Hologram of Baal is a 1998

1998 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia...

 album released by The Church

The Church (band)

The Church is an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1980. Initially associated with new wave and the neo-psychedelic sound of the mid 1980s, their music later became more reminiscent of progressive rock, featuring long instrumental jams and complex guitar interplay...

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With the full time return of founding guitarist Peter Koppes

Peter Koppes

Peter Koppes is a guitarist and founding member of Australian independent rock band The Church. As well as his contributions to The Church, he has also released several solo albums....

, the band returned to their roots with an album of songs that recalled the atmospheric and layered guitar sounds of Heyday and Starfish.

The original title Steve Kilbey

Steve Kilbey

Steven John Kilbey is the lead singer-songwriter and bass guitarist for The Church, an Australian rock band. He is also a music producer, poet, and painter....

 wanted was "Hologram of Allah," but this was rejected as too inflammatory, so they decided upon "Baal" after the old defunct Canaanite god.

"This is It" is about the death of INXS

INXS

INXS are an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. Mainstays are Garry Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on guitar/keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar and Kirk Pengilly on guitar/sax...

 frontman and fellow Australian, Michael Hutchence

Michael Hutchence

Michael Kelland John Hutchence was an Australian musician and actor. He was the founding lead singer-songwriter of rock band :INXS from 1977 to his death in 1997, a period of twenty years. Hutchence was a member of short-lived pop rock group Max Q and recorded solo material which was released...

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It was during the subsequent tour in 1999 that frontman Steve Kilbey was arrested in New York City for attempting to purchase heroin. He was sentenced to community service by sweeping subway cars in New York City. The band performed the following night at New York's Bowery Ballroom with Marty Willson-Piper serving as lead vocalist, known on bootlegs as the "Steveless in New York City."

Track listing

1. "Anaesthesia"
2. "Ricochet"
3. "Louisiana"
4. "The Great Machine"
5. "No Certainty Attached"
6. "Tranquility"
7. "Buffalo"
8. "This is It"
9. "Another Earth"
10. "Glow-Worm"

The bonus disc, Bastard Universe was included on some pressings as a limited edition "jam" disc of six freestyle jams lasting 70+ minutes in total. Certain US and UK pressing list only four tracks, but the Australian release included all "six stages."