Opheliac

Opheliac
Studio album by Emilie Autumn
Released September 1, 2006 (2006-09-01)
October 2009 (2009-10)
Recorded Mad Villain Studios, Chicago
Genre Dark cabaret, electronica, classical, electro-industrial
Length 85:41
Label Trisol Music Group
The End Records
Emilie Autumn chronology
Enchant
(2003)		 Opheliac
(2006)		 Liar / Dead is the New Alive
(2006)
The Deluxe Edition
Singles from Opheliac
  1. "Opheliac"
    Released: April 2006
  2. "Dead Is the New Alive"
    Released: November 2006
  3. "Liar"
    Released: November 2006
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Amazon[2]
Sputnikmusic[3]
Not to be confused with the Shakespeare character Ophelia.

Opheliac is the second studio album by Emilie Autumn released in September 2006 by Trisol Music Group GmbH. Opheliac was recorded at Mad Villain Studios, Chicago, USA. It is the first album by the artist to receive widespread distribution around the world. All of Autumn's previous albums were only available through her own independent record label, Traitor Records.

Release and promotion

The album Opheliac was preceded by the Opheliac EP, released in Spring 2006. This was a preview of the full-length album, and featured the first six tracks plus "Marry Me" and "Thank God I'm Pretty", the latter as a hidden track following the former. However, track 5 "I Want My Innocence Back" does not play on any one of the copies of the EP, due to a manufacturing error.

In addition to the musical and spoken-word tracks, Opheliac features live concert footage, clips from her performance of "Misery Loves Company" on the WGN Morning Show on January 12, 2006, and three short video clips entitled "Inside the Asylum: Lessons in Being a Wayward Victorian Girl".

Opheliac was originally released as a limited edition digipak in Europe on September 1, 2006. Then it was released worldwide on September 22, 2006, Emilie Autumn's birthday. When this limited edition sold out, it was released in a standard jewelcase edition on February 5, 2007. There is no difference in musical content between the two versions, however, the digipak edition includes an additional "Opheliac" poster.

At some point, a Russian printed version of Opheliac became available. It only features disc one of the "double disk" album, thus, the Russian album normally sells for a lower price (on eBay, prices have been as low as £3, but as high as a normal edition of Opheliac).

As of August 6, 2008, Emilie announced that she will be releasing Opheliac Nationwide in music stores across the US on October 7, 2008. The US release features exclusive tracks, such as "The Art of Suicide - Acoustic" and out-takes from the Opheliac recording sessions.

A third issuing of Opheliac, entitled The Deluxe Edition, was released by The End Records in October 2009 to coincide with her first American tour.

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Opheliac"  Emilie Autumn 5:33
2. "Swallow"  Emilie Autumn 6:15
3. "Liar"  Emilie Autumn 6:01
4. "The Art of Suicide"  Emilie Autumn 5:32
5. "I Want My Innocence Back"  Emilie Autumn 3:48
6. "Misery Loves Company"  Emilie Autumn 4:28
7. "God Help Me"  Emilie Autumn 5:58
8. "Shalott"  Emilie Autumn 4:04
9. "Gothic Lolita"  Emilie Autumn 6:03
10. "Dead Is the New Alive"  Emilie Autumn 5:04
11. "I Know Where You Sleep"  Emilie Autumn 3:15
12. "Let the Record Show"  Emilie Autumn 3:54

Songs and lyrics

Autumn performing a song from "Opheliac" in Germany, 2007.

The album was written solely by Autumn. The name Opheliac derives from the song of the same name, which also served as the album's lead single. The song's name is derived from the character Ophelia from Shakespeare's play Hamlet, whom the song is about.

Emilie has described the word "Opheliac" as meaning "to explain the condition of a person have the characteristics of 'Ophelia' and the 'Ophelia' archetype. While the original Ophelia did indeed go 'mad', it was not primarily caused by her boyfriend knocking off her dad, but rather by not only Hamlet, but also all the men in her life manipulating and pushing her to the point of no alternative."

The song "Shalott" is based on the poem "The Lady of Shalott" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

She also talks about her bipolar disorder in songs such as "God Help Me", "Swallow", and "Misery Loves Company".

The songs "I Want My Innocence Back" and "Gothic Lolita" were inspired by the abuse Autumn went through as a child. Lolita also being the title and nickname of a young girl who is forced into a relationship with an older man in Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita.

The Opheliac Companion

The Opheliac Companion
Studio album (commentary) by Emilie Autumn
Released August 2009 (2009-08)
Recorded Mad Villain Studios, Chicago
Genre Commentary
Length 8:00:00

In August 2009, Emilie released a companion "album" to Opheliac. This "album" consisted of an interview/chat between Emilie and her "sound guy" Inkydust. The discussion covers everything from the musical backing tracks to metaphors used in the lyrics. Containing 15 tracks at a length of approximately 8 hours, the album is currently available from Emilie's official store, AmazonMP3, and iTunes.

Track listing

The Opheliac Companion
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Intro"  Emilie Autumn, Inkydust 4:49
2. "Opheliac"  Emilie Autumn, Inkydust 1:06:04
3. "Swallow"  Emilie Autumn, Inkydust 34:10
4. "Liar"  Emilie Autumn, Inkydust 47:03
5. "The Art of Suicide"  Emilie Autumn, Inkydust 46:04
6. "I Want My Innocence Back"  Emilie Autumn, Inkydust 29:53
7. "Interlude"  Emilie Autumn, Inkydust 16:34
8. "Misery Loves Company"  Emilie Autumn, Inkydust 14:08
9. "God Help Me"  Emilie Autumn, Inkydust 17:07
10. "Shalott"  Emilie Autumn, Inkydust 16:32
11. "Gothic Lolita"  Emilie Autumn, Inkydust 1:36:04
12. "Dead Is the New Alive"  Emilie Autumn, Inkydust 20:59
13. "I Know Where You Sleep"  Emilie Autumn, Inkydust 14:21
14. "Let the Record Show"  Emilie Autumn, Inkydust 23:17
15. "Ending"  Emilie Autumn, Inkydust 2:19

References

  1. ↑ Prato, Greg. "Review: Opheliac". Allmusic. Retrieved October 25, 2009. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  2. ↑ "Opheliac: Emilie Autumn". Amazon. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
  3. ↑ http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/14669/Emilie-Autumn-Opheliac//
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