Sanity Obscure
Encyclopedia
Sanity Obscure is the second album by the Christian thrash metal
band Believer, published in 1990 by R.E.X. Records
and a year later by Roadrunner Records
. Several mainstream magazines praised the album.
The lyrics deal with theology and social issues. "Wisdom's Call" is about personal wisdom and its calling that simple people reject. "Stop the Madness" talk about a drug user who has been brainwashed by decaying world, and is always searching to belong but is too blind to see his shattered dreams. "Nonpoint" takes a stance on the dark side of the industrialized society where general ignorance has caused pollution that corrupts nature, and in the end, man's soul. "Like a Song" is a cover of a U2
's rebel song which ponders that one must start revolution from within oneself before one can change the world.
, no other extreme metal
band at the time had merged the genre with classical music
so seamlessly. The orchestral section was conducted by Scott Laird. The song's first three minutes consist of orchestrated strings, synthesizer effects and the soprano vocals of Julianne Laird Hoge. After that the band joins in with its thrash metal output in contrast with the orchestration. Doug Mann executed the concept of the song and the band section was composed by Kurt Bachman. Dies irae
itself is a Latin poem or hymn which prays mercy at the dawn of apocalypse. The poem was originally written by Thomas of Celano
, an Italian friar of the Franciscans, who lived in 13th century and was an obligatory part of the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass for some centuries before 1969. Kurt Bachman stated that the song was inspired by Mozart's Requiem Mass
.
. Although Sanity Obscure never really became popular, several mainstream magazines praised the album. According to Jeff Wagner, the song Dies Irae "foreshadowed the operatic approach of future metal bands such as Therion and Nightwish."
According to the members of Doomworld
, the video game musician Robert Prince
covered the title song "Sanity Obscure" for the video game Doom in E1M6 level's song "On the Hunt" (see: Making of Doom
). The song "Dies Irae (Day of Wrath)" also appeared on the soundtrack of the skating video series of CKY
.
In 2010, HM Magazine ranked Sanity Obscure #42 on its Top 100 Christian Rock Albums of all time list stating: "When Christians make art that blows people away with its creativity, skill and excellence … well, isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be when people are in relation to the Creator? Sanity Obscure – case in point." On August 2010 issue of Heaven's Metal fanzine, the album ranked #10 on the Top 100 Christian metal albums of all time list.
and the Canadian death metal band Sacrifice. They did tours in Europe an US, with Believer as the support act. Based on the band's live videos, they played the songs faster in concerts than on the album.
In 2005, a Canadian record label called Retroactive Records a 1000 units pressing of Sanity Obscure, in which they had included an instrumental "bonustrack" from Believer's 1987 demo The Return titled "I.Y.F.". This caused some controversy when both Kurt Bachman and Joey Daub informed that they would have not give permission to include extra material if they were asked. In their opinion, the track listing should have stayed as it originally was. However, the record company did not break any copyright laws.
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Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
band Believer, published in 1990 by R.E.X. Records
R.E.X. Records
R.E.X. Records was an independent record label founded by Doug Mann and Gavin Morkel, which operated from 1987 until running into financial difficulty in 1995. Operations were based in Chicago until 1990 when the company moved to Nashville...
and a year later by Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
. Several mainstream magazines praised the album.
Recording history
Sanity Obscure was recorded and mixed in Morning Star Studios, Spring House, Pennsylvania in 1990. The album was produced by Doug Mann and Paul Krueger. Sanity Obscure was mastered in The Hit Factory, New York. The intro for "Sanity Obscure" was recorded at HMS Productions and was engineered by Ted Hermanson. All songs, apart from "Dies Irae", are written by quartet Kurt Bachman, Joey Daub, David Baddorf, and Wyatt Robertson, who replaced the former member Howe Kraft.Overview
Sanity Obscure begins with an intro called "Teddy Bears", in which a musical box tune distorts into obscurity. The album contains "dissonant guitar riffs, unusual stop-start rhythms and complicated arrangements", with Kurt Bachman's vocals being "the only conventional sounding characteristic of Sanity Obscure."The lyrics deal with theology and social issues. "Wisdom's Call" is about personal wisdom and its calling that simple people reject. "Stop the Madness" talk about a drug user who has been brainwashed by decaying world, and is always searching to belong but is too blind to see his shattered dreams. "Nonpoint" takes a stance on the dark side of the industrialized society where general ignorance has caused pollution that corrupts nature, and in the end, man's soul. "Like a Song" is a cover of a U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
's rebel song which ponders that one must start revolution from within oneself before one can change the world.
"Dies Irae (Day of Wrath)"
"Dies Irae (Day of Wrath)" is usually cited as the highlight of the album. According to Jeff Wagner and Steve Wilson, the song was a creative watershed in metal, and except for Mekong DeltaMekong Delta (band)
Mekong Delta is a German progressive/thrash metal band, formed in 1985.-History:The band was founded by a group of German metal musicians with the goal to 'musically outshine' all then-current, independent releases. The line-up and the history of the group was to be "the best kept secret in the...
, no other extreme metal
Extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. The term usually refers to a more abrasive, harsher, underground, non-commercialized style or sound nearly always associated with genres like black metal,...
band at the time had merged the genre with classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
so seamlessly. The orchestral section was conducted by Scott Laird. The song's first three minutes consist of orchestrated strings, synthesizer effects and the soprano vocals of Julianne Laird Hoge. After that the band joins in with its thrash metal output in contrast with the orchestration. Doug Mann executed the concept of the song and the band section was composed by Kurt Bachman. Dies irae
Dies Irae
Dies Irae is a thirteenth century Latin hymn thought to be written by Thomas of Celano . It is a medieval Latin poem characterized by its accentual stress and its rhymed lines. The metre is trochaic...
itself is a Latin poem or hymn which prays mercy at the dawn of apocalypse. The poem was originally written by Thomas of Celano
Thomas of Celano
Thomas of Celano was an Italian friar of the Franciscans , a poet, and the author of three hagiographies about Saint Francis of Assisi.Thomas was from Celano in Abruzzo...
, an Italian friar of the Franciscans, who lived in 13th century and was an obligatory part of the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass for some centuries before 1969. Kurt Bachman stated that the song was inspired by Mozart's Requiem Mass
Requiem (Mozart)
The Requiem Mass in D minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was composed in Vienna in 1791 and left unfinished at the composer's death. A completion by Franz Xaver Süssmayr was delivered to Count Franz von Walsegg, who had anonymously commissioned the piece for a requiem Mass to commemorate the...
.
Reception and legacy
Sanity Obscure received a wider audience than Extraction from MortalityExtraction from Mortality
Extraction from Mortality is the first album by the Christian thrash metal band Believer. In 2010, HM Magazine ranked it #33 on the Top 100 Christian metal albums of all time list.-Recording:...
. Although Sanity Obscure never really became popular, several mainstream magazines praised the album. According to Jeff Wagner, the song Dies Irae "foreshadowed the operatic approach of future metal bands such as Therion and Nightwish."
According to the members of Doomworld
Doomworld
Doomworld is a news website dedicated to the computer game Doom, having been founded in 1998. It is hosted by AtomicGamer and is independently managed by a small staff of game fans with the help of many contributors...
, the video game musician Robert Prince
Robert Prince
Robert Prince, also known as Bobby Prince, is a composer and sound designer. He has worked as an independent contractor for several gaming companies, most notably id Software and Apogee/3D Realms....
covered the title song "Sanity Obscure" for the video game Doom in E1M6 level's song "On the Hunt" (see: Making of Doom
Making of Doom
The making of Doom, id Software's video game released on December 10, 1993, began in late 1992. Doom raised the bar for realism in video games with its then-advanced 3D graphics—central to its success was the new game engine by John Carmack, whose main advances included texture mapping of all...
). The song "Dies Irae (Day of Wrath)" also appeared on the soundtrack of the skating video series of CKY
CKY (video series)
The CKY video series is a series of videos produced by Bam Margera and Brandon DiCamillo and other residents of West Chester, Pennsylvania. Four videos have been released to date, Landspeed presents: CKY , CKY2K, CKY 3, and CKY4: The Latest & Greatest...
.
In 2010, HM Magazine ranked Sanity Obscure #42 on its Top 100 Christian Rock Albums of all time list stating: "When Christians make art that blows people away with its creativity, skill and excellence … well, isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be when people are in relation to the Creator? Sanity Obscure – case in point." On August 2010 issue of Heaven's Metal fanzine, the album ranked #10 on the Top 100 Christian metal albums of all time list.
Tour
Following the release of Sanity Obscure, Believer toured with the British deathgrind band Bolt ThrowerBolt Thrower (band)
Bolt Thrower are a British death metal band from Coventry, England. They formed in 1986 and released their first album with Vinyl Solution in 1988. The band then shifted to a new record label, Earache Records, soon becoming one of the best selling bands on that label. Their current label is Metal...
and the Canadian death metal band Sacrifice. They did tours in Europe an US, with Believer as the support act. Based on the band's live videos, they played the songs faster in concerts than on the album.
Reissues
The original pressings of both R.E.X. Records and Roadrunner Records are sold out these days and are hard to find.In 2005, a Canadian record label called Retroactive Records a 1000 units pressing of Sanity Obscure, in which they had included an instrumental "bonustrack" from Believer's 1987 demo The Return titled "I.Y.F.". This caused some controversy when both Kurt Bachman and Joey Daub informed that they would have not give permission to include extra material if they were asked. In their opinion, the track listing should have stayed as it originally was. However, the record company did not break any copyright laws.
Track listing
- All songs written by Kurt Bachman, Joey Daub, David Baddorf and Wyatt Robertson except the intro and the orchestration and "Like a Song", originally by U2.
- "Sanity Obscure" - 6:06
- "Wisdom's Call" - 3:44
- "Nonpoint" - 5:14
- "Idols of Ignorance" - 4:39
- "Stop the Madness" - 3:56
- "Dies Irae (Day of Wrath)" - 5:41
- "Dust to Dust" - 5:02
- "Like A Song" - 3:27
Singles
| Information |
| Stop the Madness (8:27), 1990 Roadrunner Records The first and only Believer single. Features the radio edit of "Stop the Madness" and its separate intro as well as the U2 rebel song cover "Like A Song".
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Believer
- Kurt Bachman - guitar, vocals
- Joey Daub - drums
- Wyatt Robertson - bass
- David Baddorf - guitar
Guest musicians
- Scott Laird - orchestral composition of "Dies Irae"
- Julianne Laird Hoge - soprano on "Dies Irae"
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Other
- Doug Mann and Paul Krueger - production
- Paul Krueger - engineering
- David DeVries - cover art
- Tom Storm - photos
- Deana Baddorf - road manager
- Robert Baddorf - video tech
- Eric "Cecil" Greenwalt - crew chief
- PGM Management - management
- Matt and Bran - "Teddy Bears" intro
- Ted Hermanson - engineering for "Teddy Bears" intro at HMS Productions
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External links
- Sanity Obscure at Encyclopaedia Metallum