The band's first two albums, End of the World and It's Five O'Clock, combined a very '60s sounding Euro-pop-rock with Greek folk music elements. The former album featured the song "Rain and Tears", a reworking of Pachelbel's Canon in D major. The song was a minor hit in the United Kingdom, but did far better in France, where the band was based, as well as the rest of Europe. Other European hits included "Marie Jolie", "I Want to Live", and "Spring, Summer, Winter, and Fall" from 1969 and 1970 respectively.
The band began to record their crowning achievement in 1970: a musical adaptation of the biblical Book of Revelations, entitled 666 - The Apocalypse of St. John. Relations between Roussos, Vangelis and Sideras were not good at the time, and continued to worsen before the album's creation. However, the group was contractually obligated to release a third album, and went into the studio in 1970 to create 666.
Essentially, 666 was Vangelis' concept, created with an outside lyricist, Costas Ferris. The music that Vangelis was creating for 666 was much more psychedelic and progressive rock oriented than anything the band had done before. This did not sit well with the other band members, who wished to continue in the pop direction that had brought them success. Further, Roussos was being groomed for a solo career, and pressure from the record company for the band to produce another hit single did not help. In essence, the band broke up during the completion of 666. Vangelis finished the album primarily on his own with assistance from studio musicians.
Immediately afterwards, Vangelis engaged in a long fight with Mercury over the content of the album. The record company, in particular, objected to the song "∞" (infinity), which consisted of actress Irene Papas chanting the words "I was, I am, I am to come" in various stages of orgiastic ecstasy, while Vangelis accompanied her on percussion. However, the double-album length of 666 and the musical experimentation, as well as the subject matter, also exacerbated Mercury's ire. After Roussos and Sideras had already embarked on solo careers, Mercury finally agreed to release 666 two years after its completion, and it came out in 1972.
Strangely enough, 666 was the only Aphrodite's Child album to make any impact in America. The blood-red cover with the letters 666 prominently displayed in black and white was striking, and brought immediate accusations of occultism from various quarters. Any suspicions of occultism could be dispersed by simply reading the lyrics, which were fairly faithfully based around the Book of Revelations, but the accusations undoubtedly helped sell the album in the United States. The album met with less controversy overseas and sold reasonably well on its own merits.
The music itself was an impressive display of Vangelis' abilities, combining psychedelic and progressive rock with ethnic instruments, choral chanting, recitations, and very advanced use of synthesizers and keyboards for the time. In time the album became recognized as one of the most important early progressive rock works, and a defining example of the concept album. 666 also made Vangelis an underground name to watch, and earned him an offer from Jon Anderson to join Yes. Vangelis turned down the offer in order to concentrate on a solo career. However, he and Anderson later created several duet albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
After the band split, both Vangelis and Demis Roussos pursued successful solo careers, Roussos as a pop singer and Vangelis as one of the pioneers in progressive electronic music. Kolouris worked with both on occasion. Lucas Sideras pursued a less successful solo career, releasing the single "Rising Sun" after the break-up.
Discography
End of the World (1968)
It's Five O'Clock (1969)
666 (The Apocalypse Of John,13/18) (1971)
Best Of Aphrodite's Child (1980)
Aphrodite's Child's Greatest Hits (1995)
The Complete Collection (Aphrodite's Child) (1996)
Babylon the Great (2002)
Song Highlights:
"Four Horsemen", from the album 666, was a minor hit on FM radio in the United States, receiving AOR airplay to this day. "Babylon", from the same album, was released as a single, and found similar acceptance on AOR radio in the 1970's. "Hic and Nunc" and "Break", from the same album, were also tried out as singles but did not chart well at the time.
"Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall" - the final single before the release of 666 and the last of the band's singles to chart significantly in their European home base.
"Rain and Tears" - based on Pachelbel's Canon in D major, this song was probably their biggest hit as a single release.
"It's Five o Clock" and "Such a Funny Night" also charted in Europe. All of the above songs can be found on various compilation/greatest hits discs. The band's singles were aimed squarely at the pop market, and do not bear any significant resemblance to the music on 666.
The Battle Of The Locusts
Aphrodite's Child Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The Battle of the Locusts is a song by Aphrodite's Child which features abstract lyrics that are open to interpretation. The song appears to reflect a chaotic battle, potentially a metaphor for a personal struggle or perhaps an allusion to an apocalyptic event. Throughout the song, there are references to death and destruction, including lines like "The locusts screamed" and "The earth will burn". The chorus seems to convey a sort of resignation to the events that are occurring, with the lyrics stating "I can't fight, never could, never will".
The song also features a variety of musical elements that help to convey the chaotic tone of the lyrics. The song begins with a frantic drumbeat and includes a variety of sound effects and instruments, such as distorted guitars and electronic noises. The vocals are passionate and emotive, with the singer screaming and shouting at times.
Overall, The Battle of the Locusts appears to be a reflection of a tumultuous inner struggle or an apocalyptic event on a grand scale, conveyed through intense musical and lyrical elements.
Line by Line Meaning
Out of the bottomless pit
Emerging from the infinite abyss
The smoke of their judgment
The condemnation that follows their actions
Rises in the air
Floating upward as evidence of their deeds
Locusts, they come, they come
The arrival of the destructive swarm
Destined to rule over the earth
Fated to reign as the ultimate force
Power was given to them
They were granted dominion
Over the land and the sea
Controlling both the maritime and terrestrial realms
The swarm of the locusts
The collective mass of destructive insects
Advance, their sound is like
Moving forward, emitting a noise that resembles
The banging of a thousand drums
The thundering beat of multiple percussion instruments
Their teeth are like those of lions
Their jaws are sharp and powerful like those of big cats
They are the army of the future
They represent the military of the upcoming era
They are the army of the plague
They embody the troops of the deadly sickness
The great cloud of smoke
The enormous mass of fumes
Rises from the pit
Emerges from the chasm
The beast has been summoned
The monster has been invoked
Their time has come
Their moment has arrived
The battle of the locusts
The confrontation between the swarm and humanity
Is the sound of triumph
Represents the noise of victory
Contributed by Molly D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Galo van Reins
Loukas Sideras was and still is a world class drummer but sadly, he is extremely underrated. Loukas is the greek god of drumming.
Daniel Bouju
Loukas is grater than Demis.
theo9952
Not underated, just not as well known as he deserves to be.
Giovanni Profeta
One of the hidden jewels of my music collection!
Billy Jack
Got this album in the mid 80's and still have it. One puzzling photo in the album is that of a car wrecking. This led alot of people starting a rumor that the band died in a car wreck. This is before internet, mobile phones etc. etc. All you had was newspapers, magazines and TV. Aside from that almost all the songs in this album, the lyrics come from the Bible. Alot of the lyrics are pulled from 'Revelations'.
'Battle of The Locust' is my favorite instrumental to date. I have never heard any other drummer come close to this. The guitar was excellent, just love this piece of music I consider a work of art.
Andrea Dallara
What a masterpiece
Billy Jack
One of the best drummers around which you'll hear on this song when has his drum solo.
Jim Stewart
Tremendous album. Why weren't there more great Greek bands?
Czyszy
You should check out a great contemporary Greek band Ciccada. Their style can be described as a fusion of folk and prog. Really sweet stuff.
Jim Stewart
Now that sounds interesting. I'll give it a listen. Thanks