COIL – Astral Disaster LP

Description

So, the story of this record was Gary Ramon of Sun Dial convinced Coil to come in and record in his studio, which used to be an old gaol and which was owned at one point by Iron Maiden (!). Always on the lookout for a macabre and weird vibe, Coil turned up and recorded what would be their most free-form, spontaneous record….possibly becuase of this it was ensured that it would com out in a tiny edition and be deleted forever as per the bands’ wishes. Of course, years later they remixed it, added bits in and the “new” Astral Disaster was a much more cohesive record, and is the one I’m familiar with. So….as with the stuff on Cold Spring, now that both members are deid, everyone’s taking an opportunity to cash in and this reissue of the original release is back in the public domain again. I kinda have mixed feelings about this one….absolutely the band clearly did NOT want this reissued in this form, or they’d have done it themselves, so from that point of view I kinda think this is a bit full of shit. From a fan’s point of view, well it’s fuckin ace to hear this properly and own a copy. I dunno, tough call. Anyway, the tunes are absolutely ace, and if you can’t get onboard with the Sun Ra rocketship-to-yr inner-mind of The Sea Priestess then I doubt you have a soul.