The Vertigo of Bliss

Untitled

The Vertigo of Bliss is the second studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Biffy Clyro. Produced with the band by Chris Sheldon, it was released by Beggars Banquet Records on 16 June 2003. The album reached number 48 on the UK Albums Chart, and spawned four singles. A deluxe remastered edition was released in 2012, which featured, in addition to the original 13 album tracks, a number of B-sides from the album's singles.

Cover artwork

The album cover for The Vertigo of Bliss was designed by comic book artist Milo Manara. Despite raising some controversy, the artwork was praised by music magazine ShortList who named it in their list of "The 50 Coolest Album Covers Ever", explaining that the "erotic and controversial" cover "only endeared [Biffy] more to the small but loyal fanbase they were beginning to cultivate".

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
The Guardian

Critical reception to Biffy Clyro's second album was generally positive. Writing for newspaper The Guardian, Betty Clarke awarded the album four out of five stars, calling it "inventive and sublime". Praising singles "Questions and Answers" and "Eradicate the Doubt" in particular, Clarke praised the band for "juggling anger with adoration as they take indie sensitivity and embolden it with blistering rock fury", and claimed that the album "crackles with certainty".

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Simon Neil; all music is composed by Biffy Clyro

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Bodies in Flight"	5:17
2.	"The Ideal Height"	3:41
3.	"With Aplomb"	5:29
4.	"A Day Of..."	2:24
5.	"Liberate the Illiterate/A Mong Among Mingers"	5:28
6.	"Diary of Always"	4:04
7.	"Questions and Answers"	4:02
8.	"Eradicate the Doubt"	4:26
9.	"When the Faction's Fractioned"	3:36
10.	"Toys, Toys, Toys, Choke, Toys, Toys, Toys"	5:28
11.	"All the Way Down: Prologue Chapter 1"	6:43
12.	"A Man of His Appalling Posture"	3:25
13.	"Now the Action Is on Fire!" (features hidden track "Ewen's True Mental You")	8:01
Total length:		62:04

2012 remastered edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
14.	"Ewen's True Mental You"	1:37
15.	"...And with the Scissorkick Is Victorious"	5:24
16.	"Do You Remember What You Came For?"	3:31
17.	"Good Practice Makes Permanent"	4:19
18.	"Let's Get Smiling"	3:04
19.	"Muckquaikerjawbreaker"	4:10
20.	"I Hope You're Done"	3:40
Total length:		87:49

Personnel

Biffy Clyro

• Simon Neil – vocals, guitars, production
• James Johnston – bass, vocals, production
• Ben Johnston – drums, vocals, production

Additional musicians

• Kimberlee McCarrick – violin (tracks 1, 3 and 14)
• Martin McCarrick – cello (tracks 1, 3 and 14)

Production personnel

• Chris Sheldon – production, recording and engineering (all tracks except 17–20), mixing
• Phil English – engineering
• Sam Miller – engineering
• DP Johnson – production (tracks 17–20)
• S.A.G. – production (tracks 17–20)

Additional personnel

• Chris Blair – mastering
• Phil Lee – design
• Stefan De Batselier – photography
• Milo Manara – illustration

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog	Ref.
United Kingdom	16 June 2003	Beggars Banquet Records	CD album	BBQCD233
			LP record	BBQLP233
	11 June 2012		Double LP	BBQLP2090