''Set Sail to Mystery'' is the fourth studio album by
German gothic metal
Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy met ...
band
The Vision Bleak, released on 2 April 2010
through
Prophecy Productions. A
digipak edition containing seven bonus tracks was also released. It counted with a guest appearance by
Niklas Kvarforth of
Shining fame.
Track listing
Trivia
* "A Curse of the Grandest Kind" takes its lyrics from an excerpt of
Lord Byron's 1817 dramatic poem ''
Manfred
''Manfred: A dramatic poem'' is a closet drama written in 1816–1817 by Lord Byron. It contains supernatural elements, in keeping with the popularity of the ghost story in England at the time. It is a typical example of a Gothic fiction.
Byr ...
''.
* "Descend into Maelstrom" references both in its title and lyrics
Edgar Allan Poe's short story "
A Descent into the Maelström
"A Descent into the Maelström" is an 1841 short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. In the tale, a man recounts how he survived a shipwreck and a whirlpool. It has been grouped with Poe's tales of ratiocination and also labeled an early f ...
".
* "I Dined with the Swans" was inspired by the life of German
serial killer Peter Kürten.
* "A Romance with the Grave" was based upon a poem by
Heinrich Heine
Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of '' Lied ...
.
* "Mother Nothingness (The Triumph of Ubbo-Sathla)" references the
eponymous deity created by
Clark Ashton Smith
Clark Ashton Smith (January 13, 1893 – August 14, 1961) was an American writer and artist. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Algernon Charles Swinburne ...
as a part of the
Cthulhu Mythos
The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth
August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an ...
.
* "The Foul Within" is based upon the 1973 film ''
The Exorcist''.
* "He Who Paints the Black of Night" was inspired by
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
's novel ''
The Picture of Dorian Gray''.
* "By the Misery of Fate He Was Haunted" is an English-language adaptation of
Czech black metal band
Master's Hammer's song "Já mizérií osudu jsem pronásledován...", originally present on their 1992 album ''
Jilemnický okultista''.
Critical reception
''Sonic Seducer'' lauded the album's mix of hardness and atmosphere, and noted the theatrical style that is typical of The Vision Bleak.
[
]
Personnel
The Vision Bleak
* Ulf Theodor Schwadorf (Markus Stock) – vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards
* Allen B. Konstanz (Tobias Schönemann) – vocals, drums, keyboards
Guest musicians
* Niklas Kvarforth – vocals (on track 9)
* Thomas Helm – additional tenor vocals
* Sophia Brommer – additional vocals (track 5)
Miscellaneous staff
* Martin Koller – production
References
External links
The Vision Bleak's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Set Sail To Mystery
The Vision Bleak albums
2010 albums
Cthulhu Mythos music