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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Furthur
Coil Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
- And you better get me some LSD. Hurry then!
- I'll get... I'll get you some LSD.
(repeated)
From the film The Wizard of Gore:
- Are you certain you know what reality is?
- As it really is! (repeated)
- How do you know that in this second, you aren't asleep in your bed, dreaming that you are here in this theatre?
- All your life, your past, your rules of what can or cannot be: it all was part of one long dream from which you are about to awaken and discover the world - as it really is! (repeated)
Coil's song "Furthur" is a deeply symbolic and surreal exploration of the dark and mystical aspects of human existence. The opening lines, "This is the dark age of love" immediately set the tone for the song, invoking a sense of foreboding and uncertainty about the nature of love in a world consumed by darkness. The repeated request for LSD could be interpreted as a search for alternate meanings, a way to transcend the mundane and reach a higher level of understanding.
The references to The Wizard of Gore add another layer to the song's meaning, suggesting that reality itself is uncertain and that what we perceive as the world around us may not be entirely real. The repeated questions about what is real and how we know what reality is adds to this sense of instability, making us question what we take for granted as being true.
The final lines of the song, "All your life, your past, your rules of what can or cannot be: it all was part of one long dream from which you are about to awaken and discover the world - as it really is!" offer a glimmer of hope, suggesting that there may be a way to break free from the darkness that surrounds us and discover a deeper, truer reality.
Line by Line Meaning
This is the dark age of love
A time when love is scarce and difficult to find, representing a period of struggle and hardship.
And you better get me some LSD. Hurry then!
A plea for drugs as a means of escaping the difficulties of the dark age of love.
I'll get... I'll get you some LSD. (repeated)
A response to the plea for drugs, indicating a willingness to help obtain them.
What is real?
A philosophical question that challenges the viewer's perception of reality.
Are you certain you know what reality is?
A further challenge to the viewer's understanding of reality, urging them to reconsider their assumptions.
As it really is! (repeated)
An insistence that there is a true reality beyond our perceptions.
How do you know that in this second, you aren't asleep in your bed, dreaming that you are here in this theatre?
A reminder that our perceptions and experiences may not correspond to objective reality, as exemplified by the dream-like quality of the scene.
All your life, your past, your rules of what can or cannot be: it all was part of one long dream from which you are about to awaken and discover the world - as it really is! (repeated)
An assertion that our perceptions and beliefs have been shaped by illusions and that awakening to true reality requires shedding these illusions.
Contributed by Kylie J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.