Prison of Desire

Prison of Desire
Studio album by
Released21 April 2000 (2000-04-21)
Recorded17 December 1999 – 26 February 2000 (1999-12-17 – 2000-02-26)
Studio
Genre
Length54:05
LabelTransmission
Producer
  • Hans Pieters
  • Dennis Leidelmeijer
After Forever chronology
Wings of Illusion
(1999)
Prison of Desire
(2000)
Decipher
(2001)
Singles from Prison of Desire
  1. "Follow in the Cry" / "Silence from Afar"
    Released: 2000
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Chronicles of Chaos[2]

Prison of Desire is the debut album by Dutch symphonic metal band After Forever. It was released on 21 April 2000 by Transmission Records. The album contains the first four installments (three parts and a prologue) of The Embrace That Smothers, a collection of songs by Mark Jansen which deals with the influence and distortion of religion in human society. This theme was carried over to the Epica albums The Phantom Agony and The Divine Conspiracy.

The final track, "Beyond Me", features a guest appearance of Sharon den Adel, lead singer in Within Temptation.

The album was reissued in June 2008 by the re-financed Transmission Records, as a two-disc set containing previously unreleased studio sessions, instrumental/a cappella tracks, and a handful of demo recordings.[3] Guitarist Sander Gommans has urged fans not to buy this re-release through the band's official forum.[4]

In 2021, it was elected by Metal Hammer as the 6th best symphonic metal album of all time.[5]

Track listing

All music is composed by Mark Jansen, Sander Gommans and Floor Jansen, except "Mea Culpa" by M. Jansen

Prison of Desire track listing
No.TitleLyricsLength
1."Mea Culpa (The Embrace That Smothers - Prologue)"M. Jansen2:00
2."Leaden Legacy (The Embrace That Smothers - Part I)"M. Jansen5:07
3."Semblance of Confusion"F. Jansen4:09
4."Black Tomb"F. Jansen6:29
5."Follow in the Cry (The Embrace That Smothers - Part II)"M. Jansen4:06
6."Silence from Afar"M. Jansen5:52
7."Inimical Chimera"F. Jansen5:00
8."Tortuous Threnody"F. Jansen6:13
9."Yield to Temptation (The Embrace That Smothers - Part III)"M. Jansen5:53
10."Ephemeral"M. Jansen3:05
11."Beyond Me"
  • F. Jansen
  • M. Jansen
6:11
Total length:54:05
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleLyricsLength
12."Wings of Illusion"F. Jansen7:21
Total length:61:26
Red digipack limited edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."Leaden Legacy" (instrumental version)5:10
Total length:59:15
Mexican bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."Silence from Afar" (radio edit)4:38
Total length:58:43
2007 Japanese Collector's Edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Wings of Illusion"7:21
13."Silence from Afar" (demo)5:59
14."Wings of Illusion" (demo)7:28
Total length:74:48
2008 reissue – disc one: The Album (bonus tracks)
No.TitleLength
12."Wings of Illusion"7:22
13."Mea Culpa" (instrumental version)2:01
14."Mea Culpa" (a cappella version)1:50
15."Semblance of Confusion" (instrumental version)4:07
16."Follow in the Cry" (instrumental version)4:05
17."Follow in the Cry" (a cappella version)1:20
Total length:74:55
2008 reissue – disc two: The Sessions
No.TitleLength
1."Silence from Afar" (demo version)5:55
2."Wings of Illusion" (demo version)7:21
3."Follow in the Cry" (session version)4:04
4."Yield to Temptation" (session version)5:51
5."Semblance of Confusion" (session version)4:06
6."Beyond Me" (session version)6:13
7."Black Tomb" (session version)6:29
8."Tortuous Threnody" (session version)6:10
9."Ephemeral" (session version)3:03
10."Inimical Chimera" (session version)4:58
11."Silence from Afar" (session version)5:50
12."Mea Culpa" (session version)2:01
13."Leaden Legacy" (session version)5:04
14."Wings of Illusion" (session version)7:21
Total length:74:26

Personnel

After Forever

Additional musician

Choir

  • Hans Cassa, Caspar de Jonge, Yvonne Rooda and Melissa 't Hart

Production

  • Hans Pieters – engineering
  • Dennis Leidelmeijer – engineering
  • Oscar Holleman – choir producer, engineering, mixing
  • Hans van Vuuren – executive producer, coordination and research
  • Peter van 't Riet – mastering

References

  1. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "After Forever Prison of Desire review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  2. ^ Flaaten, Chris (12 August 2000). "After Forever - Prison of Desire". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  3. ^ "After Forever - Prison of Desire". Encyclopaedia Metallum. Retrieved 2 April 2010.
  4. ^ "Official Forum". After Forever. Archived from the original on 6 June 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  5. ^ Davies, Hywel; Dome, Malcolm; Goodman, Eleanor; Chantler, Chris; Gordon, Connie; Grady, Spencer; Rees, Adam; Selzer, Jonathan (17 November 2021). "The 25 best symphonic metal albums". Metal Hammer. Future plc. Retrieved 2 January 2022.