Album name: Purging the Great Abyss
Release date: March 2, 1999
Release format: CD
Studio name: Metal XOR Studio
Tracks:
1. Magician's Companion
2. U-505
3. Element of Earth
4. Better Left Unsaid
5. Satellites
6. Flying Cloud Drive
7. Copekata
8. Element of Air 2
9. Vandetta (Constant Build)
10. In There
11. Mother Nature
12. Happy Little Squirrel
13. Placid
14. Ttub
15. Meaning of Number
16. Element of Water (Neptune's Mix)
17. Dawn's Tomorrow
18. Transducer Man
19. Herueux
20. Wooded Harbor
21. Animosity 3
22. Intercostal Communication
23. Sunny Ways
24. Element of Fire
Some things only happen once in lifetime. Some albums are timeless masterpieces that will never lose their unique identities. It is important to recognize such achievements for what they are. And Purging the Great Abyss is arguably the most important release in Metal XOR's history in terms of its cutting edge experiments and dabbling in the avant garde. Books could be written about this album. This short synopsis will not even scratch the surface on what this album is. But for a few of the more important details, read on.
It took over five years to create this album, from the first recording to the release of the CD. It started when Jimmy visited Jason in the Studio while Jason was recording the song "Pedestal Song" in 1994. Jason revised the lyrics a bit, handed Jimmy a mic, and they both recorded vocals for the song. For a while that is how ORC songs were recorded. After a while Jimmy started helping with the lyrics. Then he started recording various music parts. Soon it was a collaborative effort that resulted in some very experimental sounds and melodies.
The name of the album came out of Jimmy's mouth at McDonald's one day when Jason and Jimmy were out gallivanting around. Jimmy wrote the title on a napkin and that napkin now resides in the Metal XOR Studio Museum.
This was Metal XOR's first album released on CD. And it had the widest distribution. There were two variations of the album. The first ten that were printed were labeled "Autographed Gold Limited Edition" on the front cover. These came in a slightly gold-colored jewel case, the print on the CD label was in gold, and the CD label was autographed by Jason and Jimmy. The second run (twenty more copies) was the standard edition in the traditional black-spined jewel case, the print on the CD label was black, and there were no autographs.
This has been the only album from Metal XOR with the "Parental Advisory" label on it. There are not many objectionable words but there are enough to warrant the warning label. And this was also the only album in Metal XOR's history that was sold. They sold for $5 each and that was to cover the cost of CD labels and of having someone else burn the CD's. This was early in the CD-burning-at-home days and there were actually slight costs involved.
There was a nice lyric book also released with the album. It had one page dedicated to each song containing the lyrics to each song. In the back of the book was a section about the history of the album. That was followed by a complete list of ORC songs recorded. And the book ended with the 1999 Metal XOR Musik Catalogue.
A more detailed history and behind-the-scenes will be told some day either online or in a paper publication. The complete story needs to be recorded before it is forgotten in the mists of time.
This has been ORC's only studio release to date. There are a few bootleg sessions recorded but they have not been officially released. There have been several ideas for new ORC releases including an album of remixes from PGA, an album of outtakes and demos, or even an album of brand new music. But nothing has been decided for sure yet.
One thing is for certain... we have not heard the last from ORC!
Next week's Album of the Week: The Vintage Years Volume 1 by Harry and Jason from 2001.
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