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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Love
Coil Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Seduce.. let loose
The vision and the void
Blood sickle.. honey suck
In little children's heavy heads
My dreams erupt while in my bed
Innocence is dripping red
In dreams I walk with you
In dreams
You're mine
All of the time
Heads on fire and drunken lights
Days devoured by hungry nights
In love's secret domain
This is mad love
This is mad love
In love's secret domain
Sweet tortures fly on mystery wings
Pure evil is when flowers sing
My heart
My heart is a rose
This is mad love, Oh
This is mad love
In love's secret domain
Give sanity a longer leash
Some of us have sharper teeth
In love's secret domain
In dreams I walk with you..
In dreams I talk with you
In dreams..
You're mine
All of the time
Oh rose, Thou art sick
The invisible worm
The vision and the void
The blood sickle cuts
And the honey sucks
Oh rose, thou art sick.
The lyrics of Coil's Love's Secret Domain present a paradoxical representation of love as something that is simultaneously beautiful and sick. The first few lines of the song, "Oh rose, thou art sick, seduce... let loose," suggests that love is diseased and needs to be unleashed. The phrases "blood sickle... honey suck" and "pure evil is when flowers sing" further underscore the idea that love has a dark and potentially dangerous side. However, the repetition of "in dreams I walk with you, in dreams I talk with you" suggests that despite the madness of love, it remains a powerful force that can offer comfort and escape.
The lyrics also contain references to William Blake's poem "The Sick Rose" and to the mystical concept of the void. The phrase "the vision and the void" suggests an encounter with a higher power or consciousness beyond ordinary human experience. The lines "my heart is a rose" and "oh rose, thou art sick" serve as a metaphor for the human condition, which can be both beautiful and fragile. The final lines, "give sanity a longer leash/some of us have sharper teeth," suggest that sanity is something that must be carefully cultivated and maintained, and that some people are better equipped to handle the darker aspects of love than others.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh rose, thou art sick
The rose is a symbol of sickness and decay
Seduce.. let loose
Indulge and let go of restraint
The vision and the void
The emptiness inside of us
Blood sickle.. honey suck
The good and evil forces that exist together
In little children's heavy heads
Innocent minds are burdened with dark thoughts
My dreams erupt while in my bed
Nightmares haunt the singer's sleep
Innocence is dripping red
Even the purest things can become stained by evil
In dreams I walk with you
The artist longs for connection with a lover
In dreams I talk with you
Communication is impossible outside of dreams
In dreams
You're mine
All of the time
The artist is possessive of their dream lover
Heads on fire and drunken lights
Intense desire and reckless behavior
Days devoured by hungry nights
The artist is consumed by passion
In love's secret domain
The dark, hidden realm of love
This is mad love
The intensity of the singer's love is irrational and destructive
Sweet tortures fly on mystery wings
Painful pleasures are shrouded in mystery
Pure evil is when flowers sing
Even beauty can be corrupted and used for evil
My heart
My heart is a rose
This is mad love, Oh
This is mad love
The artist's heart is sick with irrational love
Give sanity a longer leash
Allow yourself to stay sane a little longer
Some of us have sharper teeth
Some people are better equipped to protect themselves
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Gabriela B
Disco Hospital 0:00
Teenage Lightning 1 2:18
Things Happen 4:07
The Snow 8:29
Dark River 15:10
Where Even the Darkness Is Something to See 21:40
Teenage Lightning 2 24:46
Windowpane 29:53
Further Back and Faster 36:07
Titan Arch 44:03
Chaostrophy 49:05
Lorca Not Orca 54:42
Love's Secret Domain 56:46
Gabriela B
Disco Hospital 0:00
Teenage Lightning 1 2:18
Things Happen 4:07
The Snow 8:29
Dark River 15:10
Where Even the Darkness Is Something to See 21:40
Teenage Lightning 2 24:46
Windowpane 29:53
Further Back and Faster 36:07
Titan Arch 44:03
Chaostrophy 49:05
Lorca Not Orca 54:42
Love's Secret Domain 56:46
James Guillory, The Irascible Humanslayer
Thank you for being a badass! :)
Nick Garza
space1oddity I love you my man
Dxm Zine
охуительно и очень необычно
Jose Gomez
Thanks
Maddy G
Nice pfp
haroldz2323
Great to know there's a new generation of coil fans
Alex Maur
My buddy showed me coil the other day and I'm shocked I never knew about them
Papaj³
Youtube does wonders - Teenage Lightning 2 was my recommendation in may of 2019, i've started to listen to them more often in january of 2020 and developed a DEEP connection with their music since then :)
Almeda Riddle
There always will be