Editing Marillion (section)

====''This Strange Engine'', ''Radiation'' and ''marillion.com'' (1996–1999)====
The band's independent status was confirmed with signing a deal to the UK-based [[Castle Records|Castle]]. The first album to be released through Castle was the band's third live album (the first with Hogarth) ''[[Made Again]]''. Not only did it release Marillion from its obligations with EMI (as the fifth album in a five-album deal), as well as paying off the debts without creating new ones, it marked a certain symmetry with the first seven years of the band. Mark Kelly noted: "Our first four studio albums were followed by a double live album that signalled the end of a chapter. Now, after another four studio albums, followed by a live album, we move from EMI." Featuring ''Brave'' in its entirety, ''Made Again'' was released 25 March 1996 as the final EMI-era Marillion release in the UK, with Castle handling the release in mainland Europe and the US.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Collins|first=Jon|title=Separated Out Marillion History 1979-2002|publisher=Helter Skelter|year=2003|pages=138}}</ref> The release was followed by a brief tour with four dates in Europe at the end of April.

In the months prior, Rothery, Hogarth and Mosley used the break from Marillion to record separate solo projects. Mosley's project, IRIS, with French guitarist Sylvian Gouvernaire and Trewavas, released ''Crossing the Desert,'' on 22 April 1996. Rothery's project with the female singer Hannah Stobart, drummer Paul Craddick (from [[Enchant (band)|Enchant]]) and Trewavas, called [[The Wishing Tree (band)|The Wishing Tree]], released their album ''[[Carnival of Souls (The Wishing Tree album)|Carnival of Souls]]'' in September 1996. Hogarth released his solo album ''[[Ice Cream Genius]]'' in February 1997.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Collins|first=Jon|title=Separated Out Marillion History 1979-2002|publisher=Helter Skelter|year=2003}}</ref>

''[[This Strange Engine (Album)|This Strange Engine]]'' was the following Marillion album released in April 1997 in the UK, and in October in the US, with limited promotion from their new label Castle. Marillion could not afford to make tour stops in the United States. Their dedicated US fan base decided to solve the problem by raising some $60,000 themselves online to give to the band to come to the US.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marillion.com/press/anorak.htm |title=NEWS – Press Room – Anoraknophobia |website=Marillion.com |access-date=19 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110914094146/http://www.marillion.com/press/anorak.htm |archive-date=14 September 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The band's loyal fanbase (combined with the Internet) would eventually become vital to their existence. Following the completion of the extensive 1997 tour (including Marillion's one-thousandth gig, on 27 October at the Amsterdam [[Paradiso (Amsterdam)|Paradiso]]), the band returned to their own studio, The Racket Club, in November.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Collins|first=Jon|title=Separated Out Marillion History 1979-2002|publisher=Helter Skelter|year=2003|pages=158}}</ref> During 1997 to 1999, EMI issued 2-CD remastered editions of Marillion's first eight studio albums (''Script for a Jester's Tear'' through ''Afraid of Sunlight''), each with a second CD of non-album tracks and other archival recordings.

The band's tenth album, ''[[Radiation (Marillion album)|Radiation]],'' released on 21 September 1998, saw them taking a different approach and was received by fans with mixed reactions.<ref name="autogenerated2" /> The short ''Radiation'' tour, with only dates in the UK and mainland Europe, ended on 18 November 1998 at the [[Élysée Montmartre]] in Paris.

''[[marillion.com]]'' was the follow-up, released on 18 October 1999, and showed progression in a new musical direction. However, the band were still unhappy with their record label situation. Under the terms of the deal, this was to be the third and final album distributed on the Castle label. The ''Dot Com'' tour, again with dates only in the UK and mainland Europe, started on 13 October at the MCM Cafe in Paris, and ended with a special Christmas show for the Web fanclubs worldwide in Aachen, Germany on 5 December 1999. For the whole of 2000, the band were writing [[Anoraknophobia|the next album]] at the Racket Club and in November 2000 they played 2 Charity gigs at [[Bass Brewery|Bass]] Museum in Burton-on-Trent, before playing some more Christmas shows for their European fan clubs.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Collins|first=Jon|title=Separated Out Marillion History 1979-2002|publisher=Helter Skelter|year=2003|pages=175}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-08-01|title=morain.de|url=https://www.morain.de/Marillion/01Main-Topic03-Missing-Setlists-1999-2000.html}}</ref> Marillion needed a new strategy, and following the release of three albums via Castle, they came up with a novel approach for their next album.