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EPISODE NOTES & HIGHLIGHTS:
On this month's episode of "Out ov the Coffin," we cover an eventful span of time, marked by a number of anniversaries, passings, and, of course, great new music to make the journey onward more worthwhile. We begin the show, in fact, with one of my current favorite pieces of music, the engaging new single from Iceland's Kælan Mikla. "Sólstöður" steps in with a thoroughly satisfying answer to all questions about how the band would progress from 2018's still-potent Nótt eftir nótt album, offering not only a song with transcendent mood and atmosphere, but a video to match it all and bind the concepts therein. It's so good, in fact, that I will just embed it here, to encourage everybody to take a moment and soak it in:
The first full set begins with new music from French post-punk outfit Varsovie, with the lead single (and video) from their forthcoming album, L'Ombre et la nuit, which seems to see the band adding more brooding atmosphere to their punchy, driving sound. A Neph-esque new single from Germany's Sweet Ermengarde follows next, followed by a debut from Australian post punks, Sounds Like Winter. We then delve into the mid-'90s vaults for a selection from Italian band Dawn Fades, taken from their self-titled 1995 EP (sometimes credited as the "Fucking Face" EP, which definitely stays with you, haha). A debut from UK artist Coor Brow-Obles strolls in next, with a classic from the recently expanded edition of And Also the Trees' self-titled debut album on his heels. Notably, the early material from And Also the Trees was produced by Lol Tolhurst of The Cure, and the bands would later tour together, even doing some select dates together in recent years.
Speaking of The Cure, set two serves a dual purpose: First, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of one of The Cure's holiest hours, their 1981 album, Faith, which is not only the inspiration for this month's artwork (which is a less abstract image of Bolton Priory than was used on the Cure's album cover), but also an endless personal inspiration for me -- and probably you, too. The second chapter in the band's first goth phase, Faith dove headlong into the bleak waters of the members' headspace at the time, emerging with such immortal classics as the Gormenghast-inspired "The Drowning Man," my personal favorite, which begins this set, and iconic mood pieces like "The Funeral Party," which would later (I maintain) inspire the music of Twin Peaks. Check out the live version of that one in this set to see for yourself. In between those two, you'll hear a rare live version of the title track that was recorded the night of the Tiananmen Square massacre, in which Robert Smith delivers an uncharacteristic, yet impassioned, piece about the events of that day -- which seems like something that bears repeating in the current world.
The second half of the second set serves as this year's tribute to the memory of Rozz Williams, on the anniversary of his death in April of 1998. This time, we travel back to the original 1981 recording of Christian Death's Deathwish, to celebrate its 40th anniversary. We then mark the 30th anniversary of the debut from Rozz's more metallic Shadow Project,with the opening track from that CD, followed naturally by Williams' own accidental epitaph: A selection from his spoken word piece "Dec. 30, 1334," merged with one of the most beautiful pieces ever written, "Flowers."
Set three begins with a tribute to the life and musical works of Jim Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021), who died on April 19th. Known largely for his initial success writing for Meatloaf in the '70s, his deliciously over-the-top, theatrical approach to writing rock music yielded a string of unforgettable chart-topping hits with other artists, including the chill-inducing 1983 classic "Total Eclipse of the Heart." Originally recorded by Bonnie Tyler, I chose a distant piano version of that song (performed by Francesco Parrino) as the bed for the talk break that leads into this set, which begins with Steinman's greatest contribution to goth culture, The Sisters of Mercy's absolute club ANTHEM, "This Corrosion," which Jim produced back in 1987.
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| Jim Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) |
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| Robb Earls (December 27th, 1951 – March 11th, 2021) |
Following that, I mark the passing of a Nashville music pioneer, Robb Earls (December 27th, 1951 - March 11th, 2021). Early in his career, his bands Factual and Warm Dark Pocket helped put Nashville on the minimal synth and new wave maps, but he continued to work behind the scenes after that through his Sound Vortex studios enterprise, and released a more goth-leaning album of his own in 2001 with his project, This Midnight Stream -- from which you will hear the song "Head," in tribute.
Following those memorials, we move on to more brand new music, starting with the latest from Belgium's much-lauded Whispering Sons. So far, the singles from their forthcoming LP Several Others offer a moire stripped down sound, built on minimal electronic loops with a dry, direct vocal production, so we shall see how rest of the album compares this summer. Some new collaborative work from Twin Tribes comes next, with a remix done by Turkish darkwave heroes, She Past Away. You can find that remix, as well as many other star-studded collaborations, on the new Altars LP. Greek hard goth rockers The Black Capes creep in next, with their monstrous new single, "The Bride of Frankenstein," and, finally, we close the set with new music from Canada's Momy Fortuna. Taking their name from the witch in The Last Unicorn, the band offers a mix of ritualistic, neoclassical darkwave.
Moving into set four, we are greeted with a slate of dark metal releases, divided equally between new releases and classics from the vault. First up is US black metal act Ringarë, whose Thrall of Winter's Majesty album was originally written in 2004, but just released this year. A deeper cut from Ukrainian black metal act Svrm's latest album Розпад comes next, followed by a Finnish national classic from Amorphis' 1994 album, Tales from the Thousand Lakes. New multinational black metal from Order of Nosferat flies in next, taken from their Necuratul LP, and the set closes with a memorial nod to the memory of Per Yngve Ohlin, known better to the music world as Dead from Norwegian black metal legends Mayhem. As the unfortinmate story goes, Dead took his own life on April 8th, 1991 -- 30 years ago this month -- so I close this set with a track the band's 1993 album, Live in Leipzig, one of the few surviving recordings to feature his vocals.
Finally, for no greater reason than the Easter season having reminded me of the video for this classic track, I close the show with one of My Dying Bride's greatest triumphs, "The Cry of Mankind," in its full glory. Bask!
Finally, for no greater reason than the Easter season having reminded me of the video for this classic track, I close the show with one of My Dying Bride's greatest triumphs, "The Cry of Mankind," in its full glory. Bask!
All of that PLUS: Soundtrack selections to mark the 50th anniversary of Jean Rollin's atmospheric art-horror classic, "Shiver of the Vampires," as well as the 40th anniversary of Fulci's "The Beyond" and Dante's "The Howling."
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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)
(sets and talk breaks separated by dashes)
"Out ov the Coffin" w/ Ichabod
Show recorded: April 25th, 2021
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Fabio Frizzi – Verso L’Ignoto [“The Beyond” (soundtrack) 1981]
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Varsovie - Kissa Kouprine [L'Ombre et la nuit, 2021]
Sweet Ermengarde - Typhonian Trance [Once You Break/Typhonian Trance, 2021]
Sounds Like Winter - Fight the Stairs [Fight the Stairs, 2021]
Dawn Fades - Sonic Head [Dawn Fades EP, 1995]
Coor Brow-Obles - A History of Violence [single, 2021]
And Also the Trees - Wallpaper Dying [And Also the Trees, 1984 (expanded edition, 2020)]
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The Cure - Carnage Visors (exc.) [Faith (deluxe), 1981/2005]
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The Cure - The Drowning Man [Faith, 1981]
The Cure - Faith (live in Rome, June 4th, 1989) [Disintegration Alt. Rarities, 2010]
The Cure - The Funeral Party (live "somewhere”, Summer 1981) [Faith (deluxe), 1981/2005]
Christian Death - Deathwish (1981) [Deathwish, 1984]
Shadow Project - Under Your Wing [Shadow Project, 1991]
Rozz Williams - Dec. 30, 1334 (exc.) [The Whorse’s Mouth, 1996]
Rozz Williams & Gitane Demone - Flowers [Dream Home Heartache, 1995]
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Francesco Parrino - Total Eclipse of the Heart [The Covers, Pt. 8, 2020]
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The Sisters of Mercy - This Corrosion [Floodland, 1987]
This Midnight Stream - Head [Cinematic, 2001]
Whispering Sons - Surface [Several Others, 2021]
Twin Tribes - Portal to the Void (She Past Away Remix) [Altars, 2021]
The Black Capes - The Bride of Frankenstein [single, 2021]
Momy Fortuna - Hexennacht [Hexennacht, 2021]
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Acanthus – Agnoisse Temporelle [“Shiver of the Vampires” (soundtrack) 1971]
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Ringarë - Witness to Winter’s Lament [Thrall of Winter's Majesty, 2021 (written 2004)]
Svrm - За вікном (“Outside”) [Розпад, 2021]
Amorphis - Into Hiding [Tales from the Thousand Lakes, 1994]
Order of Nosferat - As Light Withered My Skin [Necuratul, 2021]
Mayhem - Funeral Fog (live, 1991) [Live in Leipzig, 1993]
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Pino Donaggio - Wolfing Down Terry/Animal Magnetism ["The Howling" (soundtrack), 1981]
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My Dying Bride - The Cry of Mankind [The Angel and the Dark River, 1995]
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