Current Members:
Bryan Erickson (a.k.a. Hexfix93, Disease Factory) - lead vocals, composition, guitar, lyrics, mixing, production, various
Early projects, early changes, and first albums (1990–1995)
In the early 1990s, Erickson and Grigory, both residents of Colorado, brought together their shared interest in creating music to record a series of demos. With the addition of Gary Slaughter and Chris Workman, the group attempted several bands, including Disease Disco Factory, a parody of then-popular Dance group C+C Music Factory. Following a turbulent period for Erickson and Slaughter, Workman left the group. Slaughter and Erickson experimented with two new side-projects, Cyber Christ and Vortex. Cyber Christ explored a harsh and melancholy sound that was a sharp contrast to the group's other projects. When Erickson discovered that the term "Cyber Christ" had been used in the 1992 film The Lawnmower Man, he renamed the band Velvet Acid Christ in honor of a bad acid trip. The Vortex project was merged into Velvet Acid Christ to form one body of work.
In 1994, Workman returned to assist with the band's self-produced gothic-styled demo tape, Fate. Given encouraging response from friends, the band followed up with other self-produced albums, 1994's Pestilence, a dance-oriented album, and 1995's Neuralblastoma, a harder-sounding album.
Erickson, along with friends and minor contributors Steve Bird and Dan Olson, started the brief-lived record label Electro Death Trip (EDT) Records to better promote these recordings. In 1995, the three began distributing hand-made CD copies of Fate, Pestilence, and Neuralblastoma for resale in local music shops.
Label interest, touring, and a troubled rise (1996–2000)
Slaughter and Workman temporarily left the band during the first half of 1996 as Erickson continued the project alone, handing out copies of Velvet Acid Christ's recordings to industry representatives, including musician Bill Leeb of industrial pioneer Front Line Assembly. Leeb passed the music to Thorsten Stroht, a media promoter with European label Off-Beat Records. Off-Beat A&R negotiated a deal with the band.
For their first Off-Beat release, the group submitted 1996's Church of Acid, a compilation of selected tracks from Velvet Acid Christ's first three albums with an additional two new tracks, Disflux and Futile. Church of Acid was well received in Europe, and Futile became a regularly played track in many nightclubs across the continent. In 1997, United States label Pendragon Records released Church of Acid in America, though the two new tracks were removed due to a lack of trademark clearance for television samples used in the songs.
The band's next album, Calling Ov the Dead, was rejected by Off-Beat for not sounding edgy enough, prompting Slaughter's permanent departure. With the assistance of Bird and Olson, the band addressed the label's concerns and released Calling Ov the Dead in late 1997, with American distribution following through Pendragon in 1998. In the process, Erickson had accumulated a substantial financial debt.
With a line-up consisting of Erickson, Stroht and German musician Ingo Beitz, the band toured Europe in 1998 with Off-Beat label-mate Suicide Commando, which attracted the attention of Metropolis Records, the largest industrial label in United States. The parent label of Pendragon, Metropolis distributed the album Neuralblastoma, as a partnership that would endure.
Velvet Acid Christ spent the majority of 1999 in the studio, first collaborating with Germany's Funker Vogt on a remix EP entitled Velvet Acid Christ Vs Funker Vogt: The Remix Assault, then shifting to Velvet Acid Christ's next full-length recording, Fun With Knives. With Workman an occasional contributor, Erickson sought production assistance on Fun With Knives from the bands Luxt and 4th New Army. Fun with Knives, released by Metropolis and new Off-Beat sub-label dependent, became the band's best-selling album. Sales were propelled by the singles Decypher and Fun with Drugs, and by the track Slut, which featured vocals from Luxt's Anna Christine.
In spite of the success of the band, stress had led Erickson into depression and increased drug abuse, which channeled into the creation of the band's next album, Twisted Thought Generator. Simultaneously, the band toured Europe with industrial acts Project X and Stromkern and toured the United States and Canada with bands Din_Fiv and Haujobb. The line-up of the band during this period was unstable. Workman, citing a conversion to Christianity, resigned from the band with a request that his name be retracted from all previous albums. The first leg of the European tour consisted of Erickson, Bird and Stroht; the second leg, Erickson and Olson. The North American tour was performed by Erickson, Stroht and drummer Paul Lipman. With various contributors, Erickson completed Twisted Thought Generator. Due to lingering disputes, he withdrew the band from Dependent Records and submitted the album to Metropolis.
A change of pace, new early material, and beyond (2001– present)
Erickson placed Velvet Acid Christ on a short hiatus in 2001, as he abandoned his dependence on drugs in favour of exercise and a vegan raw foodist diet. Newly clean, Erickson created the 2003 album Hex Angel: Utopia/Dystopia. Though critical response was mixed, Hex Angel: Utopia/Dystopia ranked #1 on Germany's Deutsche Alternative Charts (DAC) for four weeks after its release, and the album's single Pretty Toy reached #18 on the Billboard Alternative Chart during the same year. The album also marked the band's short-lived return to Dependent Records.
Erickson spent 2004 releasing and reissuing some of Velvet Acid Christ's earliest material. With the four-volume compilation series Between the Eyes, the band published a collection of its singles and B-sides, then followed with subsequent re-releases of Fate (Vol. 2), Pestilence (Vol. 3), and Neuralblastoma (Vol. 4). The band also offered free MP3 downloads of Dimension 8 and Oblivion Interface on its website until early 2005. Dimension 8, which had been available as a hidden bonus on Twisted Thought Generator, and Oblivion Interface (informally known as Between the Eyes, Vol. 5) provided fans with previously unheard work from the Cyber Christ-Vortex era of 1991–1994.
In 2005, Erickson collaborated with guitarist Todd Loomis on a new album, Lust for Blood, which was released on September 26, 2006. With Lust for Blood, the crew labored intensively to create a new overall sound while maintaining the band's original characteristics. Following its release, Lust for Blood ranked at the top of Germany's DAC for four weeks; the album's single release, Wound, ranked on the DAC's singles chart for eight weeks and held the #1 position for four weeks.
In 2009, Erickson began to create the next LP with minimal input from Loomis this time when he was working on his project The Twilight Garden. The result was The Art of Breaking Apart, released October 27, 2009. This LP was a tribute to bands like Current 93 and Death in June and brought VAC many new fans while making the others angry at the new direction of the music.
In 2010–2011, Bryan Erickson teamed up with William Anderson of Louisiana. William did a ton of sampling, and Bryan made a bunch of VAC B-sides that turned into Toxic Coma tracks. The project had a revolving door of members, again Bryan being the main constant. They released a LP entitled Satan Rising under Toxic Coma on Metropolis Records. It fused the techno sound of Fun With Knives and the brutal black humor of Toxic Coma. Erickson then began to write more music for future VAC LPs.
In October 2012, Velvet Acid Christ released their tenth LP entitled Maldire. The release marked a return to the dark electronic sound. Erickson formed a live band and toured extensively (2012-2014) to support the album. The latest album entitled Subconscious Landscapes was released October 28, 2014. A remastered Greatest Hits compilation was released by Metropolis Records on May 6, 2016.
Discography:
Studio Albums
1994 - Fate
1994 - Pestilence
1995 - Neuralblastoma
1997 - Calling Ov the Dead
1999 - Fun With Knives
2000 - Twisted Thought Generator
2003 - Hex Angel (Utopia/Dystopia)
2006 - Lust for Blood
2009 - The Art of Breaking Apart
2012 - Maldire
2014 - Subconscious Landscapes
Compilations / Demos / EPs / Singles
1992 - Oblivion Interface (demo re-released in 2004)
1993 - Dimension 8 (demo re-released in 2000)
1996 - Church of Acid (1994-1995 compilation)
1998 - Neuralblastoma (1994-1995 compilation)
1999 - Fun With Razors (remix EP)
1999 - Decipher (maxi-single)
1999 - Fun With Drugs (maxi-single)
1999 - The Remix Wars: Strike 4: Funker Vogt vs. Velvet Acid Christ (remix EP)
2001 - Dial 8 (maxi-single)
2003 - Pretty Toy (maxi-single)
2004 - Between the Eyes Vol. 1 (singles compilation)
2004 - Between the Eyes Vol. 2 (re-release of Fate)
2004 - Between the Eyes Vol. 3 (re-release of Pestilence)
2004 - Between the Eyes Vol. 4 (re-release of Neuroblastoma)
2006 - Wound (maxi-single)
2009 - Caustic Disco (maxi-single)
2016 - Greatest Hits (remastered compilation)
Ominous Rattle
Velvet Acid Christ Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
wake up in the world to the tv gun battles
sitting on fire pursued by the cattle
mesmerized by the ominous rattle
tempted by the fear monger prattle
wake up in the world to the tv gun battles
mesmerized by the ominous rattle
tempted by the fear monger prattle
sheeple scream demand my life
sheeple forget to respect all life
sheeple eat themselves to their early grave
only to suffer and fear being gay
sheeple eat themselves to their early grave
only to suffer and fear being gay
fear on the radio
fear on the tv show
fear on the religious mind
fear is just a waste of time
terrified victimized
polarized neutralized
terrorized blinded eyes
The song "Ominous Rattle" by Velvet Acid Christ is a commentary on the current state of the world and how we are bombarded by fear, violence, and propaganda through media. The lyrics depict waking up to a world filled with TV gun battles, fire, cattle, and fear mongers. The ominous rattle and prattle are metaphors for the constant noise of fear and propaganda that surrounds us, tempting us to fall into the trap of being afraid and losing sight of what's important.
The chorus repeats the same vivid imagery of sitting on fire pursued by cattle, mesmerized by the ominous rattle, and tempted by the fear monger prattle to drive home the point that no matter how we try to ignore it, the noise of fear and violence is still all around us. The song also highlights the dangers of herd mentality, with the line "sheeple forget to respect all life," emphasizing how easy it is to get caught up in the current of fear and forget our ability to think for ourselves.
In the second half of the song, the lyrics also touch on the role of media in creating fear and polarization, with fear being a "waste of time." The final lines of the song, "terrorized blinded eyes," suggest that the constant barrage of fear and propaganda has caused us to lose sight of what's important and turned us into a society of people who are polarized, neutralized and victimized.
Line by Line Meaning
I've got to wake up
The singer must become aware of the world around them.
wake up in the world to the tv gun battles
The singer acknowledges the prevalence of gun violence in the media.
sitting on fire pursued by the cattle
The singer feels trapped in society's expectations and fears.
mesmerized by the ominous rattle
The artist is fascinated by the constant fear-mongering in the media.
tempted by the fear monger prattle
The artist is drawn to the sensationalized, fear-based messaging of certain media outlets.
sheeple scream demand my life
The singer feels threatened by those who blindly follow societal norms.
sheeple forget to respect all life
The singer believes that those who follow the herd mentality disregard the value of all living beings.
sheeple eat themselves to their early grave
The artist sees the destructive consequences of conforming to societal expectations.
only to suffer and fear being gay
The artist recognizes the societal pressure to conform to heteronormative standards and the suffering that comes with it.
fear on the radio
The artist acknowledges the prevalence of fear-based messaging on the radio.
fear on the tv show
The singer acknowledges the prevalence of fear-based messaging on television.
fear on the religious mind
The artist recognizes the fear-based messaging that can be present in religious ideology.
fear is just a waste of time
The singer believes that fear is unproductive and detrimental to progress.
terrified victimized
The singer recognizes the harm that fear can cause, leading to people becoming victims of circumstance.
polarized neutralized
The singer acknowledges the loss of autonomy that comes with conforming to polarizing societal expectations.
terrorized blinded eyes
The artist believes that fear can cause individuals to lose sight of the truth and become blinded by their own preconceptions.
Contributed by Makayla R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@ThalamusMinimus
this has such awesome LYRICS:
[[ I've got to wake up ]]
wake up in the world to the tv gun battles
sitting on fire pursued by the cattle
mesmerized by the ominous rattle
tempted by the fear monger prattle
wake up in the world to the tv gun battles
sitting on fire pursued by the cattle
mesmerized by the ominous rattle
tempted by the fear monger prattle
sheeple scream demand my life
sheeple forget to respect all life
sheeple eat themselves to their early grave
only to suffer and fear being gay
sheeple eat themselves to their early grave
only to suffer and fear being gay
fear on the radio
fear on the tv show
fear on the religious mind
fear is just a waste of time
terrified victimized
polarized neutralized
terrorized blinded eyes
@dusankudela1557
my new alarm clock sound
@youtubeistrash953
Perfect video music combo. Been loving this for years
@cragogre66
Brilliant. The album this track is from 'Maldire' is bloody brilliant. Love VAC.
@ThatUmbrellaGuy
I missed VAC, glad to have it back
@TheNyteChyld
Goes awesome with In The Company of Wolves. Strange band with a Strange Movie, perfect
@ThatUmbrellaGuy
nice video, one of my favs off the new album. thanks for the upload, i can pimp it on friends now
@grimer6
The Company of Wolves
@tylerperkinson1677
grimer6 thankee sai
@tylerperkinson1677
Or is it In The Company of Wolves?
@johannordgren603
Vac best song so far and ihave listen alot on vac.