''Atrocities'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band

Christian Death Christian Death is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles County, California, in 1979 by Rozz Williams. With major line-up changes over the years, Christian Death has retained "a relentlessly confrontational stand against organized reli ...

, released in 1986 through record label Normal. The album's subject matter deals almost exclusively with the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

, including songs about

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

and

Josef Mengele , allegiance = , branch = Schutzstaffel , serviceyears = 1938–1945 , rank = ''Schutzstaffel, SS''-''Hauptsturmführer'' (Captain) , servicenumber = , battles = , unit = , awards = , command ...

. Recorded at

Rockfield Studios Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was originally founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward. Facilities Rockfield is a two- ...

in Monmouth,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

it also featured the songwriting and arrangement skills of Barry Galvin, who, along with Johann Schumann, would leave the group upon the completion of ''Atrocities'' - both went on to form

Mephisto Walz Mephisto Walz are an American rock band formed in 1985. The band's discography includes many full-length albums spanning nearly three decades, through Cleopatra Records and other labels. History Bari-Bari's signature songwriting style and dis ...

. It is the first Christian Death record with

Valor Kand Valor Kand is a singer, guitarist and songwriter best known as for his involvement with Christian Death, an American deathrock/gothic rock band. Early years Kand started his music career as a drummer, but "...had to progress to other instruments a ...

taking over main duties following

Rozz Williams Rozz Williams (born Roger Alan Painter; November 6, 1963 – April 1, 1998) was an American singer and songwriter known for his work with the bands Christian Death, Shadow Project (with musician Eva O), and the industrial project Premature Ejac ...

' departure.

Track listing

;Prologue #"Will-o-the-Wisp" (Valor) - 3:15 #"Tales of Innocence" (Valor, B. Galvin) - 6:23 #"Strapping Me Down" (Valor, B. Galvin) - 2:36 #"The Danzig Waltz" (Valor) - 3:31 #"Chimere De-ci De-la" (Valor) - 4:41 ;Finale #"Silent Thunder" (Valor, B. Galvin) - 6:32 #"Strange Fortune" (Valor) - 3:52 #"Ventriloquist" (Valor) - 4:31 #"

Gloomy Sunday "Gloomy Sunday" ( Hungarian: ''Szomorú vasárnap''), also known as the "Hungarian Suicide Song", is a popular song composed by Hungarian pianist and composer Rezső Seress and published in 1933. The original lyrics were titled "Vége a vilá ...

" (

Sam M. Lewis Sam M. Lewis (October 25, 1885 – November 22, 1959) was an American singer and lyricist. Career Lewis was born Samuel M. Levine in New York City, United States. He began his music career by singing in cafés throughout New York City, and be ...

Rezső Seress Rezső Seress (Hungarian: ''Seress Rezső,'' ; 3 November 1889 – 12 January 1968) was a Hungarian pianist and composer. Some sources give his birth name as Rudolf ("Rudi") Spitzer. Biography Rezső Seress lived most of his life in povert ...

) - 3:01 #"The Death of Josef" (Valor, D. Glass) - 4:41

Personnel

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

* Gitane Demone - vocals,

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

*Johann Schumann -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

*Barry Galvin - guitar, vocals *David Glass -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

References

Christian Death albums 1986 albums Candlelight Records albums Cleopatra Records albums Normal Records albums Albums recorded at Rockfield Studios Songs about the Holocaust {{1980s-rock-album-stub