Coil – Scatology

Does anyone know why the page says the album was released in 1985 but the first set of versions say 1984? Mmm?

To start with, "Scatology" is a perfect piece of evidence in where early Psychic TV's true remains are; the genius and the enigma of John Balance and Peter Sleazy Christopherson with all the madness in between is what makes this, their debut album, in many ways a disturbingly fascinating listen. If you listen closely, "Force Thee Hand Ov Chance" and especially "Dreams Less Sweet" are more "Coil", the way the soothing and the more menacing bits of music are juxtaposed do suggest... In that, "Scatology" is an interesting "crossover" record, ideally fitting back in with the 1983/84-era Psychic TV just the same. And while Psychic TV continued along the way with varying degrees of experimentation in years that followed, Coil stayed strict and loyal to their own philosophy and how it evolved to great effect start to finish ("finish" meaning the duo's sad and abrupt ending, first with John Balance's tragic ing and then Sleazy's).

It can also be viewed as a collection of works in progress (several pieces do sound like well crafted unfinished studio recordings ("At The Heart Of It All" as an example, also appeared at the time in Derek Jarman's "Angelic Conversation", for which Coil delivered a stellar soundtrack) - a "compilation" that kickstarted one of the most consistently excellent discographies in the history of avant-garde music. The very title immediately causes a stir, Coil were living their own dark dream and never side-stepped for a bit, mentally and physically devoted to the sheer vision of life's beauties in the grotesque and, to an average mind, in the repulsive. Of many dark-sounding groups that graced the underground scene in that golden age of post-punk, Coil provided with a true template, staying unpretentious to the core. "Scatology" is their rawest self, openly attacking the senses, accentuated in their anti-religious statements; to name a few - "Cathedral In Flames", "Panic" and especially in "Godhead ⇔ Deathead"; try singing "Virgin Mary weak and wild rids herself of an unwanted child" without imagining your very tongue falling out of the mouth, bleeding. Such a powerful statement, equaling PiL's amazingly nihilistic "Religion", a brutal disclosure of corporate religion and social hypocrisy.

The element of horror is further evident in pieces like "The Tenderness Of Wolves" (featuring creepy guest vocals from Gavin Friday, the piece very much fitting in with Virgin Prunes' own experiments at the time) and "Ubu Noir", a frenetic opener using sampled bits from Alfred Jarry. Equally violent and merciless are "The Spoiler" and "Solar Lodge" while the album's ideal centre-piece - "The Sewage Worker's Birthday Party", according to the album's liner notes, inspired by a homoerotic story from the magazine "Mr. S/M", doesn't feature a vocal narration but the raw sounding drone and soaking sounds provides with an effectively disturbing storyline.

If Pasolini ever survived into the 80s, he would have certainly worked with them - because once you hold your breath and try and see his ultimate brutal masterpiece "Salò" in one take, you will understand where the inspiration comes from - and "Scatology" is both, about human suffering as well as trying to find a way out, liberating the mind that is systematically hurt by political and religious extremes, imposed fear through the presence of an invisible authority.