Dead Eyes Opened

Initially, Since the Accident was a cassette tape recorded between 1982 and 1983, and "Dead Eyes Opened" was only left on said tape to help fill up the blank space.{{cite web|last1=D'Amico|first1=Anthony|title=Severed Heads, Since The Accident|url=http://www.brainwashed.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8172:severed-heads-qsince-the-accidentq&catid=13:albums-and-singles|website=brainwashed.com|publisher=Brainwashed|accessdate=2010-04-18}} The song includes a spoken word sample, which was credited by Tom Ellard in 2006 to be Edgar Lustgarten in the television series Scales of Justice.{{cite web|url=http://www.oocities.org/hiphopinterview/severedheads.html|title=Severed Heads: Tom Ellard Keeps His Severed Heads Under Gail Succubus|last1=Jones|first1=Todd|website=oocities.org|publisher=oocities|accessdate=2006-12-01}} Lustgarten is the narrator, but the sample is from the episode Death on the Crumbles{{Citation|title=Severed Heads – Dead Eyes Opened|url=https://genius.com/Severed-heads-dead-eyes-opened-lyrics|language=en|access-date=2018-08-04}} from the 1971 BBC radio series Accused in the Box.{{Cite web |date=1971-11-15 |title=BBC Programme Index |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/d9d851856a0473be5cba6002870c1ffb |access-date=2023-10-27 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk}} The show was based on the 1924 murder of Emily Kaye.

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = Allmusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}} {{cite web|last1=Carruthers|first1=Sean|title=Dead Eyes Opened Review|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/dead-eyes-opened-mw0000841541|website=AllMusic.com|publisher=AllMusic Guide|accessdate=2016-03-22}}

| rev2 = Pop Matters

| rev2score = {{Rating|7|10}} {{cite web|last1=Garratt|first1=John|title=Severed Heads: Dead Eyes Opened|url=http://www.popmatters.com/review/183331-severed-heads-dead-eyes-opened/|website=popmatters.com|publisher=Pop Matters|accessdate=2014-07-16}}

}}

The track was released as a 12-inch vinyl single in early 1984 to help promote Since the Accident, to which it received favorable reviews from critics. Sounds magazine critic Dave Henderson described the track as "gutsy, emotional, and melodic sound" and, along with nine other singles released that same week, gave the track "Single of the Week" status.{{cite book|last1=Henderson|first1=Dave|title=Sounds: Dave Henderson Achieves Maximum Penetration|date=25 February 1984|publisher=Sounds Magazine|page=31|url=http://sevcom.com/scans/1984/slides/Sounds%20Singles%20Feb84.jpeg|accessdate=2017-05-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170122192835/http://sevcom.com/scans/1984/slides/Sounds%20Singles%20Feb84.jpeg|archive-date=22 January 2017|url-status=dead}} AllMusic critic Sean Carruthers gave the single 4 and a half stars out of a possible five, stating that it's "...a great introduction for the band for North American audiences". Tom Ellard, frontman of Severed Heads, has expressed his distaste for the track many times throughout the years, even calling it "insipid" in one interview; and introducing the track during one live performance by stating "Here's a song we've all come to hate over the years."{{cite web|last1=Radio|first1=Joe|title=Interview: Severed Heads|url=http://eyesore.no/tfdi/eklein/intervw/sevheads.html|website=Eyesore.no|publisher=The Eyesore Database|accessdate=2017-05-03}} The single received a commercial release in Australia in June 1984.

Since its initial release in 1984, the single has been reissued a few times, each "version" includes a completely new track listing from the original. Nettwerk reissued the single as a 12-inch extended play in 1986, complete with new tracks, in order to help promote the then-newly released Come Visit The Big Bigot. Similarly, Volition Records, in partnership with Sony Music, released another version of the single in 1994, now set with new remixes of the track, to help promote Gigapus. The entire 1986 Nettwerk single was also included on the compact disc version of Come Visit The Big Bigot, which was titled as Come Visit The Big Bigot With Dead Eyes Opened, while the entire 1994 Volition single was included as a bonus second disc on some versions of Gigapus.

{{Track listing

| headline = Side One

| title1 = Dead Eyes Opened

| length1 = 6:35

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side Two

| title2 = Bullet

| length2 = 2:45

| title3 = Mount

| length3 = 2:15

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side One

| title1 = Dead Eyes Opened (Remix Three)

| length1 = 6:05

| title2 = Petrol

| length2 = 5:42

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side Two

| title3 = We Have Come To Bless This House (Remix Two)

| length3 = 3:55

| title4 = Oscar's Grind

| length4 = 3:48

| title5 = Mambo Fist Miasma

| length5 = 5:10

}}

{{Track listing

| title1 = Dead Eyes Opened (Radio Edit)

| length1 = 3:51

| title2 = Dead Eyes Opened (Re-Opened)

| length2 = 9:31

| title3 = Dead Eyes Opened (The Love Experiment)

| length3 = 3:20

| title4 = Dead Eyes Opened (Spooked)

| length4 = 9:05

| title5 = Dead Eyes Opened (Original)

| length5 = 9:30

}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Discogs master|95234|Dead Eyes Opened|type=album}}
• [https://severedheads.bandcamp.com/album/dead-eyes-opened-94 Bandcamp page (1994 Version)]

{{Severed Heads}}

{{authority control}}

Category:1984 debut singles

Category:1984 songs