Eric Clayton
Encyclopedia
Eric Clayton is an American
singer-songwriter and musician, best known for his work in the influential gothic
symphonic metal
group Saviour Machine
which he formed with his brother Jeff Clayton in 1989. Eric Clayton is notable for his deep baritone operatic vocals, and he has done guest vocals on Ayreon
's album The Human Equation
, Divinefire
's album Glory Thy Name, Narnia
's album The Great Fall, Wedding Party's album Anthems, and Eva O
's album Damnation (Ride the Madness)
as well as Seventh Circle's album "The Struggle." Clayton also produced the two aforementioned albums as well as many Saviour Machine albums. Clayton is known for his theatrical live performances and dark, peculiar appearances and masks.
, Book of Revelation
and prophecies about the biblical apocalypse
. The band has also released a compilation album titled Synopsis (2003), the live albums Live in Deutschland 1996 and Live in Deutschland 2002. The latter was also filmed and released on DVD format. The band was originally signed to Christian metal label Frontline Records but gothic metal in all its visual appearance was misunderstood in US Christian scenes, and eventually Saviour Machine began work with MCM Music and Massacre Records
, labels based in Germany
where the band was more popular than in US. In 1997 Saviour Machine performed at Wacken Open Air
, the biggest exclusively metal music festival in the world.
Currently, Eric Clayton is working on the last album in the Legend series, Legend Part III:II, which will also be the last Saviour Machine album. The album was supposed to be released on July 7, 2007, but was postponed due to Clayton's esophageal condition called Barrett's Esophagus which was diagnosed in 2004 but eventually got worse.
Clayton has compiled The Collective Journals (1997–2009) released in 2010 available at the band website.
tic. His voice ranges from high tenor
to low baritone
to occasionally the deep basso
, and is typically filled with dark emotions. On Legend trilogy as well as on some guest performances he utilized cinematic, narrative speaking vocals.
On Saviour Machine's concerts, Clayton performs several theatrical and symbolic gestures. He typically paints his face in a way that it resembles an iconic theatre mask, and wears a peculiar forehead jewel as well as black clothes. Some of his live performances include wearing an American flag during the songs "Legion" and "American Babylon", dipping the Israeli and Palestinian flag into blood, wearing devices that resemble demon wings, and other gestures with separate masks, candles, chains, statues etc.
Clayton's lyrics are deeply spiritual, and on the first two album's include themes ranging from salvation to melodramatic, horror oriented dark romanticism
on songs such as "Legion". As the first album was banned from Christian bookstores due to a certain line in that song, Clayton has somewhat humorously criticized the Christian music scene for its hypocritical manners on songs such as "Ascension of Heroes." The Legend series focus on the end times.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer-songwriter and musician, best known for his work in the influential gothic
Gothic metal
Gothic metal or goth metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that combines the aggression of doom metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music...
symphonic metal
Symphonic metal
Symphonic metal is a term used to describe heavy metal music that has symphonic elements; that is, elements that are either borrowed from classical music or, as with progressive rock music, create a style reminiscent of it, e.g...
group Saviour Machine
Saviour Machine
Saviour Machine is an American Christian metal band that formed in 1989. They have released five studio albums and two live albums on Frontline and subsequently on MCM Music, distributed through Massacre Records...
which he formed with his brother Jeff Clayton in 1989. Eric Clayton is notable for his deep baritone operatic vocals, and he has done guest vocals on Ayreon
Ayreon
Ayreon is a project by Dutch composer and musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen.Ayreon's musical style derives mostly from heavy metal and progressive rock, but combines them with genres like folk, classical and electronica...
's album The Human Equation
The Human Equation
The Human Equation is the sixth album by Arjen Anthony Lucassen, released under the name Ayreon. It was released on May 25, 2004. As with other Ayreon albums, it features guest appearances from several musicians previously unrelated to the project, including James LaBrie of Dream Theater, Mikael...
, Divinefire
Divinefire
Divinefire is a Christian Symphonic Power metal group founded in the spring of 2004 by Finnish guitarist Jani Stefanovic, and Swedish singer Christian Liljegren. Liljegren is the former frontman of the band Narnia....
's album Glory Thy Name, Narnia
Narnia (band)
Narnia is a Christian neo-classical progressive power metal band founded by guitarist Carl Johan Grimmark and singer Christian Liljegren. The band formed in Sweden in 1996. Their album themes heavily reference The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis....
's album The Great Fall, Wedding Party's album Anthems, and Eva O
Eva O
Eva Ortiz better known as Eva O is a music artist most notable for her previous works in Christian Death and a band she formed with her then husband Rozz Williams called Shadow Project...
's album Damnation (Ride the Madness)
Damnation (Ride the Madness)
Damnation is the 1999 studio solo album of the American deathrock veteran musician Eva O, released on the German label Massacre Records.-Overview:The album deals with Eva's past in the occult world and spiritual struggles...
as well as Seventh Circle's album "The Struggle." Clayton also produced the two aforementioned albums as well as many Saviour Machine albums. Clayton is known for his theatrical live performances and dark, peculiar appearances and masks.
Saviour Machine
Eric Clayton's most ambitious work has been Saviour Machine, which released two studio albums Saviour Machine I (1993) and Saviour Machine II (1994) before starting the Legend trilogy that strictly focuses on the end timesEnd times
The end time, end times, or end of days is a time period described in the eschatological writings in the three Abrahamic religions and in doomsday scenarios in various other non-Abrahamic religions...
, Book of Revelation
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
and prophecies about the biblical apocalypse
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
. The band has also released a compilation album titled Synopsis (2003), the live albums Live in Deutschland 1996 and Live in Deutschland 2002. The latter was also filmed and released on DVD format. The band was originally signed to Christian metal label Frontline Records but gothic metal in all its visual appearance was misunderstood in US Christian scenes, and eventually Saviour Machine began work with MCM Music and Massacre Records
Massacre Records
Massacre Records is an independent record label based in Abstatt, Germany.The label was founded in 1991 by Torsten Hartmann. The label is specialized on bands of the harder varieties of metal...
, labels based in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
where the band was more popular than in US. In 1997 Saviour Machine performed at Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air is a summer open air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany...
, the biggest exclusively metal music festival in the world.
Currently, Eric Clayton is working on the last album in the Legend series, Legend Part III:II, which will also be the last Saviour Machine album. The album was supposed to be released on July 7, 2007, but was postponed due to Clayton's esophageal condition called Barrett's Esophagus which was diagnosed in 2004 but eventually got worse.
Clayton has compiled The Collective Journals (1997–2009) released in 2010 available at the band website.
Vocal style and live performance
Clayton's vocals can simply be described as operaOpera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic. His voice ranges from high tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
to low baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
to occasionally the deep basso
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
, and is typically filled with dark emotions. On Legend trilogy as well as on some guest performances he utilized cinematic, narrative speaking vocals.
On Saviour Machine's concerts, Clayton performs several theatrical and symbolic gestures. He typically paints his face in a way that it resembles an iconic theatre mask, and wears a peculiar forehead jewel as well as black clothes. Some of his live performances include wearing an American flag during the songs "Legion" and "American Babylon", dipping the Israeli and Palestinian flag into blood, wearing devices that resemble demon wings, and other gestures with separate masks, candles, chains, statues etc.
Clayton's lyrics are deeply spiritual, and on the first two album's include themes ranging from salvation to melodramatic, horror oriented dark romanticism
Dark romanticism
Dark Romanticism is a literary subgenre. It has been suggested that Dark Romantics present individuals as prone to sin and self-destruction, not as inherently possessing divinity and wisdom. G. R...
on songs such as "Legion". As the first album was banned from Christian bookstores due to a certain line in that song, Clayton has somewhat humorously criticized the Christian music scene for its hypocritical manners on songs such as "Ascension of Heroes." The Legend series focus on the end times.