 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2023) |
| Missa Atropos | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 26 November 2010 | |||
| Recorded | 2009–2010 | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock, alternative rock | |||
| Length | 59:07 | |||
| Label | HWT Records/Kscope | |||
| Producer | Gazpacho | |||
| Gazpacho chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Missa Atropos | ||||
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Missa Atropos is the sixth studio album by Norwegian rock band Gazpacho. It was released in Norway on 15 September 2010 by HWT Records and worldwide on 22 March 2011 by Kscope. [1]
| | This section needs additional citations for verification .(April 2023) |
In the early days of 2010, a replacement for recently departed drummer Robert R Johansen was found in Lars Erik Asp, just in time for him to get to know the band's music before the second part of their Tick Tock tour. This was planned to cover six countries in the March/April period, but due to a plane tragedy in Poland giving rise to a week of mourning, the Polish promoter decided to postpone the concerts planned for Poland on 16–18 April. The dates were rescheduled for September 2010. On 1 May 2010, the first concert in the US took place as part of a prog festival at the Majestic Theater in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. For the later German/Italian festivals and the Polish gigs in September, Gazpacho hired a stand-in guitarist by the name of Micheal Krumins to cover for Jon-Arne following the arrival of his first child and his decision to give priority to his family. Meanwhile, in July 2010, the band announced that they would still go on without Johansen, that recording of the new album was almost complete, and that it would be out by the end of the year.
During the Tick Tock Tour's September gigs, pre-printed copies of the new record, titled Missa Atropos became available.
In December 2010, Gazpacho announced that they had licensed Missa Atropos to Kscope [1] in the UK, which would give the label rights to the album worldwide. The release was accompanied by a twelve-gig tour in five different countries in January/February 2011.
The album's title is a reference to Atropos, goddess of destiny in Greek mythology, eldest of the Three Fates. Their role was to ensure that every being, mortal and divine, lived out their destiny as it was assigned to them by the laws of the universe. For mortals, this destiny spanned their entire lives and was represented as a thread spun from a spindle. It was Atropos who chose the manner of death and ended each life by cutting the threads. [2] She worked along with her two sisters, Clotho, who spun the thread, and Lachesis, who measured its length. [3]
The album's story tells of a man who seeks refuge from the world, a "Defense Mechanism", by removing himself to an abandoned lighthouse, there to write a final mass for Atropos, with whom he is in love. [4] He makes three attempts at this as he tries to fight against his destiny, which Atropos and her sisters have decided for him. As he discovers his powerlessness, he begins to write his "Will to Live". In the end, as he is dying, he utters his last words in "An Audience", to a "Snail", instructing him to describe Atropos' beauty to anyone he encounters.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Prog Archives |   |
| Classic Rock Prog | Very Positive |
| Dangerdog Music Reviews |  |
The album received mostly positive reviews. The website Prog Archives awarded it four out of five stars, calling it an "Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection." [5] Craig Hartranft of Dangerdog Music Reviews gave it three out of five stars, writing, "This work is both hard and hearty to digest. It's progressive, art, and alternative at its best with a dark sense", describing it as "dark, despondent, but artfully creative progressive rock." [6] Jerry Ewing of Classic Rock Prog rated the album highly, writing: "A delightfully mellifluous selection. They won't be Norway's best kept secret much longer". [1]
All lyrics are written by Jan Henrik Ohme; all music is composed by Gazpacho.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mass for Atropos, Part 1" | 1:43 |
| 2. | "Defense Mechanism" | 6:29 |
| 3. | "I Was Never Here" | 3:12 |
| 4. | "Snail" | 3:39 |
| 5. | "River" | 6:07 |
| 6. | "Mass for Atropos, Part 2: You're Going to Die Up There" | 2:06 |
| 7. | "Missa Atropos" | 8:25 |
| 8. | "She's Awake" | 3:42 |
| 9. | "Vera" | 7:26 |
| 10. | "Will to Live" | 3:07 |
| 11. | "Mass for Atropos, Part 3" | 1:40 |
| 12. | "Splendid Isolation" | 8:33 |
| 13. | "An Audience" | 2:52 |
| Total length: | 59:07 | |
Credits confirmed on Allmusic: [7]
Musicians
Technical
| Region | Date | Format | Edition(s) | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fan Club Members only [8] | 15 September 2010 | Digital Download | Standard | WiV Entertainment |
| Norway | 26 November 2010 | Compact Disc | HWT Sony Records, [9] WiV Entertainment [8] | |
| Germany | ||||
| United Kingdom [10] | 14 February 2011 | Standard + Digital Booklet [11] | Kscope [12] | |
| Netherlands [13] | 22 March 2011 | |||
| Portugal [14] | ||||
| United States [15] | ||||
| Austria [16] |
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Moirai —often known in English as the Fates—were the personifications of destiny. They were three sisters: Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos. Their Roman equivalent was the Parcae.
Clotho is a mythological figure. She is the youngest of the Three Fates or Moirai who spins the thread of human life; the other two draw out (Lachesis) and cut (Atropos) in ancient Greek mythology. Her Roman equivalent is Nona. She also made major decisions, such as when a person was born, thus in effect controlling people's lives. This power enabled her not only to choose who was born, but also to decide when gods or mortals were to be saved or put to death. For example, Clotho resurrected Pelops when his father killed him.
Atropos or Aisa, in Greek mythology, was one of the three Moirai, goddesses of fate and destiny. Her Roman equivalent was Morta.
In Greek mythology, Moros /ˈmɔːrɒs/ or Morus /ˈmɔːrəs/ is the 'hateful' personified spirit of impending doom, who drives mortals to their deadly fate. It was also said that Moros gave people the ability to foresee their death. His Roman equivalent was Fatum.
Althaea or Althea was the queen of Calydon in Greek mythology.
In ancient Roman religion and myth, the Parcae were the female personifications of destiny who directed the lives of humans and gods. They are often called the Fates in English, and their Greek equivalent were the Moirai. They did not control a person's actions except when they are born, when they die, and how much they suffer.
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Emerson, Lake & Palmer is the debut studio album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer. It was released in the United Kingdom by Island Records in November 1970, and in the United States by Cotillion Records in January 1971. After the group formed in the spring of 1970, they entered rehearsals and prepared material for an album which became a mix of original songs and rock arrangements of classical music. The album was recorded at Advision Studios in July 1970, when the band had yet to perform live. Lead vocalist and bassist/guitarist Greg Lake produced it.
Lachesis, in ancient Greek religion, was the second of the Three Fates, or Moirai; the others were her sisters, Clotho and Atropos. Normally seen clothed in white, Lachesis is the measurer of the thread spun on Clotho's spindle, and in some texts, determines Destiny, or thread of life. Her Roman equivalent was Decima. Lachesis was the apportioner, deciding how much time for life was to be allowed for each person or being. She measured the thread of life with her rod. She is also said to choose a person's destiny after a thread was measured. In mythology, it is said that she appears with her sisters within three days of a baby's birth to decide the baby's fate.
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The Fates are a common motif in European polytheism, most frequently represented as a trio of goddesses. The Fates shape the destiny of each human, often expressed in textile metaphors such as spinning fibers into yarn, or weaving threads on a loom. This trio is composed of sisters who go by the names Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. These divine figures are often artistically depicted as beautiful maidens with consideration to their serious responsibility: the life of mortals. Poets typically express the Fates as ugly and unwavering, representing the gravity of their role within the mythological and human worlds.
Kscope is an independent record label that is part of Snapper Music, and a sister-label of Peaceville. It is dedicated to artists in the progressive rock genre. The label has released albums by Steven Wilson and his projects Porcupine Tree, No-Man and Blackfield. In 2008 it branched out and has since signed the post-progressive artists Anathema, Lunatic Soul and Ulver, and progressive rock stalwart Ian Anderson to their roster. In 2013, the Steven Wilson release The Raven That Refused to Sing received the Album of the Year award at the Progressive Music Awards.
Atropos, or The Fates is one of the 14 Black Paintings painted by Francisco de Goya between 1819–1823. Goya, then 75 and in mental and physical despair, created the series directly onto the interior walls of the house known as the Quinta del Sordo, purchased in 1819.
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