The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (album)

The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord
Studio album by Cabaret Voltaire
Released November, 1985
Genre New wave, synthpop
Length 69:40
Label Virgin Records
Producer Cabaret Voltaire
Cabaret Voltaire chronology

Drinking Gasoline
(1985)		 The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord
(1985)		 Code
(1987)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]

The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord is the seventh full-length studio album by the Electronic band Cabaret Voltaire. The album was released in November, 1985. The album's title was shortened to The Arm of the Lord for its United States release on Caroline Records.[2]

Background

Cabaret Voltaire struggled with several censorship issues with Virgin Records upon the release of this album. The original title, The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord, was forced to be shortened in America to avoid reference to the US white supremacist organization. Musically, the album featured a more abrasive, sample heavy sound than its predecessor and contained many lyrical sexual innuendos which Virgin Records took objection to. Several speeches by Charles Manson were also mixed inbetween songs. Cabaret Voltaire were warned by their record label that they were required to have a charting single or face getting dropped, so the group subversively released a music video for the track "I Want You" which Richard H. Kirk later admitted was about masturbation.


The album peaked at #57 in the UK,[3] which secured their future with the label. However the group switched to EMI for the release of Code, their 1987 follow up album.

Track listing

  1. "L21ST" - 5:33
  2. "I Want You" - 4:40
  3. "Hells Home" - 5:10
  4. "Kickback" - 5:37
  5. "The Arm of the Lord" - 1:44
  6. "Warm" - 3:21
  7. "Golden Halos" - 5:13
  8. "Motion Rotation" - 4:03
  9. "Whip Blow" - 4:57
  10. "The Web" - 4:49
  11. "Sleepwalking" - 8:24
  12. "Big Funk" - 8:09

11 and 12 are CD bonus tracks from the Drinking Gasoline EP.

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ discogs.com: Cabaret Voltaire: The Arm Of The Lord
  3. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 89. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.