| Prison of Desire | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 21 April 2000 | |||
| Recorded | 17 December 1999 – 26 February 2000 | |||
| Studio | ||||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 54:05 | |||
| Label | Transmission | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| After Forever chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Prison of Desire | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Chronicles of Chaos |    [2] |
Prison of Desire is the debut album by Dutch symphonic metal band After Forever. It was released on 21 April 2000 by Transmission Records. The album contains the first four installments (three parts and a prologue) of The Embrace That Smothers, a collection of songs by Mark Jansen which deals with the influence and distortion of religion in human society. This theme was carried over to the Epica albums The Phantom Agony and The Divine Conspiracy.
The final track, "Beyond Me", features a guest appearance of Sharon den Adel, lead singer in Within Temptation.
The album was reissued in June 2008 by the re-financed Transmission Records, as a two-disc set containing previously unreleased studio sessions, instrumental/a cappella tracks, and a handful of demo recordings.[3] Guitarist Sander Gommans has urged fans not to buy this re-release through the band's official forum.[4]
In 2021, it was elected by Metal Hammer as the 6th best symphonic metal album of all time.[5]
- ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "After Forever Prison of Desire review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
- ^ Flaaten, Chris (12 August 2000). "After Forever - Prison of Desire". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
- ^ "After Forever - Prison of Desire". Encyclopaedia Metallum. Retrieved 2 April 2010.
- ^ "Official Forum". After Forever. Archived from the original on 6 June 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
- ^ Davies, Hywel; Dome, Malcolm; Goodman, Eleanor; Chantler, Chris; Gordon, Connie; Grady, Spencer; Rees, Adam; Selzer, Jonathan (17 November 2021). "The 25 best symphonic metal albums". Metal Hammer. Future plc. Retrieved 2 January 2022.