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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Sun Ascension
Coil Lyrics
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Which have no correspondence with true sight!
Or, if they have, where is my judgment fled,
That censures falsely what they see aright?
If that be fair whereon my false eyes dote,
What means the world to say it is not so?
If it be not, then love doth well denote
Love's eye is not so true as all men's 'No.'
That is so vex'd with watching and with tears?
No marvel then, though I mistake my view;
The sun itself sees not till heaven clears.
O cunning Love! with tears thou keep'st me blind,
Lest eyes well-seeing thy foul faults should find.
The lyrics of Coil's "Sun Ascension" are actually a sonnet by William Shakespeare. The sonnet is an introspective inquiry on the nature of love and its ability to distort our perception of reality. The singer of the sonnet is lamenting about the love that has blinded him, clouding his vision and making him see things that aren't there. He is struggling to reconcile the disparity between what his heart feels and what his mind knows to be true. The singer is questioning the authenticity of his own judgment, wondering if he is seeing reality as it is or if he is only seeing what he wants to see. He is frustrated and confused by the contradictory nature of love, which can make something appear beautiful even when it is not.
The singer then turns his attention to the nature of love itself. He questions how love can be true when it is characterized by so much pain and sorrow. Love, he decides, is not a reliable source of truth because its vision is marred by emotion. The sonnet concludes with the singer lamenting the power of love to keep him blinded to its faults, suggesting that love is a cunning force that defies reason.
Line by Line Meaning
O me, what eyes hath Love put in my head,
Love has given me new eyes that do not correspond with reality.
Which have no correspondence with true sight!
These new eyes do not perceive things as they truly are.
Or, if they have, where is my judgment fled,
If my new eyes can see things correctly, why am I unable to use my own judgment?
That censures falsely what they see aright?
Why do I make false judgments when my new eyes see things correctly?
If that be fair whereon my false eyes dote,
If my new eyes find something beautiful, is it truly beautiful or not?
What means the world to say it is not so?
If my new eyes find something beautiful but others say it is not, who is right?
If it be not, then love doth well denote
If what I see is not truly beautiful, then love's eyes are not as reliable as others' eyes.
Love's eye is not so true as all men's 'No.'
Love's eyes may not always see things as they truly are, despite the opinions of others.
How can it? O, how can Love's eye be true,
How can love's eyes be trusted when they are clouded with tears and emotion?
That is so vex'd with watching and with tears?
Love's eyes are full of tears and are constantly watching, making it difficult to clearly see reality.
No marvel then, though I mistake my view;
It's no wonder that I sometimes misunderstand or misinterpret what I see with these new eyes.
The sun itself sees not till heaven clears.
Even the sun needs clear skies to truly see and understand the world.
O cunning Love! with tears thou keep'st me blind,
Love purposefully keeps me in the dark with my new eyes so that I cannot see its flaws.
Lest eyes well-seeing thy foul faults should find.
Love fears that my true eyes will see its flaws and imperfections and seeks to keep them hidden.
Contributed by Owen I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.