THE SEXUALITY OF BEREAVEMENT

"The Sexuality of Bereavement" is a 7 inch vinyl single which was originally only available to the Peaceville Records "Collectors Club" Series members. The single features two tracks distributed over a 19:14 minutes long playing time. "The Sexuality of Bereavement" was recorded during the sessions for "Turn Loose the Swan (1993)" but was not included on the final version of the album. The second track on the single is a remix of "The Crown of Sympathy" from the same album. Both tracks are also available on the "Trinity (1995)" compilation album, which of course means that this single is a collector´s item if you already have the compilation. Both tracks are also available on various EPs and singles as well as featured as bonus tracks on special editions of "Turn Loose the Swan (1993)" and "The Angel and the Dark River (1995)".

"The Sexuality of Bereavement" is what I´d call a typical "didn´t make the cut" kinda track. It´s still a good song but I can´t see it replacing any of the tracks on "Turn Loose the Swan (1993)". The remix version of "The Crown of Sympathy", which is also featured on the "I Am the Bloody Earth (1994)" EP is not a version that does the original much justice IMO. Backwards recorded drums, which feature an annoying reverb laden effect and just a general powerless feeling, makes this remix version pretty much unlistenable to me. I´ve tried many times over the years to see if I would change my mind about this version of the song, but nothing has changed. I just can´t appreciate what they´ve done to this otherwise beautiful, crushingly heavy and masterful track.

So as I´ve already mentioned this is a collector´s item and while the quality is pretty good when we´re talking "The Sexuality of Bereavement", the remix version of "The Crown of Sympathy" drags my rating down to a 2.5 star (50%) rating.