Dancing on the Head of the Serpent is the fifth studio album, and sixth album overall, from Swedish

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 hard rock

Hard rock

Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...

 band Jerusalem. Unlike their first four studio albums, it was recorded only in English, although there are two different versions. The original version was released in Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

 in 1987

1987 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1987.See also:Record labels established in 1987-January-February:*January 3 – Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...

 on JM Records. In 1988

1988 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1988.-January-March:* January 1 – André Rieu's Johann Strauss Orchestra plays its first concert....

, Refuge Records released a re-recorded and remixed version in the US, with slightly different artwork. This was the first Jerusalem album to be released on CD.

The general lyrical theme of the album is "war against Satan", but songs such as "Still" focus on forgiveness and restoration.

Album Cover Controversy

Several record stores in Scandinavia banned it because of its album cover (painted by Rolf Jansson of Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

).

Track listing

All songs by Ulf Christiansson.

1. "Dancing on the Head of the Serpent"
2. "Plunder Hell and Populate Heaven"
3. "Rebels of Jesus Christ"
4. "Listen to Me"
5. "Woe, Woe... The Great Fall"
6. "We're Gonna Take Europe"
7. "Come Higher"
8. "Catch the Devil, Catch the Thief"
9. "The Night When Revelation Came Into My Life"
10. "Still"

Personnel

• Ulf Christiansson - lead vocals, guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• Peter Carlsohn - bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  , background vocals
• Reidar I Paulsen - keyboards
  Keyboard instrument
  A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
  
  , background vocals
• Mikael Ulvsgärd - drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  , background vocals