Coil

Mo0zOoH, Dec 28, 2005

I dont know what else to say about Coil other than its one of the most prolific and talented bands in electronic music, ever, period. Thats it. You may like it or not, but these guys have influenced on and collaborated with a nice bunch of famous artists, such as Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, David Tibet of Current 93, Steven Stapleton of Nurse With Wound, Boyd Rice of NON, and many others. Their influence on the experimental music stage of the last twenty years (a clear heritage of the legendary Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV) is obvious, and many other artists and bands digging in this area state them and their work as innovative and inspirational.

Now when John Balance is dead and Coil cannot continue their wonderful experiments all we can do is to listen to their godly music and to introduce it to others who havent got acquainted with it yet, provided Coils style changed many times as they have explored different directions in electronic music, and almost anyone can find something appealing to him.

If you like classic industrial, then you should check out their 80s works such as Scatology (1984) and the brilliant Horse Rotorvator (1987). Also look for the Unnatural History antology releases which contain many of their early works.

If youre into techno or acid house, be sure to lay your hands over 1991s classic Loves Secret Domain, its follow-up Stolen and Contaminated Songs (1992) and one of their most dancey release ever, Windowpane & The Snow (1995).

Starting from that period (around 1995), their music became more and more experimental up to the point where you cant really define the style of a given release.

Some of them were drawn towards experimental industrial and dark ambient. The highlights here are A Thousand Lights in a Darkened Room (released under the Black Light District alias in 1996) and Time Machines (released under the Time Machines alias in 1998).

Then came the solar cycle EPs -- Spring and Autumn Equinoxes, Summer and Winter Solstices (from spring98 to winter98-99), where almost all tracks were done in different styles from droning dark ambient (Moons Milk, or Under an Unquiet Skull) to neo-folk (the ever-popular Amethyst Deceivers). Later all that EPs were released as Moons Milk (In Four Phases) (2002), which is a finest addition to any Coil collection, and a very good buy.

If you want soft and melancholic ambient to put your children to sleep with (just kidding!), try Astral Disaster (2000).

One of the most brilliant albums in Coil career was Musick to Play in the Dark, volumes one (1999) and two (2000). This one is a masterpiece, an absolutely must-have release for all experimental music lovers in the world. It incorporates Coils most innovative and beautiful soundscape techniques to date and is extremely complex and atmospheric, although not very industrial and therefore may not appeal to those who are used to Coils oldschool experiments. Even so, the albums sound is heavily drawn towards more abstract and ambient-alike electronics (and maybe IDM), while it still retains Coils approach to the sound.

From there on, most of their releases were the recordings of their live appearances from all over the world, sometimes accompanied with tour CDs and CDRs such as Constant Shallowness Leads to Evil (2000) and The Remote Viewer (2002).

The very last Coil studio album (and their last album ever) released more than a year after John Balances death, is The Ape of Naples (2005), which is another fine piece of music containing some soft, sometimes melancholic and generally friendly to a casual listener songs.

The last release I wanted to point your attention at is 2002s anthology release named The Golden Hair With a Voice of Silver, which is recommended to you if you want a more or less complete overview of Coils entire career in mere 133.5 minutes. Its a good album to start, and a very representative one: if you dont like it, chances are that you are still unable to derive that unearthly pleasure from Coils magick.

Happy listening.

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