Lyric Booklet #6: Purging the Great Abyss

The sixth album to include lyrics was ORC's 1999 album Purging the Great Abyss. This was the longest lyric booklet released at over thirty pages long.

Each song had the lyrics typed out using its own font. And behind the lyrics was a different watermark for each song. This really made each song unique.

The booklet ended with an extensive history of the making of the album, the 1997 Musik Catalog, and a complete list of songs recorded by ORC during this period.

The booklet was released at the same time as the album. There were twelve handed out. There were three versions released: one had a blue cover, one had a green cover, and the other version had no cover at all. The cover was the only difference, the rest of the booklets were the same.

Lyric Booklet #5: Equation of Time

The fifth album to include lyrics was Mune Mud's 1996 album Equation of Time. The booklet was titled "A Japanese Lullaby" and was only eight pages long. It was the first lyric booklet created on a computer.

This was the first of what was to be a new series of "mini" lyric booklets (there ended up only two in the series). It measured 4"x5.5". The print was very small so 2-3 songs could fit on each page. There was no table of contents or epilogue to this booklet, just lyrics to every song on the album.

This booklet was released on August 20, 1996, one week after the album was released. After this "mini" booklet was made, the Studio went back to create booklets for older albums, starting with NueroMud's 1994 album ...Libra 971. But the project ended after the second booklet was released.

The title came from an anagram that was printed on the inside of the Equation of Time tape sleeve. The phrase came from an old black & white spy movie Jason watched at work one day. The anagram of 'Japanese Lullaby' was added to the tape sleeve and no one was able to figure it out. Funnier yet, no one realized the answer was right under their nose when the lyric booklet was handed out.

Lyric Booklet #4: ...Libra 971

The fourth album to include lyrics was NueroMud's 1994 album ...Libra 971. The booklet was titled "Anonymous Reality Tales" and was only eight pages long.

This was the second of what was to be a new series of "mini" lyric booklets (there ended up only two in the series). It measured 4"x5.5". The print was very small so 2-3 songs could fit on each page. There was no table of contents or epilogue to this booklet, just lyrics to every song on the album.

This booklet was released on August 27, 1996, almost two years after the album was released. The first "mini" booklet made was for Mune Mud's 1996 album Equation of Time, then the Studio went back to create booklets for older albums, starting with NueroMud's ...Libra 971.

The title of the booklet came from the title of unused lyrics that Jason had written in the late 1980's. The subtitle "From the Dusk Channel" is taken from the title of track #5, "Dusk Channel", on the album but the reason why that song was chosen has long been forgotten.

Lyric Booklet #3: Devis Tortura

The third album to include lyrics was NueroMorgue's 1993 album Devis Tortura. The booklet was titled "Devastation and Minim Opi" and was eighteen pages long. This was the first lyric booklet to have its own title. It was typed on a word processor and printed out.

This "lyric booklet" did provide lyrics to all of the songs that were on the album but you had to work to find them for they were buried within the story or hidden in secret codes. All the lyrics of the songs were chopped up and rearranged, and this story was written around that.

The booklet started with the table of contents followed by a forward. Following that was the 5-part story titled "Devastation" which contained lyrics to ten of the songs on the album. The other seven songs had their lyrics hidden in seven short stories at the end of the booklet. After the minim opi was an epilogue. And the booklet ended with a full-page drawing called "Primordial Water and Lotus".

This booklet was meant to be released with the album but it actually came out on March 22, 1994, three months after the album was released. The cover credited the booklet to Gargoyle.

Lyric Booklet #2: Pryme Material

The second album to include lyrics was Mune Mud's 1993 album Pryme Material. The booklet was twenty-one pages long. It was typed on a word processor and printed out.

The booklet started with a table of contents, a two-page introduction, and an equipment list. The introduction gave a brief history of the album and what it took to record. And of course the equipment list was just a list of all equipment used to record the album.

Each song had the lyrics typed out. Also included was the date each song was recorded, the length of the song, and a brief note or trivia fact regarding the song.

There were only a few copies of the booklet handed out so this is a somewhat rare piece of Studio history.

Lyric Booklet #1: Underwater Problem Factory

This is a new feature that will discuss the often rare and overlooked lyric booklets that have accompanied various Metal XOR Studio albums throughout the years.

The first album to include lyrics was Mune Mud's 1992 album Underwater Problem Factory. The booklet was ten pages long. It was typed on a Brother word processor and printed out. There was no cover and the booklet started on page 1 with the first song, "One Last Time."

For each song the lyrics were typed out. Also included was a list of any samples or sound effects used in the song. A couple of songs included a 'background' section that gave some background or trivia on the song.

The booklet ended with a 'credits' section.