Velvet Acid Christ

Infobox musical artist
Name = Velvet Acid Christ


Landscape = yes
Background = group_or_band
Origin = Westminster, Colorado, USA
Genre = Electro-industrial
Years_active = 1990–present
Label = Alive, Dependent, EDT, Metropolis, Off-Beat, Pendragon, Synthetic Symphony
URL = [http://www.velvetacidchrist.com VelvetAcidChrist.com]
Current_members = Bryan Erickson
Todd Loomis

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

Bryan Erickson has been the lead vocalist, musician, and producer behind Velvet Acid Christ.

Musical style

The majority of the band's work is categorized among the genres of industrial, Gothic, electro-industrial, and 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 depression, love, misanthropy, drugs, hate, and religion. Many of the topics addressed in the group's songs were written by Erickson as a means of expressive release during personally challenging times.

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 sequencers such as drum machines and electric guitars with effects pedals.cite news |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20041010222542/www.velvetacidchrist.com/gear.htm |publisher=Velvet Acid Christ Website |title=VAC: Gear |date=2007-11-01] 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, Skinny Puppy, Cocteau Twins, The Cure and Siouxsie and The Banshees. [ [http://www.velvetacidchrist.com/faq.htm Velvet Acid Christ FAQ] Velvet Acid Christ Website. Accessed November 1 2007.]

History

Early projects, early changes, and first albums (1990–1995)

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 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 group C+C Music Factory, and Toxic Coma.Fact|date=November 2007 Following a turbulent period for Erickson and Slaughter, Workman left the group. [Primary section source. [http://web.archive.org/web/20041010224540/www.velvetacidchrist.com/timeline.htm VAC: Time Line] 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", he renamed the band "Velvet Acid Christ" "in honor of a bad acid trip"cite news |url=http://members.shaw.ca/Redscreams/VAC/about.htm |publisher=Velvet Acid Christ Fanlisting |title=Velvet Acid Christ Website // About |date=2007-11-01] . 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 (1996–2000)

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 nightclubs across the continent.cite news
url=http://www.lastsigh.com/interviews99/vacjune99.htm |publisher=Last Sigh Magazine |title=Bryan Erickson of Velvet Acid Christ -- An Interview / Fun With Knives |date=2005-08-14] 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 samples used in the songs.cite news |url=http://www.sonic-boom.com/~jester/interview/velvet.acid.christ.interview.html |publisher=Sonic Boom |title=Interview: Velvet Acid Christ - 12/9/97 |date=2006-05-17]

The band's next album, "Calling Ov the Dead", was rejected by Off-Beat for not sounding edgy enough.cite news |url=http://web.archive.org/web/20041010223954/www.velvetacidchrist.com/lyrics.htm |publisher=Velvet Acid Christ |title=VAC: Lyrics |date=2006-05-17] , 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 EP entitled "", 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 Records, became the band's best-selling album. Sales were propelled by the 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 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–)

Erickson placed Velvet Acid Christ on a short hiatus in 2001, as he abandoned his dependence on drugs in favor of exercise and a vegan raw foodist diet. Newly clean, Erickson created the 2003 album "" with a small assortment of other musicians, including members of the band Revolution State. 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 Alternative Chart during the same year.Fact|date=November 2007 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-sides, 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 "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 1991–1994.

In 2005, Erickson collaborated with guitarist Todd Loomis and drummer Chris Kutz on a new album, "Lust for Blood", which was released on 2006-09-26. 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", ranked on the DAC's singles chart for seven weeks and held the #1 position for four weeks.Fact|date=November 2007

The band, consisting solely of Erickson, is currently working on a new LP.

Audio samples

multi-listen item
filename = Velvet_acid_christ_fwd.ogg
title = "Fun With Drugs", from "Fun With Knives" (0:27, 232KB)
description = Trance-influenced track which employs clips from the 1998 film "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas".|multi-listen item
filename = Velvet_acid_christ_hand.ogg
title = "The Hand (Violent Trance Mix)", from "Calling Ov the Dead" (0:29, 237KB)
description = Dark, percussive single inspired by the 1996 computer game "Harvester".

cite news
url=http://web.archive.org/web/20041029051717/www.velvetacidchrist.com/zthehandviolent.htm
publisher=Velvet Acid Christ
title=VAC: The Hand
date=2005-12-09

] |multi-listen item
filename = Velvet_acid_christ_pretty.ogg
title = "Pretty Toy", from "Hex Angel: Utopia/Dystopia" (0:29, 232KB)
description = In Erickson's words, "i call this my gothic love song. The big drums and the pretty guitars and stings just make this one of my favorite vac songs of all time."

cite news
url=http://web.archive.org/web/20050213091447/www.velvetacidchrist.com/zprettytoy.htm
publisher=Velvet Acid Christ
title=VAC: Pretty Toy
date=2005-12-09

] |multi-listen item
filename = Velvet_acid_christ_slut.ogg
title = "Slut", from "Fun With Knives" (0:29, 228KB)
description = A haunting, piano-laced track featuring vocals by Luxt's Anna Christine.|multi-listen item
filename = Velvet_acid_christ_whtswhtk.ogg
title = "We Have To See We Have To Know", from "Church Of Acid" (0:29, 244KB)
description = An expansive instrumental composed in the project's earlier days.|

Personnel

Current members

* Bryan Erickson (1990 – present) – lead vocals, composition, guitar, lyrics, mixing, production, various

Former members

* Grigory Bilham (1990 – 1992) – assistance, composition
* Chris Workman (1990 – 2000) – assistance, composition
* Gary Slaughter (1994 – 1997) – composition, engineering, mixing, production, various
* Todd Loomis (2005 – 2006) – composition, various

tudio contributors

Musicians who have previously contributed to the band's albums (with approximate years):

* Steve Bird (1995 – 2000) – engineering.
* Anna Christine (of Luxt) (1999) – vocals
* Erie Loch (of Luxt) (1999) – lyrics
* Josh Wilson (of 4th New Army) (1999) – assistance, composition, lyrics, vocals
* Lisa Wilson (of 4th New Army) (1999) – assistance, composition
* Abby Hasstedt (2000) – vocals
* Rafi Sholsman (2000) – ranting
* Paul Lipman (2000, 2003) – composition, lyrics, vocals
* Ben Pebley (of Revolution State) (2003) – composition
* Bonnie Pebley (of Revolution State) (2003) – composition
* Chris Kutz (2005) – drums

Live contributors

Musicians who have toured with the band (one tour in 1998, two in 2000):
* Ingo Beitz (of Kalte Farben) (1998) – synths
* Bryan Erickson (1998, 2000) – vocals, synths, drums, various
* Thorsten Stroht (of Dependent Records) (1998, 2000) – synths
* Steve Bird (2000) – synths, samples
* Paul Lipman (2000) – synths, drums, samples
* Dan Olson (2000) – synths, samples

Discography

Albums

*Fate – (CS Album, Ltd. Edition [150 copies] ) 1994 - "no label" • (CD Album, Ltd. Edition [50 copies] ) 1994 - "no label"
*Pestilence – (CS, Ltd. Edition [100 copies] ) 1994 - "no label" • (CD, Ltd. Edition [50 copies] ) 1994 - "no label"
*Neuralblastoma – (CDr Album, Ltd. Edition) 1995 - Electric Depth Trip Records • (CD Album, Ltd. Edition [2500 copies] ) 1998 - Metropolis (US) • (CD Album, Ltd. Edition [2500 copies] ) 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
* – (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)
* – (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 – (CD Album) 2006 - Metropolis

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

References

External links

* [http://www.velvetacidchrist.com/ Official Velvet Acid Christ website]
* [http://www.velvetacidchristforum.com/community/ Official Velvet Acid Christ forums]
* [http://www.discogs.com/artist/Velvet+Acid+Christ Velvet Acid Christ] at Discogs
* [http://www.last.fm/music/Velvet+Acid+Christ Velvet Acid Christ] at Last.fm
*
* [http://www.myspace.com/velvetacidchrist Velvet Acid Christ] at MySpace
* [http://www.generyx.de VAC Live & Tour Pictures] Ex live member homepage with many VAC-tour pics
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20041010224540/www.velvetacidchrist.com/timeline.htm VAC: Time Line] Erickson's first-hand account of the band's history.
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20041013205839/http://www.sloth.org/samples-bin/samples/group?exact=Velvet+Acid+Christ The Top Sampling Groups List: Velvet Acid Christ] A list of samples used in many of the band's songs.