10 tracks · 73 min
This Strange Engine is the ninth studio album by British rock band Marillion, released in 1997. It is the first of three albums in three consecutive years that Marillion released on a contract with Castle Communications, after being dropped by EMI Records following the relative lack of commercial success of Afraid of Sunlight in 1995; peaking at No. 16, Afraid of Sunlight had been the band's first studio album no to reach the top ten of the UK Albums Chart. Without the promotional efforts of a major label, This Strange Engine continued Marillion's decline in mainstream success; it reached No. 27 on the UK Albums Chart and stayed there for two weeks. The album sold significantly better in the Netherlands, home of one of the band's most loyal audiences, reaching #10.The first single released from the album was "Man of a Thousand Faces". A music video was also released of this track. The second single from the album was "Eighty Days". For the first time, no singles from a Marillion album entered the UK Top 40. The 30-minute progressive rock title track "This Strange Engine" is an autobiographical account of singer Steve Hogarth's life. Most other tracks are more mainstream rock orien…
