Plague Mass is a live album by American avant-garde artist Diamanda Galás. It was recorded on October 12 and 13, 1990 at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City and released on April 1, 1991 by record label Mute.

Plague Mass
A blurry photograph of Diamanda Galás covered in a red liquid singing into a microphone
Live album by
Released1 April 1991 (1991-04-01)
Recorded12 October – 13 October 1990 (1990-10-13)
StudioCathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City, New York, United States
GenreAvant-garde
Length72:52
LabelMute
Producer
  • Blaise Dupuy
  • Kurt Munkacsi
Diamanda Galás chronology
Masque of the Red Death
(1988)
Plague Mass
(1991)
The Singer
(1992)

Content

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AllMusic described the performance as a "heart-wrenching cry about the physical suffering caused by the AIDS plague being compounded by the shameful arrogance of self-appointed moralists."[1]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [1]
Q     [2]
Trouser Pressfavorable[3]

Trouser Press described it as "sepulchral, breathtakingly dramatic and, in the best possible sense, appalling".[3]

It was placed on Terrorizer's list of the "100 Most Important Albums of the Nineties".[4]

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."There Are No More Tickets to the Funeral"13:13
2."This Is The Law of the Plague"11:44
3."I Wake Up and I See the Face of The Devil"5:59
4."Confessional (Give Me Sodomy or Give Me Death)"4:17
5."How Shall Our Judgement Be Carried Out Upon the Wicked?"8:37
6."Let Us Praise the Masters of Slow Death"5:54
7."Consecration"3:44
8."Sono L'Antichristo"3:09
9."Cris D'Aveugle (Blind Man's Cry)"10:00
10."Let My People Go"6:05

Personnel

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  • Diamanda Galás – vocals
  • David Linton - percussion
  • Kurt Munkacsi – production
  • Blaise Dupuy – production
  • Rory Johnson – executive production

Release history

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Region Date Label Format Catalog
United Kingdom 1991 Mute CD, LP STUMM 83
United States Mute CD, CS 9-61043

References

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  1. ^ a b Tyranny, "Blue" Gene. "Plague Mass (1984 End of the Epidemic)". Allmusic. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  2. ^ columnist (June 1996). "Diamanda Galás - Plague Mass". Q.
  3. ^ a b Kenny, Glenn; Robbins, Ira. "TrouserPress.com :: Diamanda Galas". TrouserPress.com. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  4. ^ "Terrorizer: 100 Most Important Albums of the Nineties". Terrorizer. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
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