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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Sicktone
Coil Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Control today. They're very effective.
- They're very pretty.
- Are you bothered?
- Stop! Stop! (and incoherent yelling)
- Leave me alone!
(Incoherent yelling)
- Get it out, get it out, get it out, get it out, get it
Out!
- No!
- Get... it... out! I want tits out!
(Indecipherable mumbling)
The lyrics of Coil's song "Sicktone" seem to evoke a feeling of frustration and anger towards a system of control that the singer has been witnessing. The first two lines sarcastically compliment the effectiveness and beauty of the forms of control that they have observed. The repetition of "They're very" emphasizes this sarcastic tone. The third line, "Are you bothered?", seems to express a sense of frustration and hopelessness towards the situation, as if the singer is questioning whether anyone cares about the negative effects of this control.
The following lines become more chaotic, with incoherent yelling and growling. The command to "Stop!" could be directed at either the system of control or towards the singer's own emotions. The repetition of "Leave me alone!" seems to express a desire for autonomy and freedom from the trappings of control. The phrase "get it out" is repeated multiple times, potentially referencing a desire to expel something that is causing distress. The words "I want tits out" at the end could be interpreted as a demand for the release of pent-up energy or frustration, or as a comment on society's objectification of female bodies.
Overall, the lyrics of "Sicktone" seem to express a visceral reaction to a suffocating and oppressive system of control, with a focus on raw emotion rather than coherent narrative.
Line by Line Meaning
We've been witnessing your many and varied forms of
Control today. They're very effective.
We have been observing your different ways of manipulating us today. They seem to work well.
They're very pretty.
They are aesthetically pleasing.
Are you bothered?
Do you care about our reaction to your actions?
Stop! Stop! (and incoherent yelling)
Cease your actions immediately! (Accompanied by indistinguishable screaming).
Leave me alone!
I desire to be left without additional attention or disturbance.
(incoherent growled words repeated three times)
Guttural noises of distress or anxiety repeated thrice.
(Incoherent yelling)
Unintelligible screaming or shouting.
Get it out, get it out, get it out, get it out, get it
Out!
I need this out of me, immediately and repeatedly.
No!
Strong refusal or denial.
Get... it... out! I want tits out!
Remove this from me - I want my breasts to be seen.
(Indecipherable mumbling)
Unintelligible and unclear speech.
Contributed by Caroline K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.