How To Destroy Angels

The complete recording of 'A Slow Fade To Total Transparency'. Recorded 24th August 1983, at the Air Gallery, London. Personnel for the performance - John Balance (Coil), John Gosling (Zos Kia), Marc Almond (Soft Cell) and live mix by Peter Christopherson (Coil, Throbbing Gristle).All audio has been remastered from the original tapes, is previously unreleased, and is EXCLUSIVE to this release. "Imagine how out-of-step with the dominant culture Coil were when they unveiled themselves in the Air Gallery to perform A Slow Fade To Total Transparency. Subtitled How To Destroy Angels, the music - a backing track prepared by John Balance, John Gosling and Peter Christopherson - bears only scant resemblance to the How To Destroy Angels 12” that Coil would release as their debut vinyl the following year. Instead of the meditative ritual gongs of the 12”, what we hear here is a restless, queasy melange of industrial noise, its eerie whistles the perfect backdrop for Marc Almond as he recites a bitter tirade against an ex-lover" (Michel Faber)."One of those rare moments in time when a seminal label digs up a thirty-five year-old gem in all its dusty profound glory... the players here really understood the thrill of unabashed performative freedom without repercussions. This recording provides an unmasked look into the hard-edged intersection between live performance, poetry and sound for what it was, packed with unfiltered, raw energy" (Tone Shift) "How To Destroy Angels is a worthwhile audio document of the raw vision of one of the earliest manifestations of Coil. The performance is visceral and extreme...[it] also marked the beginning of an enduring relationship between Marc Almond and Coil... an essential document in the early history of Coil involving performance, ritual and music". (Compulsion)