The Electric Hellfire Club
The Electric Hellfire Club |
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The Electric Hellfire Club is an industrial metal band mixing elements of glam metal, techno, gothic rock, psychedelia and experimental noise. The band also makes use of sampling, mainly from grindhouse horror films and criminal documentaries.
History
Based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Electric Hellfire Club was formed in 1991 when Thomas Thorn (aka Buck Ryder), departed the industrial/techno band My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult.
The Electric Hellfire Club initially comprised Thorn (vocals, keyboard programming), co-founder and keyboardist Shane Lassen (aka Rev. Dr. Luv), and guitarist Ronny Valeo. After the initial string of live shows, drummer Eric Peterson (aka Janna Flail) would be added to enhance the band's live shows, thus completing the band's original lineup. Prior to recording the first album, Burn, Baby, Burn!, dancer and back-up singer Sabrina Satana would join the group, and Peterson would be replaced on drums by percussionist Richard Frost.
The EHC toured extensively throughout the early to mid 1990's, both as an opening act, and as headliners in their own right. Among the bands they toured with are: Type O Negative, Christian Death, Spahn Ranch, Penal Colony, and Genitorturers.
On January 22, 1996, Shane Lassen was killed in an automobile accident. After the death of The Rev. Dr. Luv, the band regrouped and recorded the album Calling Dr. Luv, dedicating the title track, a cover of the KISS song from which Lassen drew his stage name, in his honor.
After recording Calling Dr. Luv, the band began extensive touring again, setting out on the road with legendary noise musician Boyd Rice. Midway through this tour, drummer Richard Frost and Keyboardist Giddle "Go-Go" Partridge departed the band. Thus began a lengthy cycle of revolving band members that seemed to last until the band's last national tour in 2002. During this period of near-constant touring, the band toured with such acts as Type O Negative, Danzig, Coal Chamber, GWAR, Powerman 5000, Fear Factory, Godflesh, and played one-off shows with Spahn Ranch and Goth legends Alien Sex Fiend.
At some point during 1996 singer Thomas Thorn met Church of Satan founder, Anton LaVey, and was ordained a priest in the church by LaVey. Thorn later wrote a eulogy of LaVey following the latter's death in 1997, which appeared in the Church of Satan's house organ The Black Flame.
Before setting off on tour with GWAR in the summer of 1997, the band entered the studio and recorded the single "D.W.S.O.B", which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1997 film Gummo.
Following the completion of an extensive tour in 2002, the band entered a period of extended hiatus. Numerous rumors of new tour dates and studio material, including a DVD, have surfaced since then, but other than a cover song of Metallica's "Devil's Dance", released through the band's website in early 2004, no such activity has come forth. On the message board of the then-official website, the band blamed the growth of peer-to-peer file sharing for harming its sales. Guitarist Ricktor Ravensbruck stated on the website that the band's record sales had been affected to the point that he could no longer earn a living solely from them.
2005 saw the band scatter, and become apparently defunct. Frontman Thomas Thorn relocated from the band's native Wisconsin to the Florida Keys, and Sabrina Satana relocated to Los Angeles. The official website went offline, and the official message board was taken down as well. 2005 and 2006 saw no official activity from the band. In 2007 a new official website appeared at electrichell.net, and the band's page on the website myspace.com began receiving updates. Information on the website and myspace page indicated that the band was regrouping and possibly working together again, and that Wilhelm Curse had resumed keyboarding duties for the band. Throughout mid to late 2008, the band began releasing demo versions of previous songs, and other rare recordings via their page on myspace.com. These tracks were/are available for streaming, and are changed on a semi-regular basis. This is to date, the only instance that the band has officially made available material from the 1991 demo album; entitled "12 Songs From Hell".
Line up
The band has undergone many changes in membership, with only frontman Thomas Thorn remaining throughout its history.
- Thomas Thorn - vocals, keyboards, samples, programs
- Ricktor Ravensbrück - guitars, effects
- Sabrina Satana - bass, vocals
- Wilhelm Curse - live keyboards, sampling
Miscellanous
A fan and convicted murderer Caleb Fairley attended an Electric Hellfire Club concert on September 10, 1995 in Philadelphia, PA. The same night he killed Lisa Manderach, her baby daughter Devon, sexually assaulted the mother and dumped their bodies in nearby Valley Forge National Park. At that show its is believed that Fairley asked then keyboardist for the band, Shane Lassen, if he could help him "in establishing a more personal relationship with Satan".
Discography
- Burn, Baby, Burn! 1993, Cleopatra Records
- Satan's Little Helpers 1994, Cleopatra Records
- Kiss the Goat 1995, Cleopatra Records (reissued 2005)
- Trick or Treat? Halloween '95 1995, Cleopatra Records (Limited pressing of 1,000 LPs on Orange Vinyl, and 500 CD copies)
- Calling Dr. Luv 1996, Cleopatra Records
- Unholy Roller 1998, Cleopatra Records
- Empathy for the Devil 2000, Cleopatra Records
- Witness The Millennium 2000, Cleopatra Records
- Electronomicon 2002, Cleopatra Records (reissued 2005)[1]
References
- ^ Discogs discography (Retrieved June 2007)