Heaven in this Hell

Album: Heaven in this Hell (2013)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is the title track of the third studio album by the Australian singer and guitarist Orianthi. Produced by Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart, the set was released on Robo Records on March 12, 2013.
  • Orianthi and Stewart first worked together when the ex Eurythmics member acted as musical director for a Stand Up To Cancer benefit concert, during which the Australian guitarist guested. "We became friends after that," Stewart told MusicRadar. "It didn't have anything to do with making an album. We started to jam together on acoustic guitars mainly, but we did plug in electrics. I played her all of these blues records, and things just happened very naturally."
  • All 11 songs on Heaven in this Hellwere co-written by Orianthi. She told Noisecreep: "Dave Stewart is an amazing songwriter. I'd bring him ideas and he was always thinking about how to make things better and so I love the things he and I worked on together. But overall this was a chance for me to really play around and explore many ideas with other writers too that have been building up inside of me since the last album. Each song represents a part of the musical journey. There is a theme. We start off in hell and then I work my way through to the end of the journey, which is very positive."
  • Orianthi wrote this song with Stewart, lead singer of the ska-punk group Goldfinger, John Feldmann, and Canadian record producer Gavin Brown who is attributed with developing Three Days Grace and Billy Talent. "It was a swampy idea that I brought in to Dave," Orianthi told MusicRadar. "He really liked it, but he suggested that we change around the chorus. It's a great track to play live."
  • Orianthi used a Cry Baby wah pedal on the guitar solo. "I think I kept the first or second pass, which is what I usually do," she told MusicRadar. "If you go over your solos too much, they become sterile and overthought. You want a solo to be structured, a song within a song, but you want it to sound like it's the first time you're playing it, too."
  • According to Orianthi it was Stewart's idea to put the nylon-string acoustic at the end. She recalled: "'Let's take it to heaven,' he said. He wanted it to float. I used an Alvarez classical for that part."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions Answered

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions AnsweredSong Writing

10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Greg talks about writing songs of "universal truth" for King Crimson and ELP, and tells us about his most memorable stage moment (it involves fireworks).

Paul Williams

Paul WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine Band

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine BandSongwriter Interviews

Harry Wayne Casey tells the stories behind KC and The Sunshine Band hits like "Get Down Tonight," "That's The Way (I Like It)," and "Give It Up."

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And Hell

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And HellSongwriter Interviews

Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.