Since 1985 they have been my 'occult' eye, guiding me into hitherto unknown territories of music and magick or wild obsidian nightmares and obtuse teachings. I've met some great people along the way, and swapped and traded many a 'rare' disc or live show with wonderful and generous people from all walks of life, all sharing my obsession, living scattered lives across the globe.
There really has been nobody to step up and fill their boots, nobody gives me quite the thrill Coil gave me, whether it was a new recording, or the chance to catch them 'live'. There was always something very special about their approach. The efforts were often never less than astounding, they could like as not often be baffling and obtuse, often for it's own sake. Always keeping one step ahead of the pack, they seemed to take a perverse joy in wrong footing fans and critics alike, releasing almost unlistenable 'Power Electronics' after softly lulling us with beautific ambient Drones. Albums were wrapped up in their own occluded meanings forcing the listener to return time and again to unpick the coded ciphers and coda's of the music or lyrics. They always kept you guessing, you could never be sure what they were up to. They saw no shame in being elitist, with some releases being either incredibly limited and therefore hard to come by, hence the 'swapsies', or unfeasibly expensive, often with artifacts or artworks done by band members themselves. As I said, I still miss them, and if you do to, here's a couple of great shows. The'Barbian - Play Festival is one I recorded myself, the other ended up as part of the 'Live' series, I think it was ''Live Four - Prague and Vienna' , but don't quote me on that.
Coil - Live Palace Acropolis - Czech Republic Prague 27/10/2002
Coil - Live 'Only Connect - Play Festival/Game On/Only Connect Barbican 27/04/2002
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