Opheliac

Opheliac is the second studio album by Emilie Autumn released in October 23, 2006 by Trisol Music Group GmbH. Opheliac was recorded at Mad Villain Studios, Chicago, United States. It is the first album by the artist to receive widespread distribution around the world. All of Autumn's previous albums were only available through her own independent record label, Traitor Records.

Opheliac
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 23, 2006 (2006-10-23)
October 2009 (2009-10)
RecordedMad Villain Studios, Chicago
GenreDark cabaret, electronica, classical, electro-industrial
Length85:41
LabelTrisol Music Group
The End Records
Emilie Autumn chronology
Enchant
(2003)
Opheliac
(2006)
Liar / Dead is the New Alive
(2006)
The Deluxe Edition
Singles from Opheliac
  1. "Opheliac"
    Released: April 2006
  2. "Dead Is the New Alive"
    Released: November 2006
  3. "Liar"
    Released: November 2006
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Sputnikmusic[2]

Release and promotion

The album Opheliac was preceded by the Opheliac EP, released in Spring 2006. This was a preview of the full-length album, and featured the first six tracks plus "Marry Me" and "Thank God I'm Pretty", the latter as a hidden track following the former. However, track 5 "I Want My Innocence Back" does not play on any one of the copies of the EP, due to a manufacturing error.

In addition to the musical and spoken-word tracks, Opheliac features live concert footage, clips from her performance of "Misery Loves Company" on the WGN Morning Show on January 12, 2006, and three short video clips entitled "Inside the Asylum: Lessons in Being a Wayward Victorian Girl".

Opheliac was originally released as a limited edition digipak in Europe on September 1, 2006. Then it was released worldwide on September 22, 2006, Emilie Autumn's birthday. When this limited edition sold out, it was released in a standard jewelcase edition on February 5, 2007. There is no difference in musical content between the two versions, however, the digipak edition includes an additional "Opheliac" poster.

As of August 6, 2008, Emilie announced that she will be releasing Opheliac Nationwide in music stores across the US on October 7, 2008. The US release features exclusive tracks, such as "The Art of Suicide - Acoustic" and out-takes from the Opheliac recording sessions.

A third issuing of Opheliac, entitled The Deluxe Edition, was released by The End Records in October 2009 to coincide with her first American tour.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Opheliac"Emilie Autumn5:33
2."Swallow"Emilie Autumn6:15
3."Liar"Emilie Autumn6:01
4."The Art of Suicide"Emilie Autumn5:32
5."I Want My Innocence Back"Emilie Autumn3:48
6."Misery Loves Company"Emilie Autumn4:28
7."God Help Me"Emilie Autumn5:58
8."Shalott"Emilie Autumn4:04
9."Gothic Lolita"Emilie Autumn6:03
10."Dead Is the New Alive"Emilie Autumn5:04
11."I Know Where You Sleep"Emilie Autumn3:15
12."Let the Record Show"Emilie Autumn3:54
Bonus Disc
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dominant"Emilie Autumn3:47
2."306"Emilie Autumn5:36
3."Thank God I'm Pretty"Emilie Autumn4:01
4."Marry Me"Emilie Autumn4:50
5."Largo for Violin"Johann Sebastian Bach4:06
6."Poem: How to Break a Heart"Emilie Autumn1:01
7."Poem: Ghost"Emilie Autumn2:38
8."Poem: At What Point Does a Shakespeare Say?"Emilie Autumn0:36
The Deluxe Edition: Disc One
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Opheliac"Emilie Autumn5:33
2."Swallow"Emilie Autumn6:15
3."Liar"Emilie Autumn6:01
4."The Art of Suicide"Emilie Autumn5:32
5."I Want My Innocence Back"Emilie Autumn3:48
6."Misery Loves Company"Emilie Autumn4:28
7."God Help Me"Emilie Autumn5:58
8."Shalott"Emilie Autumn4:04
9."Gothic Lolita"Emilie Autumn6:03
10."Dead Is the New Alive"Emilie Autumn5:04
11."I Know Where You Sleep"Emilie Autumn3:15
12."Let the Record Show"Emilie Autumn3:54
13.""Opheliac" Recording Out-Takes"Emilie Autumn4:11
The Deluxe Edition: Disc Two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Thank God I'm Pretty"Emilie Autumn4:01
2."Dominant"Emilie Autumn3:47
3."306"Emilie Autumn5:36
4."Gloomy Sunday"Rezső Seress3:22
5."Asleep" (The Smiths Cover)Morrissey, Johnny Marr2:26
6."Mad Girl" (Acoustic Version)Emilie Autumn3:50
7."The Art of Suicide" (Acoustic Version)Emilie Autumn5:45
8."Thank God I'm Pretty" (Shoegaze Version)Emilie Autumn4:29
9."Largo for Violin"Johann Sebastian Bach4:06
10."Marry Me"Emilie Autumn4:50
11."Excerpt from The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls"Emilie Autumn1:40
12."Interview with EA"Emilie Autumn4:46
13."Poem: How to Break a Heart"Emilie Autumn1:01
14."Miss Lucy Had Some Leeches"Emilie Autumn2:20
The Opheliac EP
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Opheliac"Emilie Autumn5:33
2."Swallow"Emilie Autumn6:15
3."Liar"Emilie Autumn6:01
4."The Art of Suicide"Emilie Autumn5:32
5."I Want My Innocence Back"Emilie Autumn3:48
6."Misery Loves Company"Emilie Autumn4:28
7."Marry Me"Emilie Autumn4:50
8."Thank God I'm Pretty" (Hidden Track)Emilie Autumn4:01

Songs and lyrics

Autumn performing a song from "Opheliac" in Germany, 2007.

The album was written solely by Autumn. The name Opheliac derives from the song of the same name, which also served as the album's lead single. The song's name is derived from the character Ophelia from Shakespeare's play Hamlet, whom the song is about.

Emilie has described the word "Opheliac" as meaning "to explain the condition of a person have the characteristics of 'Ophelia' and the 'Ophelia' archetype. While the original Ophelia did indeed go 'mad', it was not primarily caused by her boyfriend knocking off her dad, but rather by not only Hamlet, but also all the men in her life manipulating and pushing her to the point of no alternative."

The song "Shalott" is based on the poem "The Lady of Shalott" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

She also talks about her bipolar disorder in songs such as "God Help Me", "Swallow", and "Misery Loves Company".

The songs "I Want My Innocence Back" and "Gothic Lolita" were inspired by the abuse Autumn went through as a child. Lolita also being the title and nickname of a young girl who is forced into a relationship with an older man in Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita.

The Opheliac Companion

The Opheliac Companion
Studio album (commentary) by
ReleasedAugust 2009 (2009-08)
RecordedMad Villain Studios, Chicago
GenreCommentary
Length8:00:00

In August 2009, Emilie released a companion "album" to Opheliac. This "album" consisted of an interview/chat between Emilie and her "sound guy" Inkydust. The discussion covers everything from the musical backing tracks to metaphors used in the lyrics. Containing 15 tracks at a length of approximately 8 hours, the album is currently available from Emilie's official store, AmazonMP3, Spotify, and iTunes.

Track listing

The Opheliac Companion
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Intro"Emilie Autumn, Inkydust4:49
2."Opheliac"Emilie Autumn, Inkydust1:06:04
3."Swallow"Emilie Autumn, Inkydust34:10
4."Liar"Emilie Autumn, Inkydust47:03
5."The Art of Suicide"Emilie Autumn, Inkydust46:04
6."I Want My Innocence Back"Emilie Autumn, Inkydust29:53
7."Interlude"Emilie Autumn, Inkydust16:34
8."Misery Loves Company"Emilie Autumn, Inkydust14:08
9."God Help Me"Emilie Autumn, Inkydust17:07
10."Shalott"Emilie Autumn, Inkydust16:32
11."Gothic Lolita"Emilie Autumn, Inkydust1:36:04
12."Dead Is the New Alive"Emilie Autumn, Inkydust20:59
13."I Know Where You Sleep"Emilie Autumn, Inkydust14:21
14."Let the Record Show"Emilie Autumn, Inkydust23:17
15."Ending"Emilie Autumn, Inkydust2:19

References

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