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)
Repulsive
Velvet Acid Christ Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A nail surging in
Sewn up in powers
Sew it in your forehead
Repulsive, persuasion, forcing a god
A sea of traitors, bleed into my head
Lost in power of fate, sew your dead life
Always goes no sacrifice, no it's this power
Tired, traitor, insane a purple day
So I find you here
Caught in the middle of some stupid vice
Shooting your arms
And wrap it around your head
And put it down your throat
Deeper and deeper
Deeper and deeper
This is not a game
Get down on your four legs
Get down on your four legs
And show me what life is about
Show me the truth
Show me life and show me death
Whip me, shoot me, kill me
Stab me, punch me
Put it in my hair
Put it in your eyes
It's no surprise
Just sit back and show me what life is about
I have no clue, no mind
So you'll have to show me
And don't waste my time
I will not jump around in circles for you
You fucking bitch, die
I'll show you a psychopathic madman
All sewn into your eyeballs
Liquid acid
It's a broken form of disease
No closing push it for me
Now fuck for you, this disease
I'll fuck, I'll kill you, fucking sleaze
I'll push it, I'll push it closer
No, fall down forever
I'll push it closer, hide in your closet
Right down your neck, now freezing, freezing
Drink the poison so insane
Screaming, break down
The lyrics to Velvet Acid Christ's song "Repulsive" describe a person who is engaging in self-harm and destructive behavior. The individual is raping themselves of their own entity and seems to be in a state of desperation and seeking power. They are lost in a sea of traitors and are being forced by some unseen god. The song describes the person as being tired, insane, and caught in the middle of a foolish act.
The song suggests that the person has become addicted to self-harm and addictive behavior, as they are shooting their arms and putting objects in their hair, eyes and down their throat. The lyrics suggest that the person is seeking some kind of truth through these actions, but is ultimately lost and unable to find it.
Overall, the lyrics to "Repulsive" seem to explore the darker side of the human psyche and the ways in which people can become trapped in destructive patterns and behaviors.
Line by Line Meaning
Rape yourself of entity
Strip yourself of identity
A nail surging in
A painful feeling surging within
Sewn up in powers
Bound by forces beyond your control
Sew it in your forehead
Make it a part of your being
Repulsive, persuasion, forcing a god
A disgusting, forceful persuasion towards a god
A sea of traitors, bleed into my head
Being surrounded by untrustworthy people that affect your thoughts
Lost in power of fate, sew your dead life
Trapped in the inevitable course of life, sewing your own demise
Always goes no sacrifice, no it's this power
There is always power involved, sacrifices or not
Power fit in you, on you
Power is ingrained in you and affects you
Tired, traitor, insane a purple day
Being exhausted and feeling like a traitor, making the day feel surreal
So I find you here
Coming across you in this moment
Caught in the middle of some stupid vice
Trapped in the midst of a foolish addiction
Shooting your arms
Injecting drugs into your arms
And wrap it around your head
Putting the drug's effects around your mind
And put it down your throat
Consuming the drug
Deeper and deeper
Going further into the high
This is not a game
The situation is serious
Get down on your four legs
Get down on all fours
And show me what life is about
Demonstrate to me the true meaning of life
Show me the truth
Reveal the truth to me
Show me life and show me death
Exemplify both life and death to me
Whip me, shoot me, kill me
Inflict pain, shoot or even kill me
Stab me, punch me
Physically harm me
Put it in my hair
Involving the drug in every aspect of the body
Put it in your eyes
Using the drug to experience life in a different way
It's no surprise
It's not shocking
Just sit back and show me what life is about
Relax and showcase the meaning of life to me
I have no clue, no mind
Being lost and unclear about everything
So you'll have to show me
You are the one who needs to guide me
And don't waste my time
Don't take too long to show me
I will not jump around in circles for you
I won't waste my time for you
You fucking bitch, die
An expression of loathing towards someone
I'll show you a psychopathic madman
I will demonstrate extreme behavior
All sewn into your eyeballs
It's difficult to close one's eyes to reality
Liquid acid
A drug reference
It's a broken form of disease
The addiction is an illness that needs fixing
No closing push it for me
It's impossible to escape the addiction
Now fuck for you, this disease
Succumbing to the addiction
I'll fuck, I'll kill you, fucking sleaze
Vowing to harm someone
I'll push it, I'll push it closer
Intending to get in deeper into the addiction
No, fall down forever
Going down a destructive path
I'll push it closer, hide in your closet
Continuing to go deeper into the addiction while hiding it from others
Right down your neck, now freezing, freezing
The drug is having a chilling effect
Drink the poison so insane
Taking in the drug, even though it is harmful
Screaming, break down
Breaking down due to the effects of the drug
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Julian Cennamo
on Pain
This is a song about coping with failed relationships and a broken home. The lyricist has been triggered by a life event- most likely a breakup. The event is particularly tragic because it brings back haunting memories of fear and abandonment experienced in childhood.