Experimental/Electronic preorders

Review: Long mythologised and rarely heard in full, this 2000 concert at the Royal Festival Hall marks what many consider COIL’s true live debut—a mesmerising, slow-blooming performance that bridges their austere studio experiments with a more ceremonial presence. With the lineup of John Balance, Peter Christopherson, Thighpaulsandra and Ossian Brown, the group traded chaos for control, donning polar fleece costumes and delivering a set that expands upon the tonal vocabulary of Time Machines while introducing a more dynamic, emotionally nuanced structure. ‘Everything Keeps Dissolving’ opens in murky reverie, before ‘Queens Of The Circulating Library’ sees Balance offer a restrained yet haunting vocal—less possessed, more meditative. The two-part ‘Chasms’ closes the set with depth-charge synths and slow tidal shifts, building tension without climax. Less an industrial confrontation than an alchemical unfolding, the performance remains one of the most quietly potent in the band’s catalogue.