Alien Sex Fiend recorded a cassette (The Lewd, the Mad, the Ugly and Old Nick) with Youth of Killing Joke, which brought them to the attention of the UK music press, along with the appearance of their track "R.I.P." on the Batcave club compilation, The Batcave: Young Limbs and Numb Hymns 1983, released by London Records in 1983.
They signed to the Cherry Red sub-label Anagram Records, releasing their first single, "Ignore the Machine", in August 1983. The single was immediately successful on the UK Independent Chart, reaching No. 6. Their debut studio album, Who's Been Sleeping in My Brain, was released by Anagram on 1 November 1983, followed by Acid Bath in 1984. They released the world's first 11" single, "E.S.T. (Trip to the Moon)", that October.
The band also recorded two BBC Peel Sessions in 1984. At the May session, they recorded "Attack!!!", "Dead and Buried", "Ignore the Machine" and "Hee Haw"; at the August session, "In God We Trust", "E.S.T. (Trip to the Moon)" and "Boneshaker Baby".
In October 1985, their third studio album Maximum Security reached No. 100 on the UK Albums Chart and remained there for the week of 12 October. They also had two top 100 singles with "Dead and Buried" in August 1984 (No. 91) and a reissued "Ignore the Machine" in March 1985 (No. 99). Throughout the early 1980s, their work was frequently in the UK Indie Chart and remained a fixture on American college radio.
The band also became popular in Japan, and in 1985, they released a live album recorded there, Liquid Head in Tokyo. Freshwater left later in 1985, and the band continued as a trio, supporting Alice Cooper on his "The Nightmare Returns" tour in 1986 and releasing "It" the Album that October. The band was reduced to a duo of the Wades when James left following the release of 1987's Here Cum Germs.
In early 1988, the band, as the Dynamic Duo, recorded a one-off 12" single "Batman Theme" with recording and live engineer Len Davies, before continuing as Alien Sex Fiend, incorporating electronics and sampling even more into their sound on the album Another Planet, released in November 1988. They reverted to a four-piece with the 1989 addition of two prior guest collaborators, drummer/guitarist Andrew Wilson (a.k.a. Rat Fink Jr., formerly of the Turnpike Cruisers) and keyboardist/guitarist Simon "Doc" Milton, who made their official debut on that year's Too Much Acid? double-live album. Their seventh studio album, Curse, was released in October 1990.
Fink and Milton departed in 1992, following that year's Open Head Surgery album and its subsequent tour (documented on The Altered States of America live album).
The Wades then became a duo once again and provided the soundtrack for the Digital Image Design game Inferno in 1994.
In the mid 1990s, the band's video for "Zombified" appeared on the MTV show, Beavis and Butthead, subjected to their usual commentary.
In 1996, the Wades launched their own 13th Moon label, issuing three further albums: Nocturnal Emissions (1997), Information Overload (2004) and Death Trip (2010).
On 9 November 2018, Alien Sex Fiend released Possessed, their first album in eight years, on Cherry Red.
Music style
Alien Sex Fiend has been described as gothic rock, deathrock and industrial. Glenn Danzig has cited the group's sonorous and echoing sounds as having influenced the mixing for several of the recordings for his group Samhain.
Later projects
Fink published a book in 2000, Once Upon a Fiend, recalling his experiences in the band. He later drummed for Blackpool bands United States of Mind and Dog Food before joining Uncle Fester in 1999, who changed their name to UFX in 2006. Fink currently serves as frontman of Vince Ripper and the Rodent Show, a duo also featuring Vince "Ripper" Cornwall. They perform Alien Sex Fiend and the Cramps material, and have released two albums, It's Fun to Be a Monster and Boneyard a Go Go!!!.
Albums
Who's Been Sleeping in My Brain (1983)
Acid Bath (1984)
Maximum Security (1985)
"It" the Album (1986)
Here Cum Germs (1987)
Another Planet (1988)
Curse (1990)
Open Head Surgery (1992)
Inferno (1994)
Nocturnal Emissions (1997)
Information Overload (2004)
Death Trip (2010)
Possessed (2018)
I Walk the Line
Alien Sex Fiend Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
This apple's rotten, rotten to the core
Get up, get up, off your knees
Get down, get down, on the floor!
I walk the line
I walk the line
I walk the line
Between good and evil
My business is a little cloak and dagger
I drink so much I don't walk I merely stagger!
No you wouldn't listen & I don't blame you
No I don't blame ya!
I walk the line
I walk the line
I walk the line
I walk the line
Between good & evil
My rent is 65 a day
I can't move
You know that's the price you pay
Is life all in vain?
Starts off in my arm
Opens up my brain
I'm already in the gutter -
Next stop is the drain!
I walk the line
I walk the line
I walk the line
I walk the line
Between good and evil
Live fast, die young
Live fast, die young
I walk the line
Evil
I walk the line
I walk the line
I walk the line
I walk the line
Between good and evil
While others have been thinking about it - I've been there and back
I walk the line
I walk the line
I walk the line
I walk the line
Between good and evil
The lyrics to Alien Sex Fiend's song "I Walk the Line" describe the singer's constant internal struggle between good and evil. They proclaim that they "walk the line" between the two, indicating that they do not fully belong to either one. The phrase "this apple's rotten, rotten to the core" implies that the singer's situation is beyond repair, and that they are aware of their own corruption. The next line, "get up, get up, off your knees, get down, get down, on the floor," seems to be a call to action, encouraging others to stop submission and join in the singer's sense of rebellion.
The lyrics are full of references to the singer's hard-living lifestyle, from their cloak-and-dagger business to their excessive drinking. The lines "my rent is 65 a day, I can't move, you know that's the price you pay" depict the singer as trapped in their way of life, unable to escape the cycle of addiction and desperation. The final lines, "live fast, die young, evil," suggest a recklessness and fatalism in the singer's attitude.
Overall, the lyrics to "I Walk the Line" paint a picture of desperate rebellion and internal turmoil. The singer is aware of their own corruption but unable to break free from their destructive habits.
Line by Line Meaning
I walk the line between good and evil
I balance my actions between what is considered good and evil.
This apple's rotten, rotten to the core
There is something fundamentally wrong or corrupt in this situation.
Get up, get up, off your knees
Stand up for yourself and take charge of your life.
Get down, get down, on the floor!
Be humble and submit to authority.
My business is a little cloak and dagger
I conduct my affairs with a level of secrecy and deception.
I drink so much I don't walk I merely stagger!
I consume alcohol to the point of losing control over my own body.
No you wouldn't listen & I don't blame you
I understand why you did not heed my advice and I do not hold it against you.
My rent is 65 a day
I have a high cost of living that I must constantly pay to sustain my way of life.
Is life all in vain?
Is there any true purpose or meaning to life?
Starts off in my arm
The drug use begins in my arm with injection.
Opens up my brain
The drug use affects my mind and alters my perception of reality.
I'm already in the gutter - Next stop is the drain!
I am already in a bad place and if I do not change my ways, things will only get worse.
Live fast, die young
I embrace a reckless lifestyle that may result in my untimely death.
Evil
I am fully aware and accepting of my darker, more malevolent nature.
While others have been thinking about it - I've been there and back
While others have been contemplating taking risks, I have already been through those experiences and back again.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Johnny Cash
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind