The Illuminatus! Trilogy

The Illuminatus! Trilogy is a series of three novels written by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson first published in 1975. The trilogy is a satirical, postmodern, science fiction-influenced adventure story; a drug-, sex-, and magic-laden trek through a number of conspiracy theories, both historical and imaginary, related to the authors' version of the Illuminati. The narrative often switches between third- and first-person perspectives in a nonlinear narrative. It is thematically dense, covering topics like counterculture, numerology, and Discordianism.

The trilogy comprises The Eye in the Pyramid, The Golden Apple, and Leviathan. They were first published as three separate volumes starting in September 1975. In 1984 they were published as an omnibus edition and are now more commonly reprinted in the latter form.

In 1986 the trilogy won the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award, designed to honor classic Libertarian fiction, despite the fact that there are several passages in the trilogy that savagely parody Libertarianism and the Objectivist philosophy of Ayn Rand.

Illuminatus (band)

Illuminatus (commonly typeset as illuminatus) are an alternative metal band from Nottingham.

History

Early Years (2002-2007)

Illuminatus formed in 2002 and shortly afterwards entered the Battle of the Bands competition in Nottingham, winning the competition and using the prize money to record and release their first EP, Suburban Symmetry in 2002, which gained acclaim from local press.

Their first commercial release, the Aborted Revolutions EP was recorded with Harvey Birrell (Therapy?, Ministry) at Southern Studios in Wood Green, London, and was released in 2003 to good reviews, including I Will Be Heard, who described the EP as "...a dark, emotionally charged and often claustrophobic atmosphere that is performed with enthusiasm and masses of vitality, like telling a brothers Grimm tale while hiding in the shadows and then using a loud hailer..." A video for the track Wargasm was released shortly afterwards.

The success of the EP led to the band securing a space on the Darwin (Unsigned) stage at the Bloodstock Open Air festival in 2003, the first of 3 appearances at the festival with further appearances in 2004 and 2006, supporting acts such as Children of Bodom, Primal Fear and Gamma Ray. The performance introduced the band to Carbon 13 studios based in Runcorn, where they recorded their last EP, the Carbon 13 recordings. This EP was never due for commercial release and was released free to their fans at shows under an agreement with Carbon 13 studios.