A Gilded Eternity
1990 studio album by Loop
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A Gilded Eternity is the third studio album by the rock band Loop. Released in 1990 on Situation Two, it was a commercial success, topping the UK Indie Charts (as their previous album Fade Out had done) and reaching #39 on the official UK album charts.
| A Gilded Eternity | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 1990 | |||
| Recorded | September–October 1989 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 41:41 | |||
| Label | Situation Two | |||
| Producer | Loop | |||
| Loop chronology | ||||
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Music
By A Gilded Eternity, Loop "had mostly excised the 1960s Technicolor psychedelia that had defined their debut, Heaven's End, leaving only a molten orange lava of layered space rock that was entirely all their own", according to Brainwashed's Creaig Dunton.[3] NME journalist Chris Parkin called A Gilded Eternity "primal and loud, with sharp, nasty edges that nod towards the precise machine-rock of Can and Sonic Youth's maniacal guitar wailings" He should have mentioned Motorhead.[1] Julian Marszalek of The Quietus found that the album nonetheless demonstrated that "there was far more to Loop than bludgeoning riffs and cranking up the gain control", describing it as "a collection of hypnotic mantras, tracks that used repetition deliberately and methodically to induce a trance-like state."[4]
The song "Shot with a Diamond" contains a vocal sample of Marlon Brando's dialogue from the 1979 film Apocalypse Now.[5]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| Blurt | 6/10[7] |
| The Line of Best Fit | 78%[8] |
| NME | 8/10[9] |
| PopMatters | 9/10[10] |
| Record Collector | [11] |
| Record Mirror | 4/5[12] |
| Sounds | [13] |
In a contemporary review for NME, Edwin Pouncey commented that "Loop hammer out a magnificent hypno-beat", characterising A Gilded Eternity as "acid house-style free form rock" suitable "for dancing to as well as listening intently to".[9] Simon Reynolds was less impressed in Melody Maker, declaring the album "a disappointment" and "more of the same" from Loop, "only less so."[14]
Head Heritage reviewer Fwump Bungle wrote in retrospect that A Gilded Eternity showed Loop "at their highest point" with a more rock-oriented sound that distinguished the band's music from that of the shoegaze movement.[15]
Track listing
The original LP release (SITU 27) consisted of two 12-inch discs, played at 45 rpm:
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Vapour" | 6:08 |
| 2. | "Afterglow" | 5:09 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Nail Will Burn" | 4:51 |
| 2. | "Blood" | 5:30 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Breathe Into Me" | 4:37 |
| 2. | "From Centre to Wave" | 6:01 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Be Here Now" | 9:29 |
| Total length: | 41:41 | |
The original CD release (SITU 27 CD) contained ten tracks:
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Vapour" | 6:07 |
| 2. | "Afterglow" | 5:08 |
| 3. | "The Nail Will Burn" | 4:51 |
| 4. | "Blood" | 5:29 |
| 5. | "Breathe Into Me" | 4:37 |
| 6. | "From Centre to Wave" | 6:00 |
| 7. | "Be Here Now" | 9:28 |
| 8. | "Shot With A Diamond" | 5:16 |
| 9. | "The Nail Will Burn (Burn Out)" | 4:49 |
| 10. | "Arc-Lite (Sonar)" | 4:28 |
| Total length: | 56:13 | |
Charts
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | UK Indie Chart | 1 |
| 1990 | UK Albums Chart | 39[16] |