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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Lorca Not Orca
Coil Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It will not harm you
It's only lightning
Teenage lightning
Don't be alarmed
It will not harm you
It's only lightning
Teenage lightning
Teenage lightning
Don't be frightened
It's only lightning
Teenage lightning
Teenage lightning
Teenage lightning
Don't be frightened
The lyrics of Coil's song "Lorca Not Orca" seem to be about a kind of teenage energy that can manifest as lightning. The repetition of the phrase "teenage lightning" throughout the song creates a sense of excitement and urgency, as though the lightning is a powerful force that should be respected but not feared.
The opening lines of the song, "Don't be alarmed/It will not harm you," suggest that the lightning is not meant to be a threat. Instead, it is a natural phenomenon that the listener is invited to embrace. This is reinforced later in the song when the singer reassures the listener, "Don't be frightened/It's only lightning/Teenage lightning."
Taken as a whole, the song could be interpreted as a celebration of youth and vitality. The lightning symbolizes the kind of creative energy that can be found in young people, and the lyrics seem to suggest that this energy should be harnessed and used for positive ends.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't be alarmed
There is no need to feel scared or uneasy
It will not harm you
There is no danger or risk involved
It's only lightning
The source of concern is just a natural phenomenon known as lightning
Teenage lightning
The lightning is characterized by its youthful, energetic nature
It's real, unbelievably real
The lightning is genuinely happening, and it is difficult to believe such a sight
Don't be frightened
There is no need to experience fear
It's only lightning
Once again, the cause of apprehension is the lightning
Teenage lightning
The lightning is still being described as youthful and energetic
Teenage lightning
Reiterating the nature of the lightning
Teenage lightning
One last time, emphasizing the lightning's character
Don't be frightened
A second instance of reassurance against the possibility of fear
Contributed by Emma F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Nature's Revenge
One of my favourite albums of all time. Love the cover art, the lyrics, the headfuck sound effects. Everything. Perfect.
Steeplerot
Great album, I remember the day it came out and how blown away I was.
Twain Driver
Pioneers. Still one of my favorite tracks of all time.
Marcus Åkerman
Is this inspired by Federico Garcia Lorca? I was reading about Leonard Cohen and found that his poetry was immensely inspirational to him. Then I remembered that Coil covered Cohen's Who By Fire on their first album Scatology. It's nice to see my "heroes" finding similar inspirations. :)
uraneus foe
amazing poet, it must be
The BW Gaming
Most likely
Twain Driver
One of my fav tracks of all time.
Legalize Cannibalism!
Thank you for all, Peter & Jhon. Thank you for all those years.
Ash Neuro
Hard to bealive that both John and Peter are no more...
sferic8
one of my last vinyl LP I've bought