Horse Rotorvator

The title Horse Rotorvator is explained in the liner notes as a device large enough to "plough up the waiting world," created from the jawbones of the horses of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The Bay City Rollers this isn't. On the group's second full album, Coil continue the refinement of brute noise and creepily serene arrangements into a truly modern psychedelia, from tribal drumming and death march guitars to disturbing samples and marching band samples and back. John Balance shares the same haggard, mystic vocal delivery common to fellow explorers of the edge like David Tibet and Edward Ka-Spel, but he has his own blasted and burnt touch to it all. His lyrical subjects range from emotional extremism of many kinds to blunt, often homoerotic imagery (matched at points in the artwork and packaging) and meditations on death. As a result the cover of Leonard Cohen's "Who by Fire" isn't as surprising as one might think. Previous guest Marc Almond appears again on the track with backing vocals, as well as adding them to "Slur," which is composed of an unsettling mix of harmonica, bells, percussion and whatever else can be imagined. Other guests include Almond's then-musical partner Billy McGee, adding a haunting, sometimes grating, string arrangement to "Ostia," which is about the murder of radical Italian filmmaker Pasolini, and Clint Ruin, aka Foetus, adding his typically warped brass touches to "Circles of Mania." Paul Vaughan narrates the lyrics on "The Golden Section," creating a stunning piece that in its combination of demonic imagery and sweeping, cinematic arrangements holds a common ground with In the Nursery. All the guests help contribute to the album's overall effect, but this is Coil's own vision above all else, eschewing easy clichés on all fronts to create unnerving, never easily digested invocations of musical power.

What surprises me, though, is how small the 80's era of Coil is, in terms of material. In spite of all this, my favourite Coil record might just be from their 80's era, before they'd turn to more ambient, abstract and experimental ventures. That would be Horse Rotorvator, a concept album that's apparently about a world-destroying device of the same name, made out of the jawbones of the Four Horsemen's horses.

The first thing to go over is the music, since it's the hardest to describe: Coil may have not dabbled in industrial music for very long, but Horse Rotorvator isn't any less than that; in fact, it's the most industrial that the group ever got... well, its first half is. See, even if this era consists mostly of "Sex", there is still "Death", and that's what sticks out in tracks 7-12; the number are a lot more atmospheric and sombre, with "Circles of Mania" (fittingly the most manic number on the album, driven by a screwed up brass section and an absolutely insane vocal part).

Truth be told, those songs are all excellent. Even the bonus track "Ravenous", which was only added to the record on CD releases, fits perfectly thanks to its hellish mood, based on low synthesized voices and further punctuated by a screwed up, chaotic guitar line, a harmonica part, and sound effects ranging from elephant calls to the stomping of horses. There's also "Blood From The Air"; I consider it the weakest track on here, but it's still very cool thanks to the weird assortment of effects that appear throughout, along with the already strong melody that lays the foundation for the song.

The last three tracks are much more memorable, however: "Who By Fire" is, very interestingly, a cover of a song by folk musician Leonard Cohen. I have yet to listen to the original track, but I do see the folk elements stick out (especially in terms of structure), and the translation from that genre into industrial is very well done. "The Golden Section", in the meantime, justifies its 6-minute length thanks to the combination of a marching band drum line, string and brass arrangements, and synthesized voices (as in "Ravenous"), along with a spoken narration that talks about Azrael, the Angel of Death. It's definitely intriguing.

The album closes with "The First Five Minutes After Death", and much like "Ravenous", it wins out thanks to the amazing atmosphere it creates, even if the high brass(?) line seems more like it's noodling rather than making a coherent melody. Much like the previous five tracks, it's nothing I would recommend to everyone on the planet, including their 2-year old children and grandparents, but these 6 songs already make Horse Rotorvator a masterpiece of the industrial genre, recommended for any fan. So, in that case, why do I think it's Coil's best record?

Well, the first six songs are fucking amazing, and they make up the most visceral, hilarious and terrifying 22 minutes that the group has ever committed to a slab of vinyl or polycarbonate plastic. They're at their most provocative without resorting to drone or anything easy of the sort, and they handle their intentionally "comedic" approach in such a way that you totally believe what they're saying. If you don't count the short "Babylero" and "Herald", which simply serve as (effective) transitions, then all four of the songs are classics, and among Coil's best.

The album opens with "The Anal Staircase", a scary opening tune made especially incredible because the one semblance of a main melody (I believe it's a sample, but I'm not even sure) is located in the background of the song, with all of the percussion, effects and vocals in front. Add to that all of the voice clips, and the track perfectly depicts some kind of demonic staircase of torment, perversion and sexual catharsis, down to the strange sample that ends the song. It's followed by "Slur", which seems even more circular in nature, in that it sounds like it keeps spinning round and round; the most memorable part of it is the elephantine melody; everything else seems to be lost in the glorious chaos.

Guess what? Those aren't even the best tracks. No, I saved the best for last: Horse Rotorvator has the chance to host two huge centrepieces, both of which capture best most of the group's ideology. The first, "Ostia (The Death of Pasolini)", is an irresistibly sombre tune, driven by a sharp strings arrangement and a keyboard line with the same type of coldness and precision as ancient Greek architecture, dedicated to Pier Paolo Pasolini, a highly controversial film director who was murdered on the beach at Ostia, a neighbourhood in Rome. I'd even dare say this is Coil's most striking exploration of the subject of death.

And yet, this is still not the best cut on here. Nope. That would be "Penetralia", my favourite Coil song, period. It's got no lyrics: the most we get are some unintelligible vocal samples. What you get is the most powerful and angry industrial song ever made. Nothing that Nine Inch Nails, Ministry or even fucking Swans have put out comes close to demonstrating such fury and crushing force as what the drum machines and the brass lines manage to create in this song. What shocks me the most is that Coil don't really aim for emotion or anger, and yet, "Penetralia" brings up a more powerful emotion in me than most of my music library, capturing both the pure, primal energy of sex and the absolute menace of death.

Whew.

Now, with that out of my system, you got no reason not to check out Horse Rotorvator if you want to get into either Coil or industrial music: by both the group and the genre's standards, it's pretty accessible, and even if you don't get into the first half, the second holds tons of goodies for those who pay attention and serves as an excellent introduction into the rest of Coil's very, very large discography.

You can't go wrong with this one

Ripped from CD Reissue released on Force & Form records [ROTA CD1] in 1988 to MP3 @ 320kbps

Coil; Horse Rotorvator

1.      The Anal Staircase

2.      Slur

3.      Babylero

4.      Ostia (The Death Of Pasolini)

5.      Herald

6.      Penetralia

7.      Ravenous

8.      Circles Of Mania

9.      Blood From The Air

10.   Who By Fire

11.   The Golden Section

12.   The First Five Minutes After Death

More from this experimental combo here