Product Description

Second album from Glasgow indie rockers, following 2002's 'Blackened Sky'. It features a more streamlined sound than before, with more melody and less dramatic shifts in tempo anddynamics. The album was allegedly recorded in one day with producer Chris Sheldon (Feeder, Therapy, Foo Fighters) and includes the singles 'The Ideal Height' and 'Questions And Answers'.

Track Listing

1. Bodies In Flight
2. The Ideal Height
3. With Aplomb
4. A Day Of
5. Liberate The Illiterate
6. Diary of Always
7. Questions & Answers
8. Eradicate The Doubt
9. When The Faction’s Fractioned
10. Toys, Toys, Toys, Choke, Toys, Toys, Toys
11. All The Way Down...
12. A Man Of His Appalling Posture
13. Now The Action Is On Fire!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #656 in Music
• Released on: 2003-06-16
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Based on the evidence of The Vertigo of Bliss, Ayrshire's Biffy Clyro have matured massively since their debut album, Blackened Sky. While retaining a highly refined melodic sensibility that manifests itself mostly in their effortless vocal harmonies, they've added a metallic heaviness to their sound, and bravely given themselves full range to experiment.

The Vertigo of Bliss is never predictable, hardly even stable. Most of the tracks here are in constant flux. Pastoral acoustic guitars, fuzzed bass and sweet strings slip in and out of the mix, leading on to the next folksy interlude, wild jazz break or punky firestorm. One example of this is "With Aplomb", where a pretty acoustic riff is gradually submerged in lush strings and vocal harmonies, before the band engage in a series of brief solos rising to a kind of Elizabethan rock climax recalling Ritchie Blackmore. Elsewhere "Diary of Always" is a bizarre ballad driven by a Laurie Anderson-style vocal pulse, while "Now the Action Is on Fire!" mixes turbulent guitars and staccato strings, like a cross between John Cale and Ozzy Osbourne.

This is not to say the album is difficult or messy, rather that great care has been taken to embellish and enliven songs that were already fairly strong, and is an ambitious and intriguing effort. --Dominic Wills

Customer Reviews

their time wasnt then,it is now
biffy clyros second album expands their style but doesnt quite define it as the follow up would and thats not a complaint,its praise in a way,the syles here range from indie to mathcore to some grunge to punky riffs to more poppy moments and indeed all of those styles can be found on the same track,influences here range from the blood brothers through to idlewild,some say that this album was recorded in one day,if thats true then you wouldnt know as this album is far from shoddy,in fact its a beauty.
Biffy have an ear for a melody,and they know how to fuse the styles that they spin out together without sounding like a dogs dinner,thats a good talent and on their upcoming album i sense that they are set to become a big player in music,but here back in 2003 their sound was still in its infancy,this can be a heavy album but at the same time the use of melody lies more towards the beatles and the kinks and idlewild than iron maiden for example.
The album is layered with tracks that are epic in length but seldom boring,the change in tempo and style mean that the songs rarely become laboured,to single out tracks is futile as they are all good and showcase a band with a range of ideas and styles,this album is 4 years old and is the sound of a band that flirted with success,skip forward 4 years to today and biffy clyro are about to become the very definition of success,the road may have been long but the journey is all but over in my opinion.

musical genius!
Whatever I say about this album it wouldn't be superlative enough. It rocks, it gets under your skin and plucks your heart strings too and also it sends chills up your spine. It really is all killer and no filler, with maybe the exception of track 6. The finale is particularly wowifying with it's off kilter ending complete with wailing violins. Great! Buy it now!

A great step up from Blackened Sky!
For those of you who like Biffy's more experimental side (only lightly displayed on Blackened Sky) you'll find this album an utter joy. Gone are the structured pop songs and in come some wacky time signature and progressive guitar, bass and vocals. On first listen you probably won't get it, but after a few listens it starts to make sense and you'll begin to love it.

It's clear from the front cover of the album that Biffy were going for something much different to Blackened Sky. Songs like Bodies In Flight and Eradicate The Doubt are a million miles away, although its not all change. The single Questions and Answers shows the old Biffy in fine form, but it's about the only song to progress away from progression.

I highly recommend this album.