The Phantom Agony



The Phantom Agony is the first full-length studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Epica. It was released in 2003 by the Dutch label Transmission Records. It is the first album recorded by guitarist Mark Jansen after his departure from the band After Forever. On this album, Mark Jansen continues with the collection of songs that make up "The Embrace That Smothers". The first three parts can be found on Prison of Desire (2000), After Forever's debut album, and the following three parts can be found on The Divine Conspiracy (2007), Epica's third album. These songs deal with the dangers of organized religion.

Themes
This album's lyrics are mostly based on events that happened during the writing of the album.
 * "Cry for the Moon" is based on the abuse of children by Catholic priests. It has been released as a single in 2004.
 * "Feint" was written after the murder of Pim Fortuyn.
 * "Façade of Reality" is based on the September 11, 2001 attacks. It features two fragments from a speech by Tony Blair.
 * "Run for a Fall" expresses Mark's frustrations towards his former band After Forever.
 * "Seif al Din" is about Islamic fundamentalism.

Personnel
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 * Band members
 * Simone Simons - mezzo-soprano
 * Mark Jansen - guitars, grunts, screams, orchestral arrangements
 * Ad Sluijter - guitars
 * Coen Janssen - synths & piano, orchestral and choir arrangements
 * Yves Huts - bass guitar
 * Jeroen Simons - drums
 * Additional musicians
 * Olaf Reitmeier - acoustic guitars on "Feint" and "Run for a Fall", engineer
 * Annette Berryman - flute on "Run for a Fall"
 * Production
 * Sascha Paeth - producer, engineer, mixing
 * Robert Hunecke-Rizzo - orchestral arrangements
 * Hans van Vuuren - executive producer, coordination and research
 * Peter van 't Riet - mastering

The Phantom Agony
"The Phantom Agony" was the first single of the eponymous album. It was released in October, 2003.

Track listing

 * 1) "The Phantom Agony" (single version) - 4:35
 * 2) "Veniality" - 4:36
 * 3) "Façade of Reality" - 08:17
 * 4) "Veniality" (orchestral version) - 4:37

Cry for the Moon
"Cry for the Moon" is a symphonic metal song by Epica. It was the third single released from their debut album, The Phantom Agony.

Track listing

 * 1) "Cry for the Moon" (single version) - 3:33
 * 2) "Cry for the Moon" - 6:44
 * 3) "Run for a Fall" (single version) - 4:29
 * 4) "Run for a Fall" - 6:31