Coil
Scatology

THE REVIEW

“Scatology” appears today as a rough diamond; not everything works perfectly, there are negligible instrumental tracks, and the impression is that the sound is less refined compared to the following “Horse Rotorvator” (but this is a deliberate choice). However, the album contains a handful of masterpiece songs. The strong influence of surrealist artists (the shadow of Dalí looms over the entire album) on this enigmatic work becomes immediately evident. Each track is carefully explained in the liner notes. The opening track, "Ubu Noir," pays homage to the playwright Alfred Jarry (the title echoes his "Ubu Roi," a masterpiece of pataphysical art). The following, rhythmic and overwhelming "Panic" features a decisive presence of Foetus in what is a true anthem to the God Pan (one might even mention Arthur Machen considering their common British origins). "At The Heart Of It All" is instead an instrumental of rare desolation, perhaps somewhat self-serving. But the subsequent "Tenderness Of Wolves" is the second masterpiece of the album and features Fergusson on acoustic guitar and Gavin Friday of the Virgin Prunes on vocals. The atmosphere of this track is truly unsettling (the opening with the child's cry sends chills down your spine) and speaks to us of vampires and the infamous serial killer Fritz Haarman. The central part of the album loses some intensity with the lively and rhythmic "The Spoiler," the sparse "Restless," the short "Clap," and the industrial "Aqua Regis." But with "Solar Lodge," Coil hits the mark again and delivers another masterpiece: it’s a track full of dark esoteric references to the Black Sun and the Solar Lodge, as well as Charles Manson, a primitive and futuristic dance of rare evocative power with Balance possessed on vocals. After "The Sewage-Worker’s Birthday Party" (a sadomasochistic tale where, during a birthday party, the celebrant is used as a toilet by the guests), the album's finale is stunning: "Godhead ≈ Deathead" is dark and overwhelming in its gothic-industrial stride, while the grim "Cathedral In Flames" references the Marquis De Sade. It closes with the "vampirized" cover of "Tainted Love," which they turned into the symbol of sick love (it’s the period of the spread of the HIV virus, and the Coil were affected by it in their circle of friends. Their friend Marc Almond appears in the video). In a current period where it is difficult to listen to something new, revisiting “Scatology” is a real shot of vitality.