| Only Theatre of Pain | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 24, 1982 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 32:20 | |||
| Label | Frontier | |||
| Producer |
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| Christian Death chronology | ||||
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| Christian Death studio album chronology | ||||
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Only Theatre of Pain is the debut studio album by the American rock band Christian Death, released on March 24, 1982, by the Frontier record label.
It is considered by most critics to be the harbinger of the deathrock style of music, as well as being highly influential on the American gothic music scene. [3]
Describing the album's themes, The A.V. Club said the record is "relentless in its morbid embrace of Christian eschatology. Williams was raised in a Southern Baptist family, which makes his adversarial appropriation of Catholic imagery more nuanced than simple blasphemy; he’s approaching the cross from the perspective of both Protestantism and what one can only assume to be either atheism or Satanism". [1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Record Collector | [4] |
| Melody Maker | favourable [2] |
| Sounds |  (1982) [5] (1983) [6] |
| Trouser Press | generally favorable [7] |
Only Theatre of Pain was praised by critics on its release. Mick Mercer of Melody Maker called it the "gothic album to out-gothic all others". [2]
Around the time of its release, a presenter on a religious TV program, in a special on "Satanic influences", reportedly broke a copy of the album on air. [8]
In its retrospective review, Record Collector wrote, "Only Theatre of Pain's influence should not be underestimated." [4] The A.V. Club wrote that, of the group's musical peers, "none had exemplified the nascent subgenre [gothic rock] with as much sinew, vision, and iconoclasm", calling it "a depraved masterpiece". [1]
Alex Ogg, writing in The Rough Guide to Rock, was less favourable, calling the album "self-aggrandizing doom rock redeemed only by strong musicianship". [9]
On April 13, 2007, the remaining members of the Only Theatre of Pain line-up of Christian Death reunited as Christian Death 1334 to perform the album in full at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The addition of "1334" to the end of the band's name was reportedly to make a distinction from the Valor Kand-led version of the band, which includes none of the group's original members; "1334" was also Rozz Williams' "signature number". At the time, it was reported by Blabbermouth that the band was working on new songs and was to begin the recording of a new album later in the year, but this never materialized. [10]
All tracks are written by Rikk Agnew and Rozz Williams, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Cavity – First Communion" | 4:06 | |
| 2. | "Figurative Theatre" | Rozz Williams | 2:41 |
| 3. | "Burnt Offerings" | 3:43 | |
| 4. | "Mysterium Iniquitatis" | 2:46 | |
| 5. | "Dream for Mother" |
| 3:21 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Stairs – Uncertain Journey" |
| 3:06 |
| 2. | "Spiritual Cramp" | Williams | 2:55 |
| 3. | "Romeo's Distress" | 3:15 | |
| 4. | "Resurrection – Sixth Communion" | 3:45 | |
| 5. | "Prayer" | 2:41 | |
| Total length: | 32:20 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Deathwish" |
| 2:11 |
| 12. | "Romeo's Distress" | 3:20 | |
| 13. | "Dogs" |
| 2:52 |
| 14. | "Desperate Hell" |
| 4:22 |
| 15. | "Spiritual Cramp" | Williams | 3:18 |
| 16. | "Cavity" | 3:45 | |
| Total length: | 52:08 | ||
Gothic rock is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, Bauhaus, and the Cure.
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 religion and conventional morality".
The Adolescents are an American punk rock band formed in Fullerton, California in 1979. Part of the hardcore punk movement in southern California in the early 1980s, they were one of the main punk acts to emerge from Orange County, along with their peers in Agent Orange and Social Distortion. Founding bassist Steve Soto was the sole constant member of the band since its inception until his 2018 death, with singer Tony Reflex being in the group for all but one album.
Rozz Williams was an American singer and songwriter known for his work with the bands Christian Death, Shadow Project, and the industrial project Premature Ejaculation. Christian Death is cited by some as a pioneer of the American gothic rock scene as well as deathrock, and is considered to be one of the most influential figures of the scene. However, Williams disliked the "goth" label and actively worked to shed it during the 1980s and 1990s by focusing on punk rock, hard rock, cabaret, and spoken word music. Williams was also involved with his groups Daucus Karota, Heltir, EXP, Bloodflag, and his own version of Christian Death, along with recording a handful of solo albums. In addition to music, Williams was also an avid painter, poet, and collage artist.
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Shadow Project was a rock band formed in 1987 featuring former members of Los Angeles deathrock groups Christian Death and Super Heroines. After recording two LP records the group experienced a three-year hiatus, reconvening for a third and final album. Shadow Project definitively folded after vocalist Rozz Williams committed suicide on April 1, 1998. The band briefly returned in 2019 under the moniker "Shadow Project 1334" for 13 shows only, vowing to never perform again together after that.
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Richard Francis "Rikk" Agnew Jr. is an American musician with a career spanning more than 40 years. He has previously been a member of some of the most influential bands of the Orange County hardcore punk genre, as well as the influential deathrock band Christian Death. During his years with the Adolescents, Agnew became known as one of the best guitarists in the Southern California hardcore punk scene.
Gitane DeMone is an American singer, musician and visual artist. Her career spans more than 30 years. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s as the keyboardist and backing vocalist of the influential death rock band Christian Death. In addition to her work with Christian Death, Demone was previously a member of Pompeii 99, worked with Dreadful Shadows, and has had a solo career which has included three studio albums: Am I Wrong?, Stars of Trash and The Reflecting Shadow.
Cauda Pavonis are an English deathrock band founded in 1998, by Su Farr and Dave Wainwright. Originally conceived as a 'dark romantic' experience, Cauda Pavonis broke onto the UK goth circuit supporting acts such as Star Industry and Inkubus Sukkubus. At the outset Cauda Pavonis were noted for their consciously-minimalist synthesized melodies and their use of live drums. They were described by Mick Mercer in his book 21st Century Goth as a "Dark duo from UK with a bright future" and by Starvox as "The most old school sounding goth since Rozz Williams hung himself". Since then the line-up has grown and the band have appeared twice at the Whitby Gothic Weekend and the Wave-Gotik-Treffen. In 2003 and again in 2007, Cauda Pavonis were the focus of the ITV television programme, Magick Eve.
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