You Down"
    Released: 2002
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Sea of Tranquility[2]
Femme Metal[3]
Musical Discoveries[4]

Assembly was the last Theatre of Tragedy album featuring the vocals of Liv Kristine. According to Kristine the band fired her by email, citing musical differences.[5]

While Musique themes mentioned radios, streetfighting and nightlife, the songs on Assembly generally focus more on people than technology, such as in "Play" and "Let You Down". The album's modern setting is still emphasised by "Automatic Lover", which refers to modern nightlife, and "Universal Race", which uses space travel as a metaphor for sexual intercourse.

A limited edition of the album contains the cover of "You Keep Me Hangin' On" as bonus track. The song was originally a hit by The Supremes and was also made famous by Vanilla Fudge and Kim Wilde.

The cover art was designed by Thomas Ewerhard, who also made the covers for the next two albums by the band, Storm and Forever Is the World.[6]

Metal Mind Productions reissued the album on 27 July 2009. The album has been digitally remastered using 24-bit process on a golden disc and includes three bonus tracks, "You Keep Me Hangin' On", "Let You Down" (Remix) and "Motion" (Funker Vogt Remix). The album is limited to 2,000 copies.[7]

Track listing

edit

All songs written and composed by Theatre of Tragedy, except for "You Keep Me Hanging On" by Holland–Dozier–Holland.

No.TitleLength
1."Automatic Lover"4:26
2."Universal Race"3:30
3."Episode"3:34
4."Play"3:25
5."Superdrive"3:48
6."Let You Down"2:56
7."Starlit"4:08
8."Envision"3:59
9."Flickerlight"3:46
10."Liquid Man"4:16
11."Motion"4:41
12."You Keep Me Hanging On" (The Supremes cover, bonus track)3:59
Total length:46:28

Personnel

edit

Theatre of Tragedy

edit

Production

edit

Singles

edit

Two singles were released from this record.

  1. "Envision" was released in 2002. As well as the title track the disc featured the Conetik Remix, the album version of "Superdrive", and The Supremes cover "You Keep Me Hangin' On".
  2. "Let You Down" was also released in 2002. This disc contains (as well as the title track) a Rico Darum & Superdead remix of "Let You Down".

Charts

edit
Chart (2002) Peak position
German Albums Chart[8] 75

References

edit
  1. ^ a b O'Neill, Brian. "Theatre of Tragedy - Assembly review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  2. ^ Neudorf, Jon (4 September 2009). "Theatre of Tragedy: Assembly". Sea of Tranquility.org. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  3. ^ Cannella, Tony. "Theatre Of Tragedy - "Assembly" - Re-Issue (2009)". Femme Metal Webzine. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  4. ^ "Review of Assembly / Musique". Musical Discoveries.com. 2 August 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  5. ^ "Ex-THEATRE OF TRAGEDY Singer Says She Was Betrayed And Deceived By Her Bandmates". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. 27 August 2003. Archived from the original on 3 October 2003. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  6. ^ "THEATRE OF TRAGEDY: New Album Artwork Unveiled". Blabbermouth.net. 5 July 2009. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  7. ^ "Metalmind". Metalmind. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  8. ^ "Album - Theatre of Tragedy, Assembly". Charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 14 April 2014.[dead link]