Coil spent the next period of its existence exploring visual media. In late 1984 they recorded a rendition of Tainted Love (originally recorded by Gloria Jones, but made popular by Soft Cell in the 80s), producing a widely banned, hallucinogenic video clip featuring Marc Almond as the Angel of Death; despite considerable controversy at home, the video ultimately found its way to the archives of the Museum of Modern Art. After spending several years working with filmmaker Derek Jarman on the feature The Angelic Conversation, Coil issued a remixed edition of their soundtrack. Following 1986’s Nightmare Culture, a collaboration with Boyd Rice produced as split release with Current 93, Christopherson and Balance invited Stephen Thrower to join the group in a full-time capacity. As a trio, they recorded 1986’s LP Horse Rotorvator, introducing orchestral, jazz, and middle Eastern textures into the mix; this album included The Anal Staircase.
In 1987, Coil issued The Unreleased Themes for Hellraiser, a collection of atmospheric gothic instrumentals commissioned for but ultimately cut from the Clive Barker horror film, followed by compilation album Gold Is the Metal (With the Broadest Shoulders), a remixed history of the group’s first several years of work. Unnatural History, another career overview, effectively ended the first phase of the band’s career in 1990; when Coil resurfaced a year later with Love’s Secret Domain, their music reflected the strong influence of the acid house culture. Another long layoff brought on by financial difficulties ended in 1995, when the group - now consisting of Sleazy, Balance, and Drew McDowell - signed to Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor’s Nothing Records to release Backwards, an album which was never officially released, although it is available in a number of bootleg versions. Additionally, they recorded the LP Worship the Glitch, issued under the name ELpH, and in 1996 cut A Thousand Lights in a Darkened Room as Black Light District.
1998 marked a significant stylistic shift for Coil, as the group moved away from the industrial dance sound they pioneered in the first half of their career towards what Balance referred to as "Moon Musick". This began with the release of four seasonal EPs throughout that year, coinciding with the equinoxes and solstices; this marked the group making further forays into ambient and neoclassical styles. Lyrically, there was a push towards naturalistic, pagan imagery, and an emphasis on free form, improvisatory chants. All four of these releases were later collected and released as Moons Milk (in Four Phases) in 2002. Coil also put out a purely drone based project, Time Machines, under that alias the same year.
In 1999 Coil started to work with Thighpaulsandra, and with him released the chilling Musick to Play in the Dark, a dark, meditative work featuring mostly intoned vocals from Balance, and exploring deeper electronic textures and pitches. A second volume followed in 2000. After years of refusal to do so, Coil started to perform live again in 1999. They released a number of albums containing the various shows they did in the period 2000 - 2004. Coil have released a lot of material in very limited editions, and have distributed certain records only at concerts. In 2003 they started a project to re-issue these tracks. Amidst their sporadic touring, and growing internal tensions within the group, Black Antlers was released in 2004, consisting of many of the songs played in concert at the time. This would prove to be the last studio recording put out in Balance's lifetime.
Jhonn Balance’s long-time struggle with alcoholism led to his death on 13th November, 2004. He fell from the second floor window at his home, while drunk, and died a short time after. Coil’s last live performance took place at Dublin’s City Hall on 23 October 2004 and is expected to appear on the forthcoming DVD box set “Colour Sound Oblivion”. A number of songs that were (as good as) ready were released in autumn 2005 as a last farewell to Jhonn.
Peter Christopherson passed away peacefully in his sleep on November 25, 2010. Instead of sending flowers in memory of Peter Christopherson, people were asked to donate money to help children affected by AIDS in Thailand, the country he loved and died in.
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Christmas is Now Drawing Near
Coil Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Come serve the Lord and be at His command
And God a portion for you will provide
And give a blessing to your soul besides
Down in the garden where flowers grow in ranks
Down on your bended knees and give the Lord thanks
Down on your knees and pray both night and day
So proud and lofty is some sort of sin
Which many take delight and pleasure in
Whose conversation God doth much dislike
And yet He shakes His sword before He strikes
So proud and lofty do some people go
Dressing themselves like players in the show
They patch and paint and dress with idle stuff
As if God had not made them fine enough
Even little children learn to curse and swear
And can't rehearse one word of godly prayer
Oh teach them better, oh teach them to rely
On Christ the sinner's friend who reigns on high
The song "Christmas is Now Drawing Near in Hand" is a traditional Christmas carol that dates back to the 15th century. It begins with an invitation to serve the Lord and be at His command in preparation for Christmas. The song then mentions that God will provide for those who serve Him and bless their souls. The second verse encourages believers to give thanks to the Lord on their bended knees, pray day and night, and leave off their sins and live a blameless life. The third verse speaks against the sin of pride and how some people take pleasure in their lofty attitude, which God dislikes. God is depicted as shaking His sword before He strikes, meaning that He warns people of their wrongdoing before He punishes them. The final verse points out the problem of children learning to curse and swear instead of learning godly prayers, calling on adults to teach the younger generation to rely on Christ, who is the sinner's friend and reigns on high.
Line by Line Meaning
Christmas is now drawing near at hand
The holiday season of Christmas is approaching
Come serve the Lord and be at His command
Follow God's teachings and instructions
And God a portion for you will provide
God will provide for your needs
And give a blessing to your soul besides
In addition, God will bless your soul
Down in the garden where flowers grow in ranks
In the garden where the flowers bloom abundantly
Down on your bended knees and give the Lord thanks
Kneel down and show your gratitude to God
Down on your knees and pray both night and day
Pray to God both day and night
Leave off your sins and live upright I pray
Abstain from sinful ways and live a righteous life
So proud and lofty is some sort of sin
Certain types of sin are associated with arrogance
Which many take delight and pleasure in
People take pleasure in some sins
Whose conversation God doth much dislike
God dislikes the way these people talk
And yet He shakes His sword before He strikes
God warns of punishment before punishing for their wrongdoing
So proud and lofty do some people go
Some people are excessively proud and boastful
Dressing themselves like players in the show
They dress up as if putting on a performance
They patch and paint and dress with idle stuff
Their attire is frivolous and unnecessary
As if God had not made them fine enough
They act as if they need to further enhance their appearance despite being created beautifully by God
Even little children learn to curse and swear
Even children are exposed to crude language and profanity
And can't rehearse one word of godly prayer
However, they are unable to recite a single prayer to God
Oh teach them better, oh teach them to rely
It's important to educate and guide children to put their trust in
On Christ the sinner's friend who reigns on high
Jesus, the friend of sinners, who rules in Heaven
Contributed by Carson P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Calv
Merry Christmas Coil fans. May their music live on.
Problembeing
That's put me in the seasonal mood! R.I.P. SLEAZY & JHONN!!
Lovofofo
Merry Christmas time/Winter Solstace everybody, another year almost behind us. RIP
Max Matson
Thank you coil for the music that has changed my life and help me through many times! Merry Christmas "2019" rest in peace John and Peter!🙏✋✌
Matěj Jureček
Merry Christmas, let God be born in our hearts
graciaauguri
Happy Winter Solstice. You are deeply missed.
владимир кучер
боже-
-этого не будет больше никогда---Max Matson
Merry Christmas everyone! Rest in peace, John and Peter.😔🙏✋✌
Mariana Durán Fontecilla
Wanderfull...Magic!!!!!!!!!
Elise Rabbit
I'm so happy that I was able to find this!