The Serpent's Egg

The Serpent's Egg is the fourth album recorded by Dead Can Dance, which comprises Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry. It was released in October 1988, and featured the song "The Host of Seraphim" which was later used in the soundtrack of a number of films, including Baraka, Vexille: 2077 Japanese Isolation, The Mist, and Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole.

The song "Severance" has been widely covered, notably by the band Ride as 'Deliverance' in 1991^[1] and Bauhaus on their 1998 "Resurrection Tour" and subsequent album Gotham.

The album was the last produced while Perry and Gerrard were a romantic couple. A majority of the album was recorded in a multi-story apartment block in the Isle of Dogs, London.

Track listing

1. "The Host of Seraphim" – 6:18
2. "Orbis de Ignis" – 1:35
3. "Severance" – 3:22
4. "The Writing on My Father's Hand" – 3:50
5. "In the Kingdom of the Blind the One-Eyed Are Kings" – 4:12
6. "Chant of the Paladin" – 3:48
7. "Song of Sophia" – 1:24
8. "Echolalia" – 1:17
9. "Mother Tongue" – 5:16
10. "Ullyses" – 5:09

All songs written by Dead Can Dance (Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry).

Personnel

• Lisa Gerrard – vocals
• Brendan Perry – vocals, hurdy gurdy
• Andrew Beesley – viola
• Sarah Buckley – viola
• Tony Gamage – cello
• Alison Harling – violin
• Rebecca Jackson – violin
• David Navarro Sust – vocals
• John A. Rivers – co-production (tracks 1, 2, 7, 10)
• Vaughan Oliver – sleeve design (with Brendan Perry)

Release history

References

• The Serpent's Egg, CD version, Beggars Banquet/4AD, CAD 808 CD, lyrics and liner notes

External links

• The Serpent's Egg at Dead-Can-Dance.com
• The Serpent's Egg Lyrics at Dead-Can-Dance.com