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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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coil_(band)
Ostia
Coil Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the contours of the body
A sluggish golden river
A sickly golden trickle
A golden, sticky trickle
You can hear the bones humming
You can hear the bones humming
The body in the basin
In the shallow sea-plane basin
And the car reverses over
And his body rolls over
Crushed from the shoulder
You can hear the bones humming
Singing like a puncture
Singing like a puncture
Killed to keep the world turning
Killed to keep the world turning
Killed to keep the world turning
Throw his bones over
The white cliffs of Dover
And into the sea, the sea of Rome
And the bloodstained coast of Ostia
Leon like a lion
Sleeping in the sunshine
Lion lies down
Lion lies down
Out of the strong came forth sweetness
Out of the strong came forth sweetness
Throw his bones over
The white cliffs of Dover
And murder me in Ostia
And murder me in Ostia
The sea of Rome
And the bloodstained coast
And the car reverses over
The white cliffs of Dover
And into the sea, the sea of Rome
You can hear the bones humming
You can hear the bones humming
You can hear the bones humming
Throw his bones over
The white cliffs of Dover
And into the sea, the sea of Rome
And murder me in Ostia
The lyrics of Coil's song "Ostia" present a dark and eerie narrative that explores themes of death and violence. The opening lines of the song describe a sickly golden trickle of honey that runs through the contours of the body, creating a disturbingly vivid image of decay and decayed matter. As the song progresses, the lyrics become more and more graphic, painting a series of brutal scenes involving death and dismemberment.
Throughout the song, there is a recurring motif of bones humming, which seems to evoke the energy and vitality of life slowly seeping away. The image of a car reversing over a body is particularly haunting, as is the description of bones singing like a puncture. The final lines of the song bring a sense of closure, as the singer expresses a desire to be murdered in Ostia and have their bones thrown over the white cliffs of Dover.
Overall, the lyrics of "Ostia" are difficult to interpret, but seem to evoke a sense of existential dread and a fascination with the macabre. The themes of death and violence are explored in a way that is both visceral and poetic, creating a haunting and unforgettable listening experience.
Line by Line Meaning
There's honey in the hollows
Sweetness is found in the depths
And the contours of the body
And in the curves of the physical form
A sluggish golden river
A slow, flowing stream of gold
A sickly golden trickle
A weak and unhealthy flow of gold
A golden, sticky trickle
A thick and adhesive flow of gold
You can hear the bones humming
The sound of bones vibrating
You can hear the bones humming
The sound of bones vibrating
And the car reverses over
The vehicle backs up and runs over
The body in the basin
The corpse in a container
In the shallow sea-plane basin
Found in a beachside harbor with little depth
And the car reverses over
The vehicle backs up and runs over
And his body rolls over
And his corpse is crushed and thrown around
Crushed from the shoulder
His body was damaged in the upper arm area
You can hear the bones humming
The sound of bones vibrating
Singing like a puncture
Making a screeching sound like a tire burst
Killed to keep the world turning
Murdered to maintain the order of things
Killed to keep the world turning
Murdered to maintain the order of things
Killed to keep the world turning
Murdered to maintain the order of things
Throw his bones over
Discard his remains by tossing them
The white cliffs of Dover
The tall white chalky cliffs of the British coast
And into the sea, the sea of Rome
And into the waters near the Italian city
And the bloodstained coast of Ostia
And the place where violent acts took place
Leon like a lion
Leon, possibly a person, displaying strength like a lion
Sleeping in the sunshine
Resting peacefully in the warmth
Lion lies down
The strong individual takes a rest
Lion lies down
The strong individual takes a rest
Out of the strong came forth sweetness
Success resulting from resilience and strength
Out of the strong came forth sweetness
Success resulting from resilience and strength
Throw his bones over
Discard his remains by tossing them
The white cliffs of Dover
The tall white chalky cliffs of the British coast
And murder me in Ostia
And kill me in the place of violence
And murder me in Ostia
And kill me in the place of violence
The sea of Rome
The waters surrounding the Italian city
And the bloodstained coast
And the place marked with stains from violence
And the car reverses over
The vehicle backs up and runs over
The white cliffs of Dover
The tall white chalky cliffs of the British coast
And into the sea, the sea of Rome
And into the waters near the Italian city
You can hear the bones humming
The sound of bones vibrating
You can hear the bones humming
The sound of bones vibrating
You can hear the bones humming
The sound of bones vibrating
Throw his bones over
Discard his remains by tossing them
The white cliffs of Dover
The tall white chalky cliffs of the British coast
And into the sea, the sea of Rome
And into the waters near the Italian city
And murder me in Ostia
And kill me in the place of violence
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
ZimUnknown
There's honey in the hollows
And the contours of the body
A sluggish golden river
A sickly golden trickle
A golden, sticky trickle
You can hear the bones humming
You can hear the bones humming
And the car reverses over
The body in the basin
In the shallow sea-plane basin
And the car reverses over
And his body rolls over
Crushed from the shoulder
You can hear the bones humming
Singing like a puncture
Singing like a puncture
Killed to keep the world turning
Killed to keep the world turning
Killed to keep the world turning
Throw his bones over
The white cliffs of Dover
And into the sea, the sea of Rome
And the bloodstained coast of Ostia
Mio fratello è figlio unico
I live in Ostia, Rome, and this song brings to my mind the sea where I live near to, the apartments and the wind that blows in a cold November night. Incredible piece, so strong for me, Ostia is a neighborhood with a lot of problems, mafia and bad administration, but otherwise is my home, full of kind people and I will never leave this place.
David
Love your comment. This song reminds me of 'Via franciscana' the pilgrims path from Dover to Rome. This song is one of my favourites.
Michał Michał
Whenever I hear Ostia, I see an ancient port of the Roman Empire, I don't even think it's a place where people live. When I read your comment, I realized how silly it is.
barf simpson
Very touching comment. Adds another layer of context to an already incredibly atmospheric song.
TheProbewizard
Non era un comune sciolto per mafia?
Mio fratello è figlio unico
@TheProbewizard si esatto, inoltre è gestito amministrativamente come uno dei tanti quartieri di Roma, nonostante il grande numero di residenti.
Eschaton Immanentizer
Nobody can mix sinister with beauty together as well as COIL does.
Maria Dvinskaya
Trueeeeeeee
Eschaton Immanentizer
@Maria Dvinskaya I wonder what I was doing six years ago?
Tunguska Lumberjack
COIL is my all time favorite band, since I first heard them in 1989. It was this album, actually, and I found it with a friend of mine at a small record store in NYC- neither of us had heard of them, but we were looking for something new and different, and upon seeing that it contained a song called The Anal Staircase, we knew that we were in for a treat. Years later, after having most of their available discography in my collection, a different friend gifted me a copy of Horse Rotorvator on clear yellow vinyl, and it was my most prized possession. Unfortunately years later, I had to sell it when desperate for money, and I’ve been kicking myself ever since. Honestly, not a day goes by that I don’t regret that decision. I listen to this song every night around 2AM, as the kickoff to my evening’s reading in bed until I fall asleep, and have done the same every night for about the last year. It’s such a richly and beautifully layered piece of work, by turns gorgeous and disturbing, and since I don’t have the big expensive stereo to listen to it on anymore (and it would be too loud for everyone else at this hour anyway), I listen to it at just above half volume on a really good pair of headphones in order to catch every sound. Well- Sorry to have left such a long comment- I just really love this song, and thought that someone might enjoy reading that. Thanks for sticking it out to the end, and double thanks for posting this and making it so easy for me to access. Have a great night!🖤