Raised by Bats is the tenth studio album by Cuban American dark cabaret singer-songwriter Voltaire, released in 2014.[1] The album's production was crowdfunded by Voltaire's fans all over the world via a successful Indiegogo campaign; it would reach US$53,793, surpassing its originally intended goal of US$10,000.[2] The album is a major departure of Voltaire's usual musical style; instead of his usual dark cabaret style, Raised by Bats is more death rock- and gothic rock-oriented. According to Voltaire in his official website:
| Raised by Bats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2014 | |||
| Recorded | 2013 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 40:37 | |||
| Label | Mars Needs Music | |||
| Producer | Voltaire | |||
| Voltaire chronology | ||||
| ||||
"In truth, it's a tour of all of the kinds of music I loved growing up. There are songs on this album that are goth rock, death rock, new wave, New Romantic, dark wave and dark folk. It's the album I've always wanted to make. Some of the songs were written as far back as 1984, when I was 17 years old!"[3]
Raised by Bats is, thus far, the album by Voltaire that most features guest musicians: among them are Ray Toro of My Chemical Romance fame, Craig Adams of The Mission and The Sisters of Mercy, Melora Creager of Rasputina and much more.
Background
editThe track "The Night" was previously featured on Voltaire's 2000 album Almost Human; he first wrote it in 1988.
"The Conqueror Worm" takes its name and lyrics from Edgar Allan Poe's eponymous poem, first published in Graham's Magazine in 1843.
"The Devil and Mr. Jones" is a tribute to American actor Doug Jones, then-most-famous for portraying the fish-man Abe Sapien in the Hellboy film series as well as the faun in Pan's Labyrinth, all films directed by Guillermo del Toro (Del Toro also being mentioned extensively in the song's lyrics).
"Sacrifice" was written in memory of one of Voltaire's friends, who killed herself when both were teenagers.
"Captains All" is a tribute to one of Voltaire's idols, British musician Adam Ant, famous for being the frontman of now-deceased post-punk/new wave band Adam and the Ants.[4]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Raised by Bats" | 3:30 |
| 2. | "Oh, My Goth!" | 3:12 |
| 3. | "The Night" | 4:51 |
| 4. | "The Masquerade" | 4:38 |
| 5. | "The Devil and Mr. Jones" (feat. Julia Marcell) | 5:40 |
| 6. | "Sacrifice" | 5:23 |
| 7. | "The Conqueror Worm" | 4:18 |
| 8. | "Wake Up (From This Horrible Dream)" (feat. Chibi) | 4:53 |
| 9. | "Never" | 4:32 |
| 10. | "Captains All" | 4:39 |
Personnel
edit- Voltaire — vocals
- Julia Marcell — additional vocals (track 5)
- Chibi (of The Birthday Massacre) — additional vocals (track 8)
- Brian Viglione — drums
- Ray Toro — guitars
- Knox Chandler — guitars
- Craig Adams — bass
- Melora Creager — cello
- Frank Morin — guitars
- Emilio Zef China — bass, violin
- Olya Viglione — organ
- Chris Ianuzzi — keyboards
- Armen Ra — theremin
- Michael Komarck — cover art
Marcell, Creager and Viglione collaborated with Voltaire previously.
Guest vocals in "Oh, My Goth!" were provided by The Crüxshadows, Bella Morte, Ego Likeness (on their second collaboration with Voltaire since 2004's Then and Again), Zombina and the Skeletones and Angelspit.
In popular culture
editThe titular song "Raised by Bats" from the album is prominently featured in the 2022 second episode of the second season of the animated web series The Vampair by Daria Cohen (also titled "Raised By Bats"), sung by the vampire Duke as he travels into the city with his wife Melissa "Missi" Dumarias, thinking back on his childhood and how he became a vampire.[5]
References
edit- ^ Aurelio Voltaire | Raised by Bats — CD Baby
- ^ Raised by Bats: A star-studded Gothrock album from Aurelio Voltaire
- ^ Voltaire - Raised by Bats
- ^ Voltaire – News – March 20th, 2013 | Raised by Bats!
- ^ Cohen, Daria (July 15, 2022). "Raised By Bats" / Season 2 Episode 2. Retrieved July 15, 2022 – via YouTube.