Dead Eyes Opened

"Dead Eyes Opened"
Single by Severed Heads
from the album Since the Accident
B-side "Bullet"
"Mount"
Released February 1984
Format 12" single
Recorded 1982
Genre EDM, industrial
Length 3:22 (Album version)
6:35 (Single version)
Label Ink Records
Writer(s) Tom Ellard
Producer(s) Tom Ellard
Severed Heads singles chronology
- "Dead Eyes Opened"
(1984)		 "Stretcher"
(1985)

"Dead Eyes Opened" is a song by the experimental Australian group Severed Heads, originally released on their 1983 album Since the Accident. Upon its initial release as a 12-inch record single in 1984, the track received critical and commercial success, peaking at the #16 spot on the ARIA Charts.[1]

Background

Initially, Since the Accident was a cassette tape recorded between 1982 and 1983, and "Dead Eyes Opened" was only left on said tape to help fill up the blank space.[2] The song includes a spoken word sample, which was later revealed to have been taken from the television series Scales of Justice.[3]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [4]
Pop Matters [5]

The track was released as a 12-inch vinyl single in early 1984 to help promote Since the Accident, to which it received favorable reviews from critics. Sounds magazine critic Dave Henderson described the track as "gutsy, emotional, and melodic sound" and, along with nine other singles released that same week, gave the track "Single of the Week" status.[6] AllMusic critic Sean Carruthers gave the single 4 and a half stars out of a possible five, stating that it's "...a great introduction for the band for North American audiences". Tom Ellard, frontman of Severed Heads, has expressed his distaste for the track many times throughout the years, even calling it "insipid" in one interview.[7]

Since its initial release in 1984, the single has been reissued a few times, each "version" includes a completely new track listing from the original. Nettwerk reissued the single as a 12-inch extended play in 1986, complete with new tracks, in order to help promote the then-newly released Come Visit The Big Bigot. Similarly, Volition Records, in partnership with Sony Music, released another version of the single in 1994, now set with new remixes of the track, to help promote Gigapus. The entire 1986 Nettwerk single was also included on the compact disc version of Come Visit The Big Bigot, which was titled as Come Visit The Big Bigot With Dead Eyes Opened, while the entire 1994 Volition single was included as a bonus second disc on some versions of Gigapus.

Track listing

Original Ink Records 1984 12"

Side One
No. Title Length
1. "Dead Eyes Opened"   6:35
Side Two
No. Title Length
2. "Bullet"   2:45
3. "Mount"   2:15

Nettwerk 1986 12"

Side One
No. Title Length
1. "Dead Eyes Opened (Remix Three)"   6:05
2. "Petrol"   5:42
Side Two
No. Title Length
3. "We Have Come To Bless This House (Remix Two)"   3:55
4. "Oscar's Grind"   3:48
5. "Mambo Fist Miasma"   5:10

Volition Records 1994 CD

No. Title Length
1. "Dead Eyes Opened (Radio Edit)"   3:51
2. "Dead Eyes Opened (Re-Opened)"   9:31
3. "Dead Eyes Opened (The Love Experiment)"   3:20
4. "Dead Eyes Opened (Spooked)"   9:05
5. "Dead Eyes Opened (Original)"   9:30

Chart history

Chart Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[8] 16

References

  1. ↑ "ARIA Charts". Australian-Charts.com. Austrialian Charts.
  2. ↑ D'Amico, Anthony. "Severed Heads, Since The Accident". brainwashed.com. Brainwashed. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  3. ↑ Jones, Todd. "Severed Heads: Tom Ellard Keeps His Severed Heads Under Gail Succubus". oocities.org. oocities. Retrieved December 2006. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  4. ↑ Carruthers, Sean. "Dead Eyes Opened Review". AllMusic.com. AllMusic Guide. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  5. ↑ Garratt, John. "Severed Heads: Dead Eyes Opened". popmatters.com. Pop Matters. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  6. ↑ Henderson, Dave (February 25, 1984). Sounds: Dave Henderson Achieves Maximum Penetration. Sounds Magazine. p. 31. Retrieved February 25, 1984. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  7. ↑ Radio, Joe. "Interview: Severed Heads". Eyesore.no. The Eyesore Database. Retrieved March 3, 1989. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  8. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Severed Heads – Dead Eyes Opened". ARIA Top 50 Singles.

External links

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