Christian Death "Sex And Drugs And Jesus Christ" 1988**

I must admit to having a soft spot for censored music and (especially) album covers. Of all the censored album covers, I can hardly think of any more offensive and blasphemous than Christian Death's Sex and Drugs and Jesus Christ, portraying Jesus as a junkie shooting heroin in his arm. Was it just a promotional trick to cause controversy and therefore get the band more publicity? Probably -at least partly- yes. It certainly has ensured that the band's notoriety remains high, 30 years later. Has it helped the album's sales? Maybe, a little. It did prove to be their best selling release of the 80's, and I confess that I mostly bought it on the strength of its cover rather than the tunes - I prefer the band's earlier recordings with Rozz Williams at the band's helm, like the one I reviewed here. Compared to that, this album features a completely different band. The line-up consists of real-life couple Valor Kand (vocals & guitar) and Gitane Demone (vocals, keyboards) plus the rhythm section of Kota (bass) and Webz (drums). Their provocative choice of cover may have gotten them noticed outside their small "deathrock" niche, and endeared them to the black metal crowd. But it also got them banned from a number of places, while their German and American labels refused to release it as it was (they used an alternative cover) and many magazines refused to print their ads. It is, in any case consistent with the image they were cultivating at the time. Valor's lyrics are full of macabre and apocalyptic images, using a somewhat pompous vocabulary - not sure whether it is a sign of his intellectuality or of over-reliance on his dictionary. And while the subject matter is sufficiently dark, it's not as blasphemous as one would imagine from the cover: it is full of savage attacks on organized religion, but not on the person or the teachings of Christ. Here is a typical sample: "Your church makes me vomit/ Into the vertiginous abyss/ Enfeebled by vice/ Dear God allow me to show gratitude/ For my fortunate eyes of truth/ Lord, how long shall the wicked/ Lord, how long shall the wicked triumph on Earth/ These loathsome parasites that cling/ To the cross, the cloth and the skin/ Soaked in the blood of man/ Not the body of Christ". These words come from "This Is Heresy", the potent album opener featuring Valor shouting and incanting over a background of hollow bass and metallic riffs. It's followed by the rockabilly-ish "Jesus Where's The Sugar". This is one of three songs written and sung by Gitane DeMone, all more concerned with sex rather than religion. Her bluesy vocals provide a nice contrast to Kand's theatrical and menacing style, and are among the album's highlights. "Erection" starts off with some melancholic acoustic guitar and gets progressively louder, while her third song "Incendiary Lover" is the album's shortest and most conventional (that's a good thing!) Gothic rocker. Valor's "Wretched Mankind" is atmospheric with an overtly dramatic vocals, and "Ten Thousand Hundred Times" is forgettable and murky new wave. Each side closes with a 10-minute piece: "The Third Antichrist" is dominated by "scary" effects and ghoulish recitations, and "Windowpain" is a sort of aural collage rather than a song in the usual sense. This LP displays the band's lack of quality control: there's barely enough material for a good EP, but it ended up being twice as long as it should have been. It mostly got negative reviews: NME gave it 1 out of 10, memorably remarking "may the good lord strike them down", while Trouser Press called it "a barely musical mix... that could have been knocked off in an afternoon by just about anybody with hands". Cult bands of course thrive on such extreme rejections. In my opinion, this is mediocre rather than bad. There are 2 or 3 good tunes, and DeMone's vocal performance is commendable, just like Valor's passionate delivery. The lyrics are controversial, but at least they are distinctively original. The music won't be to everyone's taste, but the heavier guitar might win some metal fans over, while the gloomy atmosphere may appeal to fanatic Goths or satanically-inclined listeners. Approach with caution.

**** for Incendiary Lover

*** for This Is Heresy, Jesus Where's The Sugar

** for Wretched Mankind, The Third Antichrist, Erection, Ten Thousand Hundred Times, Window Pain

Christian Death "Deathwish" 1984(release) 1981(rec.)***

I've had a few of these "dark" records sitting in my drafts folder since spring, but I thought I'd present them at a more appropriate time. Who'd like to listen to the likes of Christian Death when it's still sunny and warm outside, right? It turns out that weather has nothing to do with it: I may have previously connected the moroseness of Sisters Of Mercy and Red Lorry Yellow Lorry to the weather of their native Leeds, but Christian Death come from sunny South California: shouldn't they by rights only be singing about the sun, surf, girls?

Instead, this is how this EP starts "I see the end, and I see the end well it was open so I crawled inside/ And someone up ahead was crying, well someone up ahead was dying/ Lost in the darkness, lost in today". This is from the title track "Deathwish", a short piece with a heavy metallic riff by guitarist Rikk Agnew and dramatic vocal by singer/bandleader Rozz Williams. Agnew, already a mainstay of the California punk scene (having played for Social Distortion, The Detours, and The Adolescents) attended an early gig and, being struck by their outlandish appearance and performance, offered to join them as second guitarist. By the time of these recordings he was the only guitarist left. Before I continue the review I should warn you that these are early demos not initially intended for release, which explains/excuses the poor-to-middling recording quality. They predated their debut Only Theater Of Pain (also produced by Thom Wilson of Offspring fame) but were released a few years later, initially in Europe only. Despite the lo-fi sound they retain a certain murky charm, which is why this EP is highly regarded by many Christian Death fans. These tracks would later be added to the O.T.O.P. CD reissue, which I guess diminishes the need to seek out this EP - if not for the great booklet with the freaky engravings and gothic poetry in both English and French versions, a great vinyl edition that every Goth is sure to appreciate. I have it on CD myself, but it's still nice as CD booklets go. The song that stands out, both here and in the final version released on O.T.O.P., is the speedy post-punk classic "Romeo's Distress". "Dogs" features atmospheric synths and semi-spoken vocals, and the menacing "Desperate Hell" is full of shrieks and horror effects. The EP closes with two more early versions of O.T.O.P. tracks, the punky "Spiritual Cramp" and the more psychedelic "Cavity". The music of this line-up was generally punkier and more guitar-based than what followed, partly because of Agnew's influence. After he left, the band's sound would become less rock'n'roll and more theatrical and atmospheric. By 1985 lead singer Rozz also left, with bandmate Valor Kand taking over the reins. While the Valor Kand line-up lasted decades instead of mere years and it is the one most people are familiar with, the original Rozz Williams line-up still is the most revered by fans. They would get better in time, but these early versions also make for a fascinating glimpse into the beginnings of one of the most original post-punk/goth bands.

***** for Romeo's Distress

**** for Deathwish

*** for Dogs, Spiritual Cramp

** for Desperate Hell, Cavity