666 (subtitled The Apocalypse of John, 13/18) is the third and final studio album and only double album by Greek progressive rock band Aphrodite's Child, released in June 1972 by Vertigo Records. Ostensibly an adaptation of Biblical passages from the Book of Revelation, it is the group's most critically acclaimed project. Due to internal tensions during the recording process and conflict with the record company, by the time it was released the band had already disbanded and its members had begun work on solo projects. Conception and production The concept for 666 was created by Vangelis and film director Costas Ferris, who served as the project's lyricist. Ferris cited as influences the nonlinear narrative style of the films Intolerance, Rashomon, Citizen Kane and The Killing, as well as the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and the Who's Tommy. The central concept is a countercultural interpretation of the Book of Revelation, in which a circus show based on the apocalypse performs for an audience at the same time that the real apocalypse takes place outside the circus tent, and at the end the two merge into one. Ferris described the result as a "concept book", and stated that he intended for the narration to be looser than Tommy, but more rigid than Sgt. Pepper. The band commenced work on the album at the Europa Sonor studio in Paris in late 1970. They took just over three months to record it and finished in early 1971. The overall cost of album's recording was estimated as $80,000 or $90,000. The recording was marked by tension, as the ambitious nature of Vangelis and Ferris' concept clashed with Demis Roussos, Loukas Sideras and Silver Koulouris' wish to continue with the psychedelic pop direction that had brought them success. Vangelis, Roussos and Sideras were also accompanied by their partners, further adding to the strain. Engineer Roger Roche reported that they enjoyed playing together but would not speak to each other after they finished a take. Vangelis blamed commercial pressures for the tensions, stating, "It was too sophisticated for the group. I realised that I couldn't follow the commercial way anymore, it was very boring." Giorgio Gomelsky, in France at the time due to his work with Magma and Gong, made several contributions to the album and by his own description served as "a sort of 'acting producer'". He believed that his contributions were not