The Traumatizing Album that Released After the Artist’s Sudden Death

[Music] we all have media that deeply frightened us when we were young maybe it was a scene from a TV show with a extreme tonal shift maybe it was a movie that you stayed up a little too late watching I've had my fair share of those experiences but one in particular has resurfaced and sent me down a rabbit hole that I feel like I'm still trying to get out of a song from an album that was so eerie and disturbing to me when I listened to it that my young and malleable brain turned it into a a dog whistle for fear this album was released as a grieving tool after one of the members of the band tragically passed away and they used his voice to complete their final album This is truly an abstract and abrasive listening experience that I can't stop thinking about a bit dramatic maybe but I really can't undersell the impact that this music had on me and the insane Revelations I had years after the fact a fair warning that video is going to contain more heavier topics than usual death trauma and grieving so you have been warned so as the title suggests this video is about experimental electronic Duo Coy's 2005 album the ape of Naples an Infamous album in its own right but I still feel is pretty underrated this album's description is like crack to rate your music users post-industrial electronic dark wave dark ambient take my money immediately I don't need it anymore coil is an Infamous band in the experimental music scene with original members Peter Christopherson and John balance both being Pioneers in their own right with Peter being a founding member of the infamous industrial band throbbing gristle Peter is also referenced as sleazy sometimes not like the derogatory term like that's his actual nickname so if you see that written down anywhere in this video just don't be confused Jon actually learned of Peter from his interest in the aforementioned throbbing gristle they would find themselves in another musical project psychic TV where balance and Christopherson would meet and soon find themselves in a romantic relationship before eventually departing and deciding to create their own band in 1982 coil with both sharing production duties and John on vocals they would go on to release many many albums as coil with standouts being 1986's horse renovator 1991's Love's secret domain and 2000s music to play in the dark just to name a few but this project the one this video is on the ape of Naples is different not just different to me but its creation is different but let's stop right here for now put a pin in this conversation we'll come back to as this video continues and allow me to take you on a brief detour to over a decade ago I bring you back to this simpler time because believe it or not this was the first interaction I had with this album I will be completely honest the circumstances around me first listening to this have been almost completely lost to memory my best guess is a younger unsupervised Jake scrolling the internet trying to find new cool music that wasn't just Big Time Rush I don't remember exactly when or where I first heard this but I remember how it made me feel I remember the image associated with the music before even listening to it to it the album cover immediately I was captivated and intimidated this abstract creature with no lower body hands forcibly clasp together in prayer and minimal distress face just creep me out and I guess my monkey brain turned it into this morbid curiosity the cover was made by coil Affiliated artist Ian jstone jstone was also a romantic partner of John balance who's been connected to the band and made multiple album covers for them like the ape of Naples a quick note that'll like completely derroll the video but Ian would pass away in 2015 and on his obituary and all the websites talking about his passing would read his title as artist beekeeper and coil affiliate [ __ ] yeah dude even when I first saw it still being scared of the album cover I thought it was [ __ ] sick this is such a a cool [ __ ] album cover the ape of Naples also has this Deluxe album cover that kind of looks like a ball sack testical Monster not to totally [ __ ] on the mood but yeah I'm not as huge a fan of the alternative cover I found the album and the album cover intrigued me and scared me and I was like all right I can do this I'll listen to one song and see what I think and that song was it's in my blood to adequately portray myem emotions and feelings about this song I am unfortunately going to have to take the demonetization L if by some miracle this video is not copyrighted thank you but if I'm not so lucky please consider supporting the channel we are this close to 100,000 subscribers join the production crew on patreon or pick up some Channel merch at catching big fish.to my mercho brand uh I'm actually wearing it right now you know what [ __ ] it 25% off the whole store for the next week if you use code coil a check check out all caps by the way cuz trust me you're going to want to hear this it's in my blood starts with this pulsing Bas almost like an irregular [Music] heartbeat immediately pushing me out of my comfort zone and these crunchy synths come in to accentuate the [Music] base followed by these distorted textures maybe like chains rattling or some kind kind of organic sound that was just crushed to death and out of nowhere these horns come into the mix giving off this intimidation Vibe like something an army would play before going into [Music] battle and at this point I was extremely creeped out but I was holding strong so the horns cut out and then I was assaulted with the most terrifying blood curling scream I had ever heard in music this distorted Tim stretched whale like the track was coming alive and trying to escape the speakers distorted to the point where it barely even sounded human more horns are added to the screaming just to add to the confusion and disarming nature of the song then this hulking percussive Loop begins like the soundtrack of the beast on the album cover slowly and painfully crawling faster and faster toward you with more distorted wailing and Industrial bangs and explosions it was the scariest thing I had ever heard at that age and I was absolutely [Applause] terrified I couldn't take it I immediately closed the browser and I think I turned off the computer too I remember being so scared and borderline traumatized after listening to that but also weirdly infatuated like how could music make me feel like this and after that it kind of went the way of normal scary childhood media you know obsess about it for a few weeks slowly forget about it until eventually it gets tucked away in the vault eventually over the years my passion for graphic design would find me leaning toward more experimental taste when it comes to my art preferences and once upon a time I was browsing through Pinterest and wouldn't you believe it that [ __ ] album cover came up again I remember the artwork for my initial interaction with this album and as my music taste would slowly continue to grow over the years the album just kind of existed you know taunting me with a [ __ ] awesome app cover so fast forward about a year ago almost exactly a year ago actually when I reconnected with this album normally for my Patron exclusive review series I been listen to [ __ ] patrons recommend me albums and I listen to them you know if you want to do it it's only five bucks a month I highly recommend but every once in a while I'll just listen to an album and instead of just keeping it locked away and no one ever knows what I think about it I'll put it in the video you know extra content and hey maybe someone really wants to know what I think about that album and I thought [ __ ] it I've been saying how amazing of an album cover I think ape of Naples was and it was time it's time for me to face my childhood fears now we'll leave a pin in that story which we will return to back to the first pin the album itself and its tragic Origins the ape of Naples is very different and circumstances that no musician would ever want to make an album under on November 13th 2004 one half of coil John balance was drinking heavily at his home and in his drunken State he would fall from his second story balcony badly injured and losing blood Jon was rushed to the hospital to receive life-saving medical attention but it wasn't enough and Gregory Lawrence Burton would pass away later that night in the hospital Peter would later take to the website him and John Creed for their label threshold house to announce the news of his passing a truly terrible situation and my deepest condolences go out to anyone that was affected by this just terrible so Peter was grieving and not just without a band member but a lover in the original upload of this video I did not know that Peter and John were in a romantic relationship and I apologize for that I was not leaving that information out intentionally you can chock that up to ignorance on my part knowing that just makes this situation even more tragic this is a very important part of the story that I missed in my original video which is why this is a re-upload with the correct information now if you were paying attention Jon's death was in November of 2004 but the ape of Naples released in 2005 with John as the lead vocalist how is this possible how did this album release with new vocals after the vocalist's death well the album the ape of Naples was created to help Peter grieve with the loss of John Peter would go back into the archives and find out takes and forgotten demos from earlier albums specifically live exclusive songs and a project referred to as the backwards during the New Orleans era all vocals on the ape of Naples barring the last track are exclusively demos and live Snippets of John rediscovering the tracks after John's Death Peter said that the words JN was saying suddenly had new meaning Peter went on to describe songs from the New Orleans era which had not seemed to have found their time suddenly took on a completely new aspect because of John's death miraculously they changed morphed in front of my eyes and I had numerous oh my God that's what that's about revelatory moments so with the vocal Snippets of his deceased lover Peter would take them and turn them into Cole's final studio album 11 Tracks 65 minutes in length the album opens with the Oregon and woodwind track fire of the mind and after knowing the back story of this album's creation the lyrics just really do bring on a whole different meaning over ambient chords organ sounds and distorted feedback John balance whales away does death come alone or with eager reinforcements angels are beastial man is the animal tattooed man paints such a vivid picture in my head from the sounds of an organ and organic shakers to the lyrical content it just generates this image of a jilted lover walking the streets of Paris at night and reinforcing that mental image by the song's first line there's a man lying down in a grave somewhere with the same tattoos as me I loved him I loved him I loved him my prevailing theory is this track is a tribute to one of Jon's previous lovers possibly even the same one he would talk about on horse renovator that he would unfortunately and tragically lose to AIDS triple Sun brings a more electronic Centric flare to the track list with bell tools and more organic instrumentation like I want to say maybe a Glock and Spiel but whatever it is it's present for a large chunk of the track and that's one thing about this album for an electronic album there's so much live and organic instrumentation just adds to the confusion and bizar of the release like clock and spiels organs like I mentioned before and upright base just adds to this abstract listening experience just creating something just so unique cold cell is extremely eerie from the lyrics over stunning ambient chords vocal samples and an upright Bas Jon could be interpreted as praying for forgiveness from his sins before he'd pass away oh Lord save my sinful soul from local punishment from the far away Zone from being frisked from the tall fence from the severe prosecutor from the devil from the devil owner from small rations from dirty water from steel handcuffs from hidden obligations a cold cell and short haircuts save us from the death penalty amen red more is a prayer than song lyrics once you know the origins of the album just makes the song even more spine chilling there are more songs that I really like but I don't want to talk about them all individually here and I kind of want to leave some of the album up to your imagination for when you eventually hopefully listen to it but the one track I do really want to talk about is probably the most poignant and the most beautifully tragic on the album the final track going up in an Essence it's a swan song for coil a a final bow for the original iteration of the band the song weirdly is technically a cover a cover of a British sitcoms theme song the theme song to are you being served is played very quietly in the mixed hard to point out but it's there John balance's final vocal appearance would be on this song a ripped live performance from Dublin Electronic Arts Festival in 2004 Jon's last live performance before his death repeating the phrase are you ready to go now according to Wikipedia Peter made it a point to include this snippet on the album saying The One and Only Time Jon thought of and Sayang those words his own Epitaph if you will this song also has the only vocal presence on the album not by John the bulk of the vocals on this song are by vocalist franois testori the vocals being a cover of the sitcom's theme song I listen to the theme song on its own and the fact someone can listen to that and make this out of it is just so uniquely genius the song still keeps the same surface level shopping mall lyrics ground floor perfumery stationer and leather goods wigs and habacher kitchen wear and Foods going up going up first floor telephones Gents ready-made suits shirts socks ties hats underwear and shoes going up going up second floor carpets travel goods and bedding materials and soft Furnishing restaurant and teas up going up going up going up a big reason I re-upload this video with the fact that Peter and John were lovers it just adds this extreme heavier weight to the situation it's not a friend or a bandmate as I originally thought it's his partner I could only begin to imagine how truly difficult creating this fantastic piece of art was for Peter the final tracks lyrics in a vacuum might not mean much but with the context of Jon's death these lyrics can be now looked at as someone leaving behind their Earthly desires and possessions slowly ascending on an escalator leaving behind the material world and continue going up going up and going up the first time I listen to the album in its entirety I was dismissive of it whether that being in the wrong head space being completely dark to the origins of the album or some still lingering childhood trauma and honestly probably a mix of all three I didn't even mention my connection to this album in the review just alluding to going down a deep rabbit hole and the vocalist turning me off at some points but being able to listen to this now and fully comprehend the backstory and my thoughts and emotions on the project this went from a traumatizing event for myself to one of the most chilling and experimental albums about death I think I've ever heard it took me multiple listens but this album did eventually start to grow on me with all the bizarre organic instrumentation the distorted feedback loops and the unconventional vocals finally clicking with me I don't say this lightly cuz I'm sure this has been done to death on the internet but I do really think this is above genre but as a happy ending to this video it's in my blood has turned into my favorite song on the album life just is just a big circle ain't it after this album was released it became Absol Absolut Infamous in the underground experimental music scene unfortunately Peter Christopherson would pass away only a few years after the ape of Naples release dying in his sleep on November 25th 2010 with no public cause of death being revealed but before his death he would actually release the album that he took most of Jon's vocals from for the ape of Naples it's on streaming services right now actually and it's titled the new backwards quick side note but the original it's in my blood titled a yo R is like not even the same song like listening to those two again just unique Brilliance just oh after Peter's death in 2010 Coyle would still continue to release music with their most recent project being from this year but all releases after the new backwards are poshish releases or compilations of unreleased music spearheaded by Drew McDow and Danny Hyde who lead the Project's archive both the the ape of Naples and the new backwards both had 2022 remasters put on streaming services if you want to hear the album itself and the album's origins this album is just something else something so beautiful unique and at some points if you're me hard to listen to an incredible swan song from John balance Peter Christopherson and coil I implore you to listen to this album for yourself and let the experience wash over you the ape of Naples is like no contemporary piece I have ever heard it's crazy how this album went from a traumatizing childhood fear of mine to being something that I admire you know it's something special something special to [Music] me

Channel: A Bucket of Jake

Views: 13,744

Keywords: jake joseph, a bucket of jake, jake joseph birdsong, a bucket of jake caretaker, everywhere at the end of time, coil, coil the ape of naples, the death of john balance, experimental music, scary music, horror music, disturbing music, halloween music, coil video essay, coil music video, a bucket of jake ape of naples, ape of naples vinyl, cursed music, scary music video essay, music about death, music released from the grave, coil ape of naples review, youtube new wave

Id: 1AP-9vfwnH0

Length: 22min 30sec (1350 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 24 2023