Prison of Desire

Prison of Desire is the debut album by Dutch symphonic metal band After Forever. It was released on 21 April 2000 by Transmission Records. The album contains the first four installments (three parts and a prologue) of The Embrace That Smothers, a collection of songs by Mark Jansen which deals with the influence and distortion of religion in human society. This theme was carried over to the Epica albums The Phantom Agony and The Divine Conspiracy.

Prison of Desire
Studio album by After Forever
Released	21 April 2000 (2000-04-21)
Recorded	17 December 1999 – 26 February 2000 (1999-12-17 – 2000-02-26)
Studio	Excess, Rotterdam, Netherlands RS29, Waalwijk, Netherlands
Genre	Symphonic metal gothic metal
Length	54:05
Label	Transmission
Producer	Hans Pieters Dennis Leidelmeijer
After Forever chronology
Wings of Illusion (1999) Prison of Desire (2000) Decipher (2001)
Singles from Prison of Desire
"Follow in the Cry" / "Silence from Afar" Released: 2000

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Chronicles of Chaos	[2]

The final track, "Beyond Me", features a guest appearance of Sharon den Adel, lead singer in Within Temptation.

The album was reissued in June 2008 by the re-financed Transmission Records, as a two-disc set containing previously unreleased studio sessions, instrumental/a cappella tracks, and a handful of demo recordings.^[3] Guitarist Sander Gommans has urged fans not to buy this re-release through the band's official forum.^[4]

In 2021, it was elected by Metal Hammer as the 6th best symphonic metal album of all time.^[5]

Track listing

Prison of Desire track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Length
1.	"Mea Culpa (The Embrace That Smothers - Prologue)"	M. Jansen	2:00
2.	"Leaden Legacy (The Embrace That Smothers - Part I)"	M. Jansen	5:07
3.	"Semblance of Confusion"	F. Jansen	4:09
4.	"Black Tomb"	F. Jansen	6:29
5.	"Follow in the Cry (The Embrace That Smothers - Part II)"	M. Jansen	4:06
6.	"Silence from Afar"	M. Jansen	5:52
7.	"Inimical Chimera"	F. Jansen	5:00
8.	"Tortuous Threnody"	F. Jansen	6:13
9.	"Yield to Temptation (The Embrace That Smothers - Part III)"	M. Jansen	5:53
10.	"Ephemeral"	M. Jansen	3:05
11.	"Beyond Me"	F. Jansen M. Jansen	6:11
Total length:			54:05

All music is composed by Mark Jansen, Sander Gommans and Floor Jansen, except "Mea Culpa" by M. Jansen.

Japanese bonus track

No.	Title	Lyrics	Length
12.	"Wings of Illusion"	F. Jansen	7:21
Total length:			61:26

Red digipack limited edition bonus track

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Leaden Legacy" (instrumental version)	5:10
Total length:		59:15

Mexican bonus track

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Silence from Afar" (radio edit)	4:38
Total length:		58:43

2007 Japanese Collector's Edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Wings of Illusion"	7:21
13.	"Silence from Afar" (demo)	5:59
14.	"Wings of Illusion" (demo)	7:28
Total length:		74:48

2008 reissue – disc one: The Album (bonus tracks)

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Wings of Illusion"	7:22
13.	"Mea Culpa" (instrumental version)	2:01
14.	"Mea Culpa" (a cappella version)	1:50
15.	"Semblance of Confusion" (instrumental version)	4:07
16.	"Follow in the Cry" (instrumental version)	4:05
17.	"Follow in the Cry" (a cappella version)	1:20
Total length:		74:55

2008 reissue – disc two: The Sessions

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Silence from Afar" (demo version)	5:55
2.	"Wings of Illusion" (demo version)	7:21
3.	"Follow in the Cry" (session version)	4:04
4.	"Yield to Temptation" (session version)	5:51
5.	"Semblance of Confusion" (session version)	4:06
6.	"Beyond Me" (session version)	6:13
7.	"Black Tomb" (session version)	6:29
8.	"Tortuous Threnody" (session version)	6:10
9.	"Ephemeral" (session version)	3:03
10.	"Inimical Chimera" (session version)	4:58
11.	"Silence from Afar" (session version)	5:50
12.	"Mea Culpa" (session version)	2:01
13.	"Leaden Legacy" (session version)	5:04
14.	"Wings of Illusion" (session version)	7:21
Total length:		74:26

Personnel

After Forever

• Floor Jansen – vocals
• Mark Jansen – guitar, grunts
• Sander Gommans – guitar, grunts
• Jack Driessen – keyboards
• Luuk van Gerven – bass guitar
• Joep Beckers – drums

Additional musician

• Sharon den Adel – vocals on "Beyond Me"

Choir

• Hans Cassa, Caspar de Jonge, Yvonne Rooda and Melissa 't Hart

Production

• Hans Pieters – engineering
• Dennis Leidelmeijer – engineering
• Oscar Holleman – choir producer, engineering, mixing
• Hans van Vuuren – executive producer, coordination and research
• Peter van 't Riet – mastering