Opheliac

The album Opheliac was preceded by the Opheliac EP, released in Spring 2006. Released through Autumn's own independent label, Traitor Records, this was a preview of the full-length album, and featured the first six tracks plus "Marry Me" and "Thank God I'm Pretty", the latter as a hidden track following the former. However, track 5 "I Want My Innocence Back" does not play on any copies of the EP, due to a manufacturing error. Earlier that year, on January 12, Autumn appeared on the WGN Chicago Morning Show to promote the album, and on January 13 performed an "Opheliac album preview show" at the Double Door in Chicago. Opheliac was originally released as a limited edition digipak in Europe on September 1, 2006, and worldwide on September 22, 2006, to coincide with Autumn's birthday. The US release features exclusive tracks, such as "The Art of Suicide - Acoustic" and out-takes from the Opheliac recording sessions. After Autumn parted ways with Trisol, a third issuing of Opheliac, entitled The Deluxe Edition, was released by The End Records on October 27, 2009, to coincide with her first American tour. ==Critical reception==

The album received mixed-to-positive reviews. Greg Prato of AllMusic commented, "It's easy to detect similarities at times between Autumn and such renowned female artists as Kate Bush and Tori Amos [...], but when you come across the electronic/symphonic "Gothic Lolita" and the swirling "Let the Record Show," Autumn sheds her influences and finds her own original voice." ==Lyrics and themes==

The word Opheliac is derived from the character Ophelia from the Shakespeare play Hamlet. Autumn explained: "Opheliac" is word I childishly made up to explain the condition of a person having the characteristics of "Ophelia" and the "Ophelia" archetype. While the original Ophelia did indeed go "mad", it was not primarily caused by her boyfriend knocking off her dad, but rather by not only Hamlet but also all the men in her life manipulating and pushing her to the point of no alternative. I didn't exactly name the album after her as much as I named it after myself. As the truest "Opheliac" I know, this album is my story from beginning to end. Listen thoroughly and you'll know more about me than my closest friends, this being because I generally write songs about things I would never tell a living soul. The album, largely written and recorded in the wake of Autumn's hospitalization due to bipolar disorder, touches on themes ranging from mental illness, suicide, and child abuse, as well as societal expectations of women and misogyny. Autumn has described the album as being "about women, water, and madness", stating that every song on the album contains some reference to water or drowning. She has also described the album as her "mad scene", referring to the famous scene in Act IV of Hamlet in which Ophelia, shortly before drowning herself, seems to go "mad", handing out flowers and singing songs. ==Track listing==

In addition to the audio tracks, Opheliac features live concert footage, clips from her performance of "Misery Loves Company" on the WGN Morning Show on January 12, 2006, and four short video clips entitled "Inside the Asylum: Lessons in Being a Wayward Victorian Girl". ==Opheliac: The Deluxe Edition==

Track listing ==Album Credits==

• Emilie Autumn - Vocals, Violin, Audio Production • Inkydust - Audio Engineer, Mixing ==The Opheliac Companion==

In August 2009, Autumn released a companion "album" to Opheliac, consisting of an approximately eight-hour long director's commentary style interview/chat between Autumn and her "sound guy" Inkydust. The discussion covers everything from the equipment used during production, to musical composition, to Autumn's writing process and inspirations behind the lyrics. Track listing ==References==