on piano, which was completed by Hammill on guitar. The final track, "After the Flood" was a science fiction number that showed the fallout of an apocalyptic flood, and featured a twelve tone figure arranged by Jackson and a variety of different mood and style changes. The lyrics partially quoted Albert Einstein expressing his concern about the arms race between the US and the Soviet Union that led to the Cold War. "Boat of Millions of Years", a recording from the sessions which was released as a non-album B-side, draws on Egyptian mythology with lyrics that tell of a conflict between the gods Horus, Osiris, and Set. Recording Stratton-Smith founded Charisma Records in late 1969, signing Van der Graaf Generator as one of its first acts. The album was recorded over four days at Trident Studios, London, from 11 to 14 December 1969 with producer John Anthony. Stratton-Smith kept a "hands-off" approach to recording, allowing the band artistic freedom. Drummer Guy Evans recalled that Anthony was "a very good organiser" who recognised Hammill's intelligence and artistic capabilities. Trident had some of the most advanced studio equipment at the time; most of the album was recorded on an 8-track reel-to-reel machine, except for "After the Flood", which used a 16-track. Anthony added sound effects from the BBC sound library at the start of "Darkness" and fed Hammill's voice through tremolo and distortion boxes for a section of "After the Flood". Mike Hurwitz played cello on "Refugees". Banton was credited writing the part, but not given an actual songwriting credit. He also arranged a nine-piece orchestra for a re-recording of the track that was later released as a single. Gerry Salisbury played cornet on "White Hammer". The band was well rehearsed and completed recording quickly, allowing bassist Nic Potter time to overdub electric guitar onto some tracks. Release The album was released in the UK in February 1970. Stratton-Smith was unhappy with Anthony's production and asked Shel Talmy to remix it. The first pressing of the album was released with Talmy's mix, but the band were unhappy and convinced Charisma to allow Anthony to remix it, which appeared on all subsequent releases. The sleeve dedicated the album to "L & M, without whom everyone would have been much happier", a criticism of Lou Reizner and Mercury Records. The first US issue of the album was released by the Probe Records division of