Various Artists "Dark Passages Vol. II (UK, Rise Above Records, RISE 012 CD)"

Dark Passages Vol. II is a Doom/Stoner Metal compilation, released in 1996 by Rise Above.

Tracklist:

1. Orange Goblin  "Saruman's Wish"   5:42
2. Paul Chain  "Sand Glass"    5:47
3. EyeHateGod  "Shop Lift" 3:16
4. Acrimony   "Earthchild Inferno" 6:22
5. Pentagram   "Sinister" 4:32
6. Iron Man "Leaving Town" 6:33
7. Mourn  "Calm Before The Storm" 6:07
8. Trouble "Victim Of The Insane" 5:10
9. Solstice "Winter Moon Rapture" 7:03
10. Electric Wizard "Return To The Son Of Nothingness" 6:39
11. Down "Bury Me In Smoke" 5:56
12. Cathedral  "Schizoid Puppeteer" 12:16

Electric Wizard "We Live"

We Live is the fifth studio album by English doom metal band Electric Wizard, released in 2004. It is the first recorded material with the band's second line-up. Due to the addition of second guitarist Liz Buckingham, the songs are more complex than their previous work.

They are named "The Electric Wizard" for the first time on the album cover, and "Electric Wizard II" in the booklet. The booklet also contains the statement: "My enemies, I fear not...but God protect me from my friends".

In August 2003, vocalist-guitarist Jus Oborn revealed Electric Wizard's new line-up – drummer Justin Greaves, second-guitarist Liz Buckingham (of 13 and Sourvein), and bassist Rob Al-Issa This new line-up recorded the album in July 2003, just days after Buckingham began rehearsing with the band. As Oborn explained, the addition of Buckingham was crucial given the departure of his previous writing partner, Tim Bagshaw:

"(The addition of) Liz was the most important element...because Tim had left the band and we were writing partners so to speak. So when Liz came aboard we were writing partners again. Our styles were very similar. We have the same sort of down-stroke pattern. And since we were writing together, Electric Wizard was happening again. I have to have a writing partner."

For this release, Electric Wizard continued to be inspired by horror movies. "Eko Eko Azarak" is the title of the first in a series of Japanese horror movies directed by Shimako Sato, while "Tutti I Colori Del Buio" and "Living Dead at Manchester Morgue" are named after a 1972 Sergio Martino movie and a 1974 Jorge Grau horror movie, respectively. Furthermore, the track "We Live" samples dialog from Don Sharp's 1973 horror film Psychomania.

Upon release, We Live received mostly positive reviews from music critics, with Eduardo Rivadavia of Allmusic writing "2004's We Live witnessed the birth of Electric Wizard Mark II, as lone remaining founding member Jus Oborn – tired of years of internal strife – decided to "upgrade" the doom metal stalwarts from a power trio to a twin-guitar quartet. However, with or without the cosmetic improvement brought on by the addition of second guitarist Liz Buckingham, it's important to point out that this incarnation of Electric Wizard has little in common with the original article of ten years prior."

Track listing

CD

1. "Eko Eko Azarak  10:35
2. "We Live" 7:46
3. "Flower of Evil" (a.k.a. "Malfiore") 7:29
4. "Another Perfect Day?" 7:51
5. "The Sun Has Turned to Black" 6:16
6. "Saturn's Children" 15:01

Total length: 54:59

2006 reissue bonus track

1. "The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue" 4:58

Total length: 60:39

12" vinyl

Disc 1

Side one

1. "Eko Eko Azarak   10:35
2. "We Live" 7:46

Side two

1. "Flower of Evil" (a.k.a. "Malfiore") 7:29
2. "Another Perfect Day?" 7:51

Disc 2

Side one

1. "The Sun Has Turned to Black" 6:16
2. "Saturn's Children" 15:01

Side two

1. "Tutti i colori del buio" (not present on the CD version) 16:13

Vinyl edition bonus track: "Tutti I Colori del Buio" (roughly meaning "All (Was) The Color of Gloom"

Re-issued in 2006 with the bonus track "The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue" (4:58)

The sample in "We Live" is from the movie Psychomania (1973).

Sole full-lenght released as "The Electric Wizard". The band is also called "Electric Wizard II" in the booklet.

Recording information:

Recorded in July 2003 at Chuckalumba Studios.

Mixed in September 2003

Mastered at Turan Audio.

Electric Wizard "Let Us Prey"

Let Us Prey is the fourth studio album by English doom metal band Electric Wizard. It was released through Rise Above Records in 2002 and was the last album to feature Electric Wizard's original line-up. After its release, Tim Bagshaw and Mark Greening went on to form Ramesses.

The vinyl edition was originally pressed by The Music Cartel on a single LP. Rise Above later reissued the vinyl version as a 2LP with a bonus track, "Mother of Serpents". This track also appears on the Japanese version of the album as well as the CD reissues on both Rise Above and Candlelight Records.

Let Us Prey was a continuation of the more abrasive doom metal sound of their previous album, Dopethrone. It featured more experimentation and guitar layering on some songs. It is also unusual because it is much shorter (43 minutes and 51 seconds) than other Electric Wizard albums (with the exception of their eponymous debut album and Wizard Bloody Wizard), and does not include printed lyrics, making them difficult to decipher.

Speaking to Kerrang! in July 2009, Jus Oborn remembered:

"I think that was our Genesis record. We were all just about the studio, and we wanted to create music using the studio. We were really into the idea of recording then, this pretty technical album. We wanted to be experimental, like trying out some horror movie type stuff, just to see how it works. Each song was like an idea, we didn't write it. We just got an idea, and went with that for how we wanted that to sound."

Track listing

Original

1. "...A Chosen Few" 6:35
2. "We, the Undead" 4:29
3. "Master of Alchemy" 9:23
4. "The Outsider" 9:19
5. "Night of the Shape" 4:03
6. "Priestess of Mars" 10:01

Bonus song on Japanese version and reissues

1. "Mother of Serpents" 5:56

Recording information:

Recorded September and October 2001 at Chuckalumba Studios, New Forest, England.

Electric Wizard "Dopethrone"

Dopethrone is the third studio album by the English doom metal band Electric Wizard. It was released on 28 November 2000 through Rise Above Records and re-released by the same label in 2004 and 2007 with an extra song.

Jus Oborn late spoke about the development of Dopethrone as being part of trilogy with Come My Fanatics…, and Supercoven, noting that he looked upon these albums with fondness and that "With those albums, I believe we really found our mark as a band. When we did our first album, none of us had ever been into the studio before – and had no clue what to actually do. But by the time we got to do Dopethrone, we knew what was needed – or, rather I did!"

Speaking to Kerrang! in July 2009, Jus Oborn remembered:

"Most of us were stuck in some drug addiction or alcoholism at the time, and it was just pure hate. It was us against the world, and we just wanted to make the most disgusting, foul, putrid record that anyone has ever recorded. We camped out at the studio, so it was literally just wake up, consume as much fucking drugs as possible, and then just start jamming."

Dopethrone, along with Come My Fanatics..., is often cited as Electric Wizard's seminal release and the highpoint of their career. Reviewers have described it as "some of the absolute slowest, heaviest doom imaginable" and have said "it may well be the finest record to emerge from the whole British stoner-rock scene. The Terrorizer magazine crowned the album as "Album of the Decade" (2000s). In 2020, it was named one of the 20 best metal albums of 2000 by Metal Hammer magazine.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jus Oborn and Tim Bagshaw.

1. "Vinum Sabbathi" 3:05
2. "Funeralopolis" 8:43
3. "Weird Tales" 15:05
4. "Barbarian" 6:29
5. "I, The Witchfinder" (a.k.a. "Las Torturas de la Inquisicion") 11:04
6. "The Hills Have Eyes" 0:46
7. "We Hate You" 5:08
8. "Dopethrone" (track length is 10:55 on 2004 and 2007 re-release) 20:48
9. "Mind Transferral" (bonus track on 2004 and 2007 re-release) 14:56

Dopethrone ends at 10:26 (on both issues) and is followed by silence; to the end of the track on the reissue and until 19:52 on the original. On the original, the ending features a 55 sec. sound clip from 20/20 in which two adults can be heard talking about whether or not a parent should take action if their child is being negatively influenced by heavy metal music by becoming depressed and joining satanic cults.

The reissue negates the sound-clip from "Dopethrone" and has it end in 30 seconds of silence and moves on to the bonus track which, in this essence, makes it a hidden track. The band had decided to move the sound clip to the end of the bonus track "Mind Transferal" which ends at 9:36 followed by silence until 14:00 where the sound-clip is now placed and leads to the end of the album. On the vinyl versions of Dopethrone the soundclip comes immediately after "Mind Transferral" ends.

Was released with two different sets of cover art.

All further editions, except the 2000 US edition on The Music Cartel contains the bonus track "Mind Transferral".

Recording information:

Recorded at Chuckalumba Studios (Dorset, England), May-June 2000.

Mastered at Chop Em Out (London, England).

Electric Wizard "Supercoven (EP)"

Supercoven is a two song EP by the doom metal band Electric Wizard. It was originally released on CD and 12" vinyl in 1998 through Bad Acid Records. In 2000 it was re-released on CD through Southern Lord Records with two extra songs.

Track listing

Original track listing:

1. "Supercoven" – 13:13
2. "Burnout" – 18:37

Extra songs included on the 2000 reissue:

1. "Wizards of Gore" – 9:02
2. "Electric Wizard (live)" – 9:53

Recording information:

Recorded at Knighton Heath Colleage 13 - 14 - 15/02/98.