PODCAST: November 2019 Episode

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EPISODE NOTES & HIGHLIGHTS:

The first act of this episode could be considered a carryover from the spirit of last month's Halloween special, seeing as it's riddled with movie samples and vampyric overtones; however, this time, the focus is on just one film property, that being Neil Jordan's 1994 adaptation of the iconic Anne Rice novel, "Interview with the Vampire." To say the movie (and the book it is sourced from) made an impression on my young brain and its creative endeavors is a bit of an understatement, as the opening theme from that film has served as the opening theme for "Out ov the Coffin" for 20 years now (the titular vampire reference is not exactly hidden, either). And, on a personal note, Elliot Goldenthal's beautiful score to the film has stood in the background of most of the paintings I've ever done in my life, with its abundance of atmosphere providing a fountain of inspiration. To the surprise of nobody, then, I had to do something special to mark this month's 25th anniversary of said film's first release. 

Despite the obvious and overwhelming gothic style of the book and the film, their collective influence was widespread from the onset, inspiring musicians from across the genre spectrum to pen odes to the world that the novel, and then the film, built. Hence, the first part of this episode covers some artists that would normally be strangers on this show, along with some that are so at home here, so traditional, that it would feel wrong to omit them. First up is the band that named themselves after the series' anti-hero, Lestat, for obvious reasons, with a song taken from their 1994 album, Visions of Sorrow. Yes, 1994 will figure largely as a conscious and unconscious guidepost for this episode.

The full "Interview with the Vampire"-inspired set begins with the audio version of the film's trailer, leading into the perhaps-surprising appearance of Sting's "Moon Over Bourbon Street," a song which he has said was directly inspired by the Anne Rice novel, as evidenced by the lyrics. The Damned follow with another product of the novel's influence, 1982's "The Dog," a song directly referencing the character of Claudia. You knew it was coming, of corpse, for how we could possibly NOT play Concrete Blonde's ode to New Orleans, vampires, and all things Anne Rice, the undying club classic "Bloodletting." I chose the extened 1991 single version because thunderclaps. You know me.

The biggest surprise of this episode, no doubt, arrives next in this set, in the form of Queensrÿche. Out of bounds in terms of genre though it may be, the band was, at that point, very much influenced by the writings of Anne Rice -- in thought, word, and deed -- and said as much in period interviews. This is, perhaps, best seen in what was intended to be the lead single and video from their 1986 Rage for Order album, "Walk In the Shadows." I will spare you my rant on how disappointing it is for me that we do not live in the timeline in which that video actually happened. Ugh. Anyway, after one of many dialogue samples from the film, we segue into an obscure track from an artist named Keima, who briefly made some excellent goth/dark rock in the early 2000s. His song "We Walk Among You" stands as one of the few to wear its obvious Anne Rice influence on a post-1994 sleeve, perhaps even drawing some of that influence through Sting's aforementioned song. Finally, closing the set, is one of the most beautiful pieces from Elliot Goldenthal's score for the film, the heartbreaking "Madeleine's Lament," played without interruption, with all due respect to the composer.

The show then resumes its normal, non-thematic mode, kicking off the second full set with more new music from Texas darkwave duo Twin Tribes, taken from their forthcoming album, Ceremony (due out on December 13th). The band will be on tour in December, with a pair of shows (including Nashville on December 23rd) that will feature the artist who comes next: Louisville darkwaver Scary Black, who gives you a second taste of their new Shadow Dwellers collection. New York's A Cloud of Ravens follow, with your first taste of their new album, In the Wicked Hours, which leads us to a debut from Germany's Fliehende Stürme, taken from their new album Neun Leben. Vancouver's The Silence Industry make their first appearance here in a while, with a track from their latest, A Song for Bad Sectors, before we close this set with a teaser track from the forthcoming Esses album.

Set three begins with catchy new gothic rock from The Kentucky Vampires's new EP, Blood and Tears, before airing a debut single from Michigan's Amaranth. We then turn up the electronics for a characteristically-smooth new song from Athan Maroulis' NOIR, which is followed closely by a debut from Portland act Lizard Skin, whose new EP Subterranean Guilt was produced by Susan Subtract of High Functioning Flesh. We then check back in with Stoneburner for a second dose of Technology Implies Belligerence. If you haven't caught them on their current tour, they just did a great job here in Nashville, so maybe catch those last few dates. And check out that video I mentioned here. And, finally, after a long period of relative quiet, Seraphim Shock close this set with a brand new surprise single! "Ascend" is, according to frontman Charles Edward, just the first of many new singles that will be released in the near future, returning to the musical form that put them on the map in the first place, so keep your eyes peeled here. 

The dark metal portion of the show begins with one more nod to The Vampire Chronicles, this time to the second book in the series. Cradle of Filth's "A Dream of Wolves in the Snow," makes a nod (to fans of the book, at least) to the backstory of The Vampire Lestat, and also features guest vocals from Darren White of Anathema. Brand new music from the one and only King Diamond creeps up to your door next, in the form of his new single, "Masquerade of Madness." And it sounds like classic King! Atmospheric black metal fans should be quenched by the next three new releases: The first new music from Australia's Nocturnal in nearly 20 years, followed by more new music from Montreal's Ossuaire, taken from their new Dernier Chants, and the 'Coffin debut of another Australian black metal outfit, Frostveil. Believe it or not, that entire Frostveil record was completed by a 20-year-old, who already has several albums under his belt! The set then turns towards doom for its closer, opting for a 1994 classic from one-time Dutch greats, Celestial Season.

Finally, on the way out, you're treated to a new 15 minute opus from Finnish funeral doom act Profetus. As I say in the talk break, the title of their new album, The Sadness of Time Passing, seems so direct at first glance that you might miss how well it sums up the dread that we often make into something so overwhelmingly complex.

All of that PLUS: Music from the controversial(?) new "Joker" film by Hildur Guðnadóttir (my apologies for ASSuming that was a man's name when I read it back); A nod to the anniversary of the oft-overshadowed "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" which also celebrated its 25th anniversary this month; and more!

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PLAYLIST BEGINS HERE
Format: Band Name - Song Title [Album Title, Year]

(each band name is also a website link)
(sets and talk breaks separated by dashes)

"Out ov the Coffin" w/ Ichabod
  Show recorded on: November 27th, 2019

Opening Theme: 
Elliot Goldenthal - Libera Me [from "Interview with the Vampire" (soundtrack), 1994]
Lestat - Baptism  [Visions of Sorrow, 1994]
-
 Elliot Goldenthal - Théâtre Des Vampires / Armand's Seduction  ["Interview with the Vampire" (soundtrack) 1994]
-
[Trailer] "Interview with the Vampire" (1994)
Sting - Moon Over Bourbon Street  [The Dream of the Blue Turtles, 1985]
The Damned - The Dog  [Strawberries, 1982]
[Sample] "Interview with the Vampire" (1994)
Concrete Blonde - Bloodletting (The Vampire Song) (Extended version)  [single, 1991]
[Sample] "Interview with the Vampire" (1994)
Queensrÿche - Walk in the Shadows  [Rage for Order, 1986]
[Sample] "Interview with the Vampire" (1994)
Keima - We Walk Among You [digital single, 2004?]
[Sample] "Interview with the Vampire" (1994) 
Elliot Goldenthal - Madeleine's Lament  ["Interview with the Vampire" (soundtrack) 1994]
- 
Elliot Goldenthal & Robert Elhai - Louis' Last Sunrise / Goodbye to the Light (exc.)  ["Interview with the Vampire" (complete soundtrack) 1994/2007]
-
Twin Tribes - The River  [Ceremony, 2019]
Scary Black - Where You'll Go  [Shadow Dwellers, 2019] 
A Cloud of Ravens - The Tempest  [In the Wicked Hours, 2019]
Fliehende Stürme - Puppen  [Neun Leben, 2019]
The Silence Industry - Of Fires and Flowers  [A Song for Bad Sectors, 2019]
Esses - Pierce the Feeling  [single, 2019]
-
Hildur Guðnadóttir - Defeated Clown  ["Joker" (soundtrack) 2019]
-
The Kentucky Vampires - Holy Heretic  [Blood and Tears, 2019]
Amaranth - My Turn Again  [single, 2019]
NOIR - A Pleasure to Burn  [Pleasure, 2019]
Lizard Skin - Rented Love  [Subterranean Guilt, 2019] 
Stoneburner - So Much More Aware, So Much Less Perceptive  [Technology Implies Belligerence, 2019]
Seraphim Shock - Ascend  [single, 2019]
-
Patrick Doyle - He Was My Father  ["Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" (soundtrack) 1994]
-
Cradle of Filth - A Dream of Wolves in the Snow  [The Principle of Evil Made Flesh, 1994]
King Diamond - Masquerade of Madness  [single, 2019]
Nocturnal - My Temple  [The Greater Emptiness, 2019] 
Ossuaire - Sous l'Autel des Immaculés  [Derniers Chants, 2019]
Frostveil - Orlok  [Ephemeral Visions, 2019]
Celestial Season - Soft Embalmer of the Still Midnight  [Solar Lovers, 1994]
-
Thief - Spirit Box  [Map of Lost Keys, 2019]
-
Profetus - Northern Crown  [The Sadness of Time Passing, 2019]

 

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