Velvet Acid Christ

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Biography

Velvet Acid Christ ( VAC ) is an electro-industrial band (music)|band based in Denver, Colorado . The band was formed in 1990, gaining limited popularity in Europe's Underground music|underground nightclub scene during the mid-1990s before expanding into other markets in the gothic rock|goth and industrial subculture s. The band's discography includes 12 albums.

Bryan Erickson (musician)|Bryan Erickson has been the lead singer|vocalist , musician , and Record producer|producer behind Velvet Acid Christ. The band came out of another band called "Toxic Coma". Toxic Coma has more cds than Velvet Acid Christ and recently released a new LP "Satan Rising" on metropolis records. Toxic Coma is the ID and the more bizarre messed up side of Disease Factory. Black Humor, techno and industrial fused.

Musical style

The majority of the band's work is categorized among the genres of industrial music|industrial , Gothic rock|Gothic , electro-industrial , and Electronic Body Music|EBM . The band's tone ranges between angry, upbeat, sad, and psychedelic . The band's lyrical content offers a varied focus, including such topics as love, hate, Depression (mood)|depression , misanthropy , recreational drug use|drugs , and religion . Erickson is the group's main songwriter.

Much of Velvet Acid Christ's musical composition has been produced with synthesizers and computer software (see Computer music ). Other instruments used by the band include Music sequencer|sequencers such as drum machine s and electric guitar s with effects pedal s. Sampling (music)|Sampling , which is the use of sound clips as part of a new recording, is another technique commonly employed by the band.

Influences

The band cites many musical influences, including among many others Aphex Twin , Rush (band)|Rush , Skinny Puppy , Cocteau Twins , The Cure and Siouxsie and The Banshees

History

Early projects, early changes, and first albums (1990& ndash;1995)

In the early 1990s, Erickson and Grigory Bilham, both residents of Colorado, brought together their shared interest in creating music to record a series of Demo (music)|demos . With the addition of Gary Slaughter and Chris Workman, the group attempted several bands, including Disease Disco Factory, a parody of then-popular Dance music|dance group C+C Music Factory , and Toxic Coma. Following a turbulent period for Erickson and Slaughter, Workman left the group.Primary section source. Velvet Acid Christ Website Accessed 2007-11-01 Slaughter and Erickson experimented with two new side-projects, Cyber Christ and Vortex. Cyber Christ explored a harsh and melancholy sound that was a sharp contrast to the group's other projects. When Erickson discovered that the term "cyber Christ" had been used in the 1992 film The Lawnmower Man (film)|The Lawnmower Man , he renamed the band Velvet Acid Christ "in honor of a bad LSD|acid trip". The Vortex project was merged into Velvet Acid Christ to form one body of work.

In 1994, Workman returned to assist with the band's self-produced Gothic-styled demo tape, Fate . Given encouraging response from friends, the band followed up with other self-produced albums, 1994's Pestilence , a dance-oriented album, and 1995's Neuralblastoma , a harder-sounding album.

Erickson, along with friends and minor contributors Steve Bird and Dan Olson, started the brief-lived record label Electro Death Trip (EDT) Records to better promote these recordings. In 1995, the three began distributing hand-made CD copies of Fate , Pestilence, and Neuralblastoma for resale in local music shops.

Label interest, touring, and a troubled rise (1996& ndash;2000)

Slaughter and Workman temporarily left the band during the first half of 1996 as Erickson continued the project alone, handing out copies of Velvet Acid Christ's recordings to industry representatives, including musician Bill Leeb of industrial pioneer Front Line Assembly . Leeb passed the music to Thorsten Stroht, a media promoter with European label Off-Beat Records. Off-Beat A& R negotiated a deal with the band.

For their first Off-Beat release, the group submitted 1996's Church of Acid , a compilation of selected tracks from Velvet Acid Christ's first three albums with an additional two new tracks, "Disflux" and "Futile". Church of Acid was well received in Europe, and "Futile" became a regularly played track in many nightclub s across the continent. In 1997, United States label Pendragon Records released Church of Acid in America, though the two new tracks were removed due to a lack of trademark clearance for Television programs|television samples used in the songs.

The band's next album, Calling Ov the Dead , was rejected by Off-Beat for not sounding edgy enough., prompting Slaughter's permanent departure. With the assistance of Bird and Olson, the band addressed the label's concerns and released Calling Ov the Dead in late 1997, with American distribution following through Pendragon in 1998. In the process, Erickson had accumulated a substantial financial debt .

With a line-up consisting of Erickson, Stroht and German musician Ingo Beitz, the band toured Europe in 1998 with Off-Beat label-mate Suicide Commando , which attracted the attention of Metropolis Records , the largest industrial label in United States. The parent label of Pendragon, Metropolis distributed the album Neuralblastoma , a partnership that would endure.

Velvet Acid Christ spent the majority of 1999 in the studio, first collaborating with Germany's Funker Vogt on a remix Extended play|EP entitled Velvet Acid Christ Vs Funker Vogt: The Remix Assault , then shifting to Velvet Acid Christ's next full-length recording, Fun With Knives . With Workman an occasional contributor, Erickson sought production assistance on Fun With Knives from the bands Luxt and 4th New Army. Fun With Knives , released by Metropolis and new Off-Beat sublabel dependent (record label)|dependent , became the band's best-selling album. Sales were propelled by the Single (music)|singles "Decypher" and "Fun With Drugs", and by the track "Slut", which featured vocals from Luxt's Anna Christine.

In spite of the success of the band, stress had led Erickson into Depression (mood)|depression and increased drug abuse, which channeled into the creation of the band's next album, Twisted Thought Generator . Simultaneously, the band toured Europe
with industrial acts Project X and Stromkern and toured the United States and Canada with bands Din_Fiv and Haujobb . The line-up of the band during this period was unstable. Workman, citing a conversion to Christianity, resigned the band with a request that his name be retracted from all previous albums. The first leg of the European tour consisted of Erickson, Bird and Stroht; the second leg, Erickson and Olson. The North American tour was performed by Erickson, Stroht and drummer Paul Lipman. With various contributors, Erickson completed Twisted Thought Generator . Due to lingering disputes, he withdrew the band from Dependent Records and submitted the album to Metropolis.

A change of pace, new early material, and beyond (2001& ndash;)

Erickson placed Velvet Acid Christ on a short hiatus in 2001, as he abandoned his dependence on drugs in favor of exercise and a Veganism|vegan raw foodist diet. Newly clean, Erickson created the 2003 album Hex Angel|Hex Angel: Utopia/Dystopia . Though critical response was mixed, Hex Angel: Utopia/Dystopia ranked #1 on Germany's Deutsche Alternative Charts (DAC) for four weeks after its release, and the album's single, "Pretty Toy", reached #18 on the Billboard magazine|Billboard Alternative Chart during the same year. The album also marked the band's short-lived return to Dependent Records.

Erickson spent 2004 releasing and reissuing some of Velvet Acid Christ's earliest material. With the four-volume compilation series Between the Eyes , the band published a collection of its singles and B-side s, then followed with subsequent re-releases of Fate ( Vol. 2 ), Pestilence ( Vol. 3 ), and Neuralblastoma ( Vol. 4 ). The band also offered free MP3 downloads of Twisted Thought Generator|Dimension 8 and Oblivion Interface on its website until early 2005. Dimension 8 , which had been available as a hidden bonus on Twisted Thought Generator , and Oblivion Interface (informally known as Between the Eyes, Vol. 5 ) provided fans with previously unheard work from the Cyber Christ-Vortex era of 1991& ndash;1994.

In 2005, Erickson collaborated with guitarist Todd Loomis on a new album, Lust for Blood (album)|Lust for Blood , which was released on 26 September 2006. With Lust for Blood , the crew labored intensively to create a new overall sound while maintaining the band's original characteristics. Following its release, Lust for Blood ranked at the top of Germany's DAC for four weeks; the album's single release, Wound (song)|"Wound" , ranked on the DAC's singles chart for eight weeks, 2006-09-28, retrieved 2009-11-25 and held the #1 position for four weeks. Velvet Acid Christ Website. Accessed September 15, 2009.

In October 2009 Velvet Acid Christ, Erickson wrote most of the lp, Loomis did a little work on it and was busy working on his project "The Twilight Garden", released The Art of Breaking Apart This lp was a tribute to bands like Current 93 and Death In June and brought vac many new fans while making the rivetheads angry.

2010-2011 Bryan Erickson teamed up with William Anderson of Louisiana, William did a ton of sampling, Bryan Made a bunch of VAC b-sides and turned them into Toxic Coma tracks. The project is very old with a revolving door of members again Bryan being the main constant. This lp fuses the Techno sound of fun with knives and the brutal black humor of Toxic Coma and gives you a ride into SATAN DISCO LAND. Check out This VAC Side Project now. Toxic Coma "SATAN RISING" IS out on metropolis Records.

2011-2012 Velvet Acid Christ is now solely Bryan Erickson, aka Disease Factory(musician name) aka Hexfix93(producer name). The new LP's working title is "MALDIRE" It is a throw back to the Calling of the dead era of vac and even earlier. Lots of arpeggio synth lines inspired by the legendary pink dots. Industrial beats inspired by old Wumpscut. A toy box of evil. Very dance friendly, incorporates new styles like Witchhouse, and synthwave. Still being true to its industrial musical roots. The new Velvet Acid Christ is now being produced in the renoise tracker. Same way the last Toxic Coma LP "SATAN RISING" was made. Very loud mixes, aggressive and in your face. Maldire will bring VAC back with a vengeance in 2012. Be on the look out. He is covering Edward Kaspel's "EVEN NOW" track, said to be trippy dance sci fi industrial.

Audio samples

Personnel

Current members

Discography

Albums

Fate (Velvet Acid Christ album)|Fate – (CS Album, Ltd. Edition ) 1994 – no label • (CD Album, Ltd. Edition ) 1994 – no label

Pestilence (Velvet Acid Christ album)|Pestilence – (CS, Ltd. Edition ) 1994 – no label • (CD, Ltd. Edition ) 1994 – no label

Neuralblastoma – (CDr Album, Ltd. Edition) 1995 – Electric Depth Trip Records • (CD Album, Ltd. Edition ) 1998 – Metropolis (US) • (CD Album, Ltd. Edition ) 1998 – Off Beat (EU) • (CD Album, Repress) 2004 – Synthetic Symphony (EU)

Church of Acid – (CD) 1996 – Off Beat (EU) • (CD) 1997 – Pendragon Records (US)

Calling Ov the Dead – (CD Album) 1998 – Pendragon Records (US), Off Beat (EU) • (CD Album, Reissue) 2002 – Synthetic Symphony • (CD Album, Reissue) 2006 – Synthetic Symphony

Fun with Knives – (CD Album) 1999 – Metropolis (US) • (CD Album) 1999 – Dependent Records (EU)

Fun with Razors – (CD Album + Mini CD, Ltd. Edition Box) 1999 – Dependent Records

Velvet Acid Christ Vs Funker Vogt: The Remix Assault|The Remix Wars: Strike 4 – Velvet Acid Christ vs. Funker Vogt – (CD) 1999 – Metropolis (US), Off Beat (EU) • (CD) 2002 – Synthetic Symphony

Twisted Thought Generator – (CD Album, Enhanced) 2000 – Metropolis

Dimension 8 – (MP3 Files) 2000, no label (on "Twisted Thought Generator" CD as a data track, also released online for free, temporarily)

Hex Angel|Hex Angel: (Utopia - Dystopia) – (CD Album) 2003 – Dependent Records (EU), Metropolis (US) • (CD Album, Ltd. Edition Box) 2003 – Dependent Records (EU), Metropolis (US)

Oblivion Interface – (MP3 Files) 2004, no label (released online for free, temporarily)

Between the Eyes Vol. 1 – (CD) 2004 – Metropolis (singles compilation)

Between the Eyes Vol. 2 – (CD) 2004 – Metropolis (re-release of "Fate")

Between the Eyes Vol. 3 – (CD) 2004 – Metropolis (re-release of "Pestilence")

Between the Eyes Vol. 4 – (CD) 2004 – Metropolis (re-release of "Neuroblastoma beta")

Lust for Blood (album)|Lust for Blood – (CD Album) 2006 – Metropolis

The Art of Breaking Apart (album)|The Art of Breaking Apart – (CD Album) 2009

New Album - (CD Album) 2012

EPs

Decypher – (CD Maxi) 1999 – Metropolis

Fun with Drugs – (CD Maxi) 1999 – Dependent Records

Dial 8 – (CD Maxi) 2001 – Metropolis

Pretty Toy – (CD Maxi) 2003 – Dependent Records (EU), Metropolis (US)

Wound – (CD Maxi) 2006 – Metropolis

Compilation appearances

The Tyranny Off the Beat Vol. III – (CD) 1996, Track #3 "Futile (LSD-Mix)" – Off Beat

Binary Application Extension 04 – (CD) 1997, Track #2 "The Calling" – Genocide Project

Intelligent Inside – (CD) 1997, Track #4 "The Hand (Trance Mix)" – Off Beat

Moonraker Vol. 3 – (2xCD) 1997, Disc #2, Track #9 "Fiction Friction" – Sub Terranean

The Gothic Compilation Part VI – (CD) 1997, Track #9 "The Dead Part I" – Gothic Records (Germany)

The O-Files Vol. 2 – (CD) 1997, Track #8 "The Hand (Aggro Trash Mix)", Track #9 "The Hand (Cut Throat Psycho Rave Mix)" and Track #10 "Killing Me" – Off Beat

The Tyranny Off the Beat Vol. IV – (2xCD) 1996, Disc #2, Track #8 "Malfunction" – Off Beat

Apocalypse Now Vol. 2 – (2xCD) 1998, Disc #2, Track #2 "The Hopeless" – Sub Terranean

Binary Application Extension 05 – (CD) 1998, "Amphetamine OD (Fuck Off Sage for Not Putting Futile on this Disc Mix)" – Genocide Project

Elektro Discharge – (CD) 1998, Track #3 "Save Me From Love" – DSBP

Moonraker Vol. IV – (2xCD) 1998, Disc #2, Track #10 "The Hand (Violent Trance Mix)" – Sub Terranean

Quadrophobia V.1 – (CD) 1998, Track #12 "The Hand (Aggro Trash Mix)", Track #13 "The Hand (Cut Throat Psycho Rave Mix)" and Track #14 "Killing Me" – Pendragon Records

The Tyranny Off the Beat Vol. V – (2xCD) 1998, Disc #1, Track #11 "Melting (Unreleased Track)" – Off Beat

We Came to Dance – Indie Dancefloor Vol. 11 – (2xCD) 1998, Disc #2, Track #3 "Timeless Visions" – Sub Terranean

Zillo Club Hits 3 – (CD) 1998, Track #4 "Futile" – Zillo

Zillo Mystic Sounds 7 – (CD) 1998, Track #15 "Pray For Life" – Zillo

'''Bodyhorst's Popshow 2 – (CD) 1999, Track #3 "Decypher (Forensciscs Edit)" – Bodystyler Magazin

Electronic Lust V.2 – (CD Sampler) 1999, Disc #1, Track #3 "Suicide Picnic" – Orkus

Elegy – Numéro 4 – (CD Sampler) 1999, Track #7 "Fun With Drugs (Amphetamine Overdose Mix)" – Elegy

Septic – (CD, Ltd. Edition) 1999, Track #5 "W.H.T.S.W.H.T.K. 98 (No Sleep 'Til Fun With Knives Mix)" – Dependent Records

Volume 2 – (CD) 1999, Track #14 "Decypher" – Prospective Music Magazine

Zillo Mystic Sounds 8 – (CD) 1999, Track #16 "So Much" – Zillo

Critical M@55 – (CD) 2000, Track #12 "The Dark Inside Me" – Metropolis

ElectroManiac Vol. 1 – (CD) 2000, Track #14 "Malfunction" – Bloodline

Eurorock Sonic Seducer Festival 2000 – (2xCD) 2000, Disc 31, Track #13 "Fiction Friction (US-Only Track)" – Oblivion

Metropolis 2000 – (CD) 2000, Track #2 "Fun With Drugs (Edit)" – Metropolis

Resist the Command – (CD) 2000, Track #7 "Cyber Communists Plotting Red Revolt" – Dystopian Records

We Came To Dance 2000 – (2xCD) 2000, Disc #1, Track #8 "Never Worship" – GTN (Global Trance Network)

Zillo Dark Summer 2000 – (2xCD) 2000, Disc #1, Track #16 "Icon" – Zillo

Critical M@55 Volume 2 – (CD) 2001, Track #6 "Asphixia (Wasted)" – Metropolis

D-Side 2 – (CD Sampler) 2001, Track #8 "Dial 8" – D-Side

Der Seelen Tiefengrund 3: Music for Candlelight & Redwine – (2xCD) 2001, Disc #2, Track #10 "Repulsive (Necropolis Mix)" – Zoomshot Media Entertainment

Electro Club Attack – The Classix I – (2xCD) 2001, Disc #2, Track #12 "Disflux (Feed Back Mix)" – XXC

Metropolis 2001 – (CD) 2001, Track #1 "Lysergia" – Metropolis

New Forms of Electronic Body Music – (CD) 2001, Track #1 "Velvet Pill (Jagged Scar Mix)" – Bloodline

Orkus Presents: The Best of the 90s 1 – (2xCD) 2001, Disc #1, Track #12 "Futile (Nazi Bastard Mix)" – Angelwings, Orkus

Orkus Presents: The Best of the 90s 2 – (2xCD) 2002, Disc #2, Track #4 "The Hand (Violent Trance Mix)" – Orkus

D-Side 17 – (CD Sampler) 2003, Track #10 "Misery" – D-Side

Elegy Sampler 29 – (CD Sampler) 2003, Track #10 "Collapsed" – Elegy

Gypsy 83 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – (CD) 2003, Track #10 "Dilaudid (Postponed)" – Metropolis

Metropolis 2003 – (CD Sampler) 2003, Track #12 "Pretty Toy" – Metropolis

Sonic Seducer Cold Hands Seduction Vol. 29 – (CD Sampler, Enhanced) 2003, Track #2 "Collapsed" – Sonic Seducer

This Is Neo-Goth – (3xCD) 2003, Disc 31, Track #5 "Decypher (Force = Authority Remix)" – Cleopatra

ZilloScope: New Signs & Sounds 08-09/03 – (CD Sampler, Enhanced + VCD) 2003, CD Track #7 "Convex" – Zillo

:Per:Version: Vol. 10 – (CD Enhanced) 2004, Track #1 "Dead Tomorrow" – :Ritual:

Metropolis 2004 – (CD) 2004, Track #11 "Collapsed" – Metropolis

Orkus Compilation XVII – (CD Sampler, Enhanced) 2004, Track #6 "The Hopeless" – Orkus

Orkus Presents: The Best of the 90s 4 – (2xCD) 2004, Disc #1, Track #2 "Phucking Freak" – Angelwings, Orkus

Orkus Presents: The Very Best of the 90s Vol. 1 – (2xCD) Disc #1, Track #8 "Futile (Nazi Bastard Mix)" – Angelwings, Orkus

Clubtrax Vol. 2 – (2xCD) 2006, Disc #1, Track #4 "Wound" – Danse Macabre

D-Side 36 – (CD Sampler) 2006, Track #8 "Discolored Eyes" – D-Side

Elegy Sampler 43 – (CD Sampler) 2006, Track #8 "Lust" – Elegy

Gothic Compilation Part XXXIV – (2xCD) 2006, Disc #2, Track #13 "Parasite" – Batbeliever Releases, Indigo

Metropolis 2006 – (CD) 2006, Track #13 "Discolored Eyes" – Metropolis

New Signs & Sounds 10/06 – (CD Sampler, Enhanced) 2006, Track #13 "Parasite" – Zillo

Sonic Seducer Cold Hands Seduction Vol. 63 – (CD Sampler + CD Enhanced, Sampler) 2006 – Disc #4 "Blood" – Sonic Seducer

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1. Mortiis 2. Funker Vogt

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