COIL - HOW TO DESTROY ANGELS @ 40

 

Recorded on February 19th, 1984, Coil's debut EP, How To Destroy Angels, turns 40 years old today. As an example of functional music intended for practical application, it set the standard for the band's uncompromising approach to sound and structure.

At the time of its recording, Jhon Balance and Peter Christopherson were still part of Psychic TV (PTV) and the Temple of Psychick Youth (TOPY), and this project was seen as furthering the exploration of sound as a functional tool, rather than a mere source of entertainment and distraction. Many of the ideas present here were also used when recording the Psychic TV, Themes, bonus LP, which was included with the first pressings of PTV's debut, Force The Hand of Chance. These were sound works that had no concern with standard song structures, an approach that could be rather confusing to listeners who were expecting them to adhere to recognizable conventions of rhythm, melody and verse-chorus-bridge, song structures. None of that was relevant here, which often had these recordings sounding like random noises, devoid of meaning or purpose. The reality was quite the opposite.

For this particular project, the fact that Balance and Christopherson were gay and involved in a relationship with each other became essential elements in the thematic essence of the recording. The intent of its creators was to incite and harness specifically male sexual energy. No offence nor disparagement to females was intended, but this work was simply NOT designed for feminine energy. This requirement during production was even taken to the strictest conditional extremes, where any women at the studio were kindly requested to vacate the building during recording. For this, manly Mars was the focus for the session and it was crucial that nothing diffuse or dissipate that energy. Venus wasn't invited.

For instrumentation, a selection of gongs, cymbals and bells were employed, along with a large corrugated whirling tube, known as a lasso d'amore, corrugaphone, or Bloogle Resonator. The resultant recording was 17 minutes of ritualistic ambience, suitable for personal or group ceremonial use. The original plan was to release it along with another PTV recording, Silence and Secrecy, but Balance & Christopherson had a falling out with TOPY and Genesis P-Orridge over his "cult of personality" and the direction TOPY was going, so any PTV works or resources were now unavailable, including the label imprint, Temple Records. The EP was instead released by L.A.Y.L.A.H. Anti-Records as a standalone, with the B-side initially occupied by an unplayable "noise" side called Absolute Elsewhere. On subsequent repressing, the B-side was repeatedly changed, first to offer a selection of closed loop tones and then a totally blank side.

Although How To Destroy Angels is not typical of Coil's subsequent output, it remains as one of their most enigmatic and effective creations. It's certainly one of my personal favourites when it comes to music with the power to summon distinct and powerful energies. To put it plainly, it's a great record to fuck to, especially if you're gay.