"Destination Eschaton" is a song recorded by Scottish band

the Shamen The Shamen ( ) were a Scottish psychedelic band, formed in 1985 in Aberdeen, who became a chart-topping British electronic dance music act by the early 1990s. The founding members were Colin Angus, Derek McKenzie and Keith McKenzie. Peter St ...

, released in August 1995 by

One Little Indian One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarcho-punk bands, and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett. In ...

as the first single from the band's sixth album, '' Axis Mutatis'' (1995). The song was written by Colin Angus and Richard West, and features vocals by American guest vocalist Victoria Wilson James. It was a hit in several countries in Europe, peaking within the top 10 in Finland (6) and Scotland (9). In the UK, it peaked at number 15 in its first week at the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, on 13 August 1995. In the US, "Destination Eschaton" reached number 14 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as ...

chart. A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by German director Nico Beyer and William Latham, featuring the band performing aboard a spaceship.

Critical reception

John Bush from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

complimented the song as "enjoyable".

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

'' called it "one of the act's better efforts." Steve Baltin from '' Cash Box'' described it as "a futuristic, fast-paced

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

assault on the ears." He added, "The Shamen have already set themselves up as hit makers in the clubs, this new single should enjoy similar dance/club success. Particularly impressive is the enunciation they give to the vocals, showing that techno is not just about the beat, but words, as well. However, in this case, the beat is the star." In his weekly UK chart commentary in ''

Dotmusic ''Dotmusic'' was a music webzine that existed as a standalone website from 1 June 1995 to December 2003. Initially intended as the web complement to the UK music industry trade magazine ''Music Week'', the site was relaunched in December 1998 as a ...

'',

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a music writer and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worked on air a ...

viewed it as "a well made single". British-based music and entertainment retailer

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

named it Single of the Week.

Paul Lester Paul Lester is a British music journalist, author and broadcaster from Elstree, North London. Career He began his career as a freelance journalist, for ''Melody Maker'' in the early 1990s, as well as ''City Limits'', '' 20/20'', '' Sky Magazi ...

from ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' wrote, "It sounded like a compelling piece of commercial techno, and it felt good to have Colin Angus, an intelligent pop star and a decent human being to boot, back in the charts." A reviewer from ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' commented, "Very misleading—it's not as instantly catchy as their past singles, but rest assured memorability will grow with each spin. The Shamen remain on the top as the most melodic dance outfit." Mark Sutherland from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' said, "Well, they kick of with another ''E's are good-type number''", opining that "the drug-addled witterings on 'Destination Eschaton' weren't even blatant enough for a ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ci ...

'' story, let alone a Top Ten hit."

Track listings

* CD single, UK and France # "Destination Eschaton" (

Beatmasters The Beatmasters are an English electronic music group who gained success in the UK in the late 1980s with four top 20 hit singles. They then went on to produce and remix records for many other artists. The group's string of chart hit singles i ...

7-inch) — 3:55 # "Destination Eschaton" (Destination Islington) (Shamen Deep Melodic Techno Mix) — 6:40 * CD single, US # "Destination Eschaton" (Album Version) — 3:55 # "Destination Eschaton" (Vission Lorimer Dome Mix) — 4:16 # "Destination Eschaton" (Hardfloor 12-inch Vocal – Destination Krefeldton) — 7:25 # "Destination Eschaton" (Shamen Deep Melodic Techno Mix – Destination Islington) — 6:40 # "Destination Eschaton" (Sounds of Life Vocal Mix) — 6:47 * CD maxi, Europe # "Destination Eschaton" (Destination Nemeton original version) — 6:47 # "Destination Eschaton" (Shamen Deep Melodic Techno Mix) (Destination Islington) — 6:40 # "Destination Eschaton" (Shamen Acid) (Escacid) — 5:55 # "Destination Eschaton" (Hardfloor Vocal) (Destination Krefeldton) — 7:25 # "Destination Eschaton" (Hardfloor Instrumental) (Destination Komotion) — 7:22

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 1995 singles 1995 songs Dance Pool singles Music videos directed by Nico Beyer One Little Independent Records singles The Shamen songs