- Eric Clayton
Infobox musical artist
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Name = Eric Clayton
Landscape =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name =
Alias =
Born =
Died =
Origin =California ,United States
Instrument =Vocals
Genre =Symphonic metal Gothic metal
Christian metal
Occupation = Singer-songwriter, producer
Years_active = 1989 -
Label = Currently unsignedFrontline Records (1990–1994) MCM Music,Massacre Records (1994–2006)
Associated_acts =Saviour Machine ,Eva O ,Ayreon ,Divinefire , Narnia,Veni Domine
URL =http://www.saviourmachine.com
Current_members =
Past_members =
Notable_instruments =Eric Clayton is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known for his work in the influential gothic
symphonic metal groupSaviour Machine which he formed with his brother Jeff Clayton in 1989. Eric Clayton is notable for his operatic vocals, and he has done guest vocals onAyreon 's album "The Human Equation ",Divinefire 's album "Glory Thy Name", Narnia's album "The Great Fall", Wedding Party's album "Anthems", andEva O 's album "Ride the Madness". Clayton also produced the two aforementioned albums as well as many Saviour Machine albums. Known for his theatrical live performances and dark, peculiar appearances and masks, Clayton has become somewhat an icon in the Christian Gothic scene.cite web |url= http://www.sound7.de/article.php?article=4154 |title= Eric Clayton im Interview |accessdate=2006-08-11 |author= |last= Brunner |first= David |date= 2007-10-21 |work= Sound 7 |publisher= Germany |pages= |language= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] [ [http://www.vampster.com/artikel/show/?id=107 Saviour Machine Interview mit Eric Clayton - Interview - vampster.com - Das Metal Online Musik Magazin im Internet ] ] [ [http://www.eurielec.etsit.upm.es/~zenzei/index.php?numero=4&tipo=musica&arch=2saviour Eurielic.com] ]aviour Machine
Eric Clayton's most ambitious work has been Saviour Machine, which released two studio albums "Saviour Machine I" (1993) and "Saviour Machine II" (1994) before starting the "Legend" trilogy that strictly focuses on the
end times ,Book of Revelation and prophecies about the biblicalapocalypse . The band has also released a compilation album titled "Synopsis" (2003), the live albums "Live in Deutschland 1996" and "Live in Deutschland 2002". The latter was also filmed and released on DVD format. The band was originally signed to Christian metal labelFrontline Records but gothic metal in all its visual appearance was misunderstood in US Christian scenes, and eventually Saviour Machine began work with MCM Music andMassacre Records , labels based inGermany where the band was more popular than in US. In 1997 Saviour Machine performed atWacken Open Air , the biggest exclusively metal music festival in the world.Currently, Eric Clayton is working on the last album in the "Legend" series, "Legend Part III:II", which will also be the last Saviour Machine album. The album was supposed to be released in July 7, 2007, but was postponed due to Clayton's esophageal cancer called Barrett's Esophagus which was diagnosed in 2004 but eventually got worse.
Vocal style and live performance
Clayton's vocals can simply be described as
opera tic. His voice ranges from hightenor to lowbaritone to occasionally the deepbasso , and is typically filled with dark emotions. On "Legend" trilogy as well as on some guest performances he utilized cinematic, narrative speaking vocals.On Saviour Machine's concerts, Clayton performs several theatrical and symbolic gestures. He typically paints his face in a way that it resembles an iconic theatre mask, and wears a peculiar forehead jewel as well as black clothes. Some of his live performances include wearing an American flag during the songs "Legion" and "American Babylon", dipping the Israelian flag into blood, wearing devices that resemble demon wings, and other gestures with separate masks, candles, chains, statues etc.
Clayton's lyrics are deeply spiritual, and on the first two album's include themes ranging from salvation to melodramatic, horror oriented
dark romanticism on songs such as "Legion". As the first album was banned from Christian bookstores due to a certain line in that song, Clayton has somewhat humorously criticized the Christian music scene for its hypocritical manners on songs such as "Ascension of Heroes." [Eric Clayton's Liner notes on Saviour Machine - Synopsis booklet, 2003, mas cd0298, Massacre Recrds. retrieved on 2007-10-21] The "Legend" series focus on the end times.References
Notes
External links
* [http://www.saviourmachine.com Official website]
* [http://www.allalom.com/072105ericclayton-interview.htm Interview] at Allalom
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
