''Astral Disaster'' is a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Coil, originally released in January 1999 on Acme/Prescription, reissued in 2000 on

Threshold House Threshold House is one of several record labels created by Coil to release their own work and that of affiliated projects. Associated labels include Eskaton and Chalice. It is also the name for the official Coil website. The label was initi ...

, and then reissued in 2017 through Acme/Prescription. The original pressing of the album was released in an edition of 99 copies on 12" vinyl via the record label Acme/Prescription with catalogue number Drug 8, was available only to those who had subscribed to the entire Drug series, and was packaged in a plain black sleeve with a title sticker signed and numbered by John Balance and Peter Christopherson. It included an insert with the track listing and release notes, and a piece of handmade artwork in a plastic zip-lock bag. The later pressing of this album, released on CD and 12" via the

label, is completely rebuilt and remade with much more texture than the first release.

Background and composition

The

version includes a second version of "The Mothership & The Fatherland" titled "MÜ-ÜR". The 12" inch release was limited to 1,000 copies on gray vinyl and a special edition of 100 copies on red vinyl. The special edition includes a sheet of lyrics that is signed by

John Balance Geoffrey Nigel Laurence Rushton (16 February 1962 – 13 November 2004), better known under the pseudonyms John Balance or the later variation Jhonn Balance, was an English musician, occultist, artist and poet. He was best known as a co-founde ...

Peter Christopherson Peter Martin Christopherson (also known as Sleazy, 27 February 1955 – 25 November 2010) was an English musician, video director, commercial artist, designer and photographer, and former member of British design agency Hipgnosis. He also found ...

and

Thighpaulsandra Timothy Lewis – best known by the stage name Thighpaulsandra – is a Welsh experimental musician and multi-instrumentalist, known mostly for performing on synthesizers and keyboards. He began his career working with Julian Cope in the late ...

. It also includes an original numbered drawing, which is also signed by Balance and Christopherson. Some of the more notable differences between the releases, other than the later release being more built up, is the disappearance of the sitar as well as the disappearance of the sound effect on John's voice on the original version of "The Sea Priestess". "Second Son Syndrome" was purposely renamed "2nd Sun Syndrome" upon the reissue. The inner sleeve photo portraits were taken by Peter Christopherson and John Balance of each other during the total eclipse of the sun. Supposedly, the majority of the album was recorded in an area below the level of the

Thames River The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

. "The Avatars" was created with a Synton Syrinx synthesizer, and was, according to Balance, his attempt at recreating memories of sneaking through his house at night to watch

The Quatermass Experiment ''The Quatermass Experiment'' is a British science fiction serial broadcast by BBC Television during the summer of 1953 and re-staged by BBC Four in 2005. Set in the near future against the background of a British space programme, it tells th ...

. The title of the song comes from a book by George Russell. Most of the lyrics to "The Sea Priestess" originate from

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pro ...

's descriptions of the murals on the walls of the Abbey of Thelema at Cefalu in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

Critical reception

In its review of the 2018 Acme/Prescription reissue, record distributor Boomkat praised the album, describing it as incorporating elements of 'meditative, Eastern

raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...

drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

with sage-like poetry and electro-acoustic phantasmagorias, projecting a plasmic miasma of pharmaceutical shimmer and surreality that's pretty much arch Coil.'

Track listing

Acme/Prescription 12" version

Threshold House CD version

Personnel

- lyrics, vocals,

obsidian Obsidian () is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Obsidian is produced from felsic lava, rich in the lighter elements s ...

mirrors, 'scrim generators' *

Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...

, finger cymbals *

Drew McDowall Drew McDowall (born 28 January 1961) is a Scottish musician who has been a member, collaborator, and remixer for various influential music groups. McDowall was formerly a full-time member of Coil. History McDowall formed art-punk trio Poems in ...

- Moog & '

thoughtform Tulpa is a concept in Theosophy, mysticism, and the paranormal, of an object or being that is created through spiritual or mental powers. Modern practitioners, who call themselves "tulpamancers", use the term to refer to a type of willed imaginar ...

s' *

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

, Hammond &

synth A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

s *

Gary Ramon Sun Dial (occasionally spelled Sundial) is a British psychedelic rock band formed in 1990 by Gary Ramon. History The precursor to Sun Dial was Ramon's the Modern Art, formed in the mid-1980s with a loose lineup that never played gigs but did s ...

- guitar on "I Don't Want to be the One"

References

External links

* *
''Astral Disaster''
at Brainwashed {{Authority control 1999 albums Coil (band) albums Experimental music albums by English artists Ambient albums by English artists Threshold House albums