''Scenes from the Second Storey'' is the debut album by American rock band the God Machine, released in 1993 by

Fiction Records Fiction Records is a British record label founded by Chris Parry in 1978, owned by Universal Music Group and based in the United Kingdom. It is best known for being the home of the Cure for over 20 years. It was originally a part of Polydor, ...

and

Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

. It peaked at number 55 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. The album opens with a sample from the film adaptation of ''

The Sheltering Sky ''The Sheltering Sky'' is a 1949 novel of alienation and existential despair by American writer and composer Paul Bowles. Plot The story centers on Port Moresby and his wife Kit, a married couple originally from New York who travel to the Nor ...

'' (the same sample also opens

Neurosis Neurosis (: neuroses) is a term mainly used today by followers of Freudian thinking to describe mental disorders caused by past anxiety, often that has been repressed. In recent history, the term has been used to refer to anxiety-related con ...

' ''

Enemy of the Sun ''Enemy of the Sun'' is the fourth studio album by American post-metal band Neurosis. It was originally released on Alternative Tentacles in 1993 and later reissued on Neurot Recordings in 1999. The album was reissued with new cover artwork on ...

'', an album released in the same year as ''Scenes from the Second Storey''), while the single "Home" contains an intro consisting of the beginning of the track "Pilentze Pee" by the Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir from the album '' Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares''. "Home" peaked at number 65 on the UK Singles Chart in January 1993.

Critical reception

In 2005, ''Scenes from the Second Storey'' was ranked number 312 in '' Rock Hard'' magazine's book ''The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time''.

Legacy

In 2010, as a homage to ''Scenes from the Second Storey'', Morrigan Books published an anthology of horror short stories by Australian authors, written and titled in the same order as the album's track listing. The authors included

David Conyers David Conyers (born 30 May 1971) is an Australian author. Conyers writes predominantly science fiction and Lovecraftian horror. Biography Conyers was born in Sydney. Most of his childhood was spent in the Adelaide Hills, before moving to Melb ...

, Stephen Dedman, Paul Haines,

Robert Hood Robert Hood (born 1965) is an American electronic music producer and DJ. He is a founding member of the group Underground Resistance as a 'Minister of Information' with Mad Mike Banks and Jeff Mills. He is often considered to be one of the fo ...

Cat Sparks Catriona (Cat) Sparks (born 11 September 1965, Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australians, Australian science fiction writer, editor and Publishing, publisher. Publishing As manager and editor of Agog! Press with her partner, Australian horr ...

, Andrew J McKiernan and Kaaron Warren.

Track listing

Released as CD and double LP. A double CD version including the Home EP was released in the US.

Credits

* Produced by the God Machine * Engineered by Kenny Jones * Recorded at Blackwing, Maison Rouge and Matrix Studios, London except "The Piano Song" and "It's All Over" recorded at Joe's Garage with Roger Askew, and "Temptation" as a live improvisation recorded in Room 3 * All songs mixed by Kenny Jones at Matrix Studios * Mastered by Kevin Metcalfe at The Townhouse * Chant on "The Desert Song" by Katharine Gifford * Programming by Andy Montgomery * Preacher provided by the Hurting Choice * Vocal on "Home" by the Voix de Bulgares * Clarinet on "Seven" by Ian Bishop * "Purity" recorded acoustically with Christiane Van Der Lee on cello, Anthony Pleeth on cello, Gavyn Wright on viola and Neil Filby on violin * String arrangements by Robin Proper-Sheppard; conducted by Nick Ingman * All other atmospheric nuances and nuisances created by The God Machine and Kenny Jones * The God Machine is Robin Proper-Sheppard (vocals/guitar), Ron Austin (drums/piano) and Jimmy Fernandez (bass) * All words by Proper-Sheppard, all music by Austin/Fernandez/Proper-Sheppard * Published by Fiction Songs Ltd.

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1993 albums The God Machine (band) albums Fiction Records albums