Author: Seth Whitman
Throughout 2024, I’ve mostly been digging up music from the fiery depths of death metal—so it may be surprising that one of my more unsettling discoveries isn’t metal at all. Horse Rotorvator stands as one of English experimental band Coil’s most enduring albums and a frightening landmark of industrial music.
A lot has changed since 1986, though. A lot of music that was “dark” in the 1980s is benign by today’s standards. But don’t be fooled. Horse Rotorvator is like stepping into a nightmare.
The title “Horse Rotorvator”, may seem strange, and that’s because it’s based on a dream that the vocalist, John Balance, had. In this dream, on the “eve of the apocalypse,” the four horsemen of the apocalypse betray their horses, slitting their throats and fashioning the horses’ jawbones into a giant rotorvator, also known as a rotary tiller, to “plough up the waiting world.” As bizarre as it is, Horse Rotorvator is a fitting title. Death is a central theme of the album, and biblical references are commonplace in its contents. The album cover is a photo taken from Regent’s Park, London, where just four years prior, a British military ceremony had been interrupted by a bombing by the Irish Republican Army. Seven military bandsmen were killed.
The album begins with the anxious “Anal Staircase”. Immediately the listener is confronted with a dissonant array of horns and other instruments, sampled and looped. A drum machine starts, a child’s laughter is heard, and John Balance’s singing initiates the song. Trombones, metallic percussion (à la the drum machine), horns, and other noises are all thrown together into an uncanny but musically palatable collage of sounds. The lyrics are worth exploring, too, but the lyrical content of this album warrants an article of its own. There’s a lot to analyze.
“Slur”, the second song, is my personal favorite. Chiming bells, a solemn harmonica, and ghastly, hair-raising backing vocals complement the track’s dark, cryptic lyrics. What makes the song particularly unique, however, is the hypnotic noise that is its backbone. I spent a while brainstorming adjectives to describe it. Then I gave up and asked a sound designer. It’s a bass guitar, layered under multiple effects and played in tandem with steel drums. That’s our collaborative guess, anyway. Regardless, it gives “Slur” a surreal, dreamlike quality that captures my attention with every listen.
The fourth track, “Ostia (The Death of Pasolini)”, is perhaps the eeriest song on the album. The subject matter is dark enough. The lyrics are centered around the death of Pier Paolo Pasolini, an Italian activist/filmmaker who was savagely beaten and ran over with his own car, then immolated postmortem. The topic is quite bleak, and the song’s execution matches it. It belongs in a horror movie soundtrack. The song carries itself with a beautifully tense string arrangement and violins that screech as if someone is about to be murdered in their shower.
Horse Rotorvator’s fifth song, “Penetralia”, features a dingy guitar riff and TV samples over a drum machine. The centerpiece of the song is a deep, machine-like rumbling that is synced to certain parts of the beat. It also has some saxophone noodling if you’re into that kind of thing. Coil is one of the early industrial bands that inspired Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, and “Penetralia” is strongly reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails’ material.
“Ravenous” isn’t as noteworthy as the other songs, but it is interesting. It uses creaking hinges, feedback/reverb, and a choir/vocal synthesizer. It would feel at home in the soundtrack of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask.
“Circles of Mania” is the climax of the album. Unfortunately, that is in more ways than one. The instrumentation feels like something from an unhinged musical with its reliance on horns and trombones, and Balance’s vocals are off the walls. He’s wailing, erotically moaning, gasping, laughing, and singing psychotically. It’s an uncomfortable listen, especially given John Balance’s grunting, howling, and wet slurping noises (you read that right). The lyrics are also quite sexual. They narrate a sexual encounter, using metaphors of knives and being cut open. “Circles of Mania” is perverted and grotesque.
“Who By Fire”, which is a cover of a Leonard Cohen song, is a reprieve from the chaos of Horse Rotorvator thus far. It also begins the final act of the album, which is calmer and more thoughtful. The song has a great piano/vocal performance from John Balance. More of Horse Rotorvator’s typical instrumentation is introduced as the song develops.
“The Golden Section” storms in with the sound of marching soldiers and an imperial orchestra. Booming drums, proud horns, and low vocal synth notes give “The Gold Section” a grandiose atmosphere. The low synth notes add a tinge of creepiness to the song as Paul Vaughan, a narrator from the BBC, reads aloud a passage about the biblical angel of death. The passage describes in detail how the angel of death appears to people, and it draws a connection between the “extinction” in “the pleasure of love” and death. “Eros and Thanatos are almost twins,” Vaughan announces. It’s a thought-provoking penultimate track.
Horse Rotorvator’s final song, “The First Five Minutes After Death”, is instrumental. A synth churns out a grim funeral dirge; a mystifying flute melody lulls the listener to eternal sleep; and a drum beat and tambourine ring out with an oppressive finality.
Horse Rotorvator isn’t as in-your-face as other music. There’s no screaming or shouting (except maybe in “Circles of Mania”); there’s no violent, misanthropic lyricism. But through its cryptic morbidity, haunting melodies, and industrial edge, Horse Rotorvator proves insidious nonetheless. Much like a nightmare, it’s not only frightening, but surreal, and an experience in its own class.
Seth Whitman | Banished from the aux | KXSU Music Reporter