The Psych Ward–666 by Aphrodite’s Child
The Psych Ward–666 by Aphrodite’s Child
Before dismemberment, Aphrodite’s Child released their final foray, 666, an album considered their most experimental, in 1972. The band itself was composed of four members, all of whom were Greek. Most notable among them, is Vangelis Papathanassiou, an artist who would go on to pioneer within the electronic end of the new age genre. Much of what would make that later phase of Vangelis’ career so distinctive is present in 666, so much so it almost feels like he’s artistically coming to fruition on this project, outgrowing Aphrodite’s Child in real-time.
With this being such a radical shift from the group’s previous releases, there’s a tangible and accounted reluctance on the part of other bandmates to attempt something so commercially inaccessible and conceptual (the title 666 being very purposeful, the concept of the album based on the biblical Book of Revelation and the lyrics, on the rare occasions where those appear, quote the text frequently), which ends up saving the entire endeavor from posterious obscurity through their insistence on maintaining the poppier rock elements that had garnered their Greco regional success.
The project does many things previously uncharacteristic of Aphrodite’s Child’s style. There is heavy use of electronic keyboards and sections of instrumental avant-garde jazz on tracks like “The Lamb” and “Tribulation”. The album showcases sparse and repetitive lyricism, with some tracks even opting for narrativization or being devoted to noise-like ambiance and lush instrumentation. This is also the longest album in the band’s discography at nearly an hour and twenty minutes, it’s seconded by an LP not even half that length.
“All The Seats Were Occupied”, the crescendo of the album, is the greatest available example of how fantastically strange this album gets. Incorporating traditional Arabic characteristics into a chaotic contemporary psychedelic rock opus, the track is a lyricless, constantly shifting, twenty-minute mosaic of previous tracks, chanting and screaming between moments of relentless build-up and beautifully hideous, noisy prog-rock. Smooth transition to smooth transition, this cut alters itself fifty times over during its runtime before there’s time to notice you’re listening to something completely different than what you just were.
Despite the fact it’s a bonafide obscurity, 666 has undoubtedly had a lasting influence on the psych-rock genre, with bands like Ween and Yes wearing those influences on their sleeves. It’s a wild, cantankerous beast of an album produced by a band that was falling apart and immediately precedes the solo career of an artist who would revolutionize synth-centric music, and it is certainly worth the time of any fan of experimental psychedelia.
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1 thought on “The Psych Ward–666 by Aphrodite’s Child”
Agreed! Marvelous album. Spending time with it yields many rewards. Vangelis auditioned for Yes, but it didn’t pan out.