Coil - Love's Secret Domain deluxe edition (2021)

I'm not ordinarily a huge fan of electronic music, but there was something really unique about Coil--their fearless creativity, their mastery of dynamics and textural distortions both subtle and extreme. Perhaps their crowning achievement, 1991's Love's Secret Domain will be getting the deluxe treatment later this month, including a second disc with various remixes and alternate versions, as well as a vinyl release. Not long ago, I picked up Stolen And Contaminated Songs, a collection of outtakes and reworked themes from the LSD sessions, which makes for an excellent companion piece, but there doesn't appear to be much overlap with the new deluxe edition. Are there any other fans out there?

In 1991, Coil released the third of their early classic full-length albums 'Love's Secret Domain', seemingly casting aside the gloom and funereal beauty of it's predecessors in favour of a painstakingly multi-layered hallucinogenic electronic beast, which unlike some of their fellow ex-industrial contemporaries' releases of the time wasn't an attempt at easy accessibility or (the-gods-forbid) danceability, but a vibrating psychedelic masterpiece unrivalled in their discography and still a landmark album. To mark it's 30 year anniversary Infinite Fog are beyond proud to present an expanded, fully remastered re-release of this fan favourite available for the first time ever in it's entirety on vinyl with 10 rare and mostly unreleased tracks and alternative versions from the period added as a bonus to a luxurious 3LP/2CD set.Love's Secret Domain contains among it's many highlights the Lynchian William Blake tribute of it's title track and the intoxicating single 'Windowpane', original versions of the later Coil live staple 'Teenage Lightning' and the majestically warped classicisms of 'Chaostrophy'. Marc Almond guests on the Typhonian 'Titan Arch' and This Heat's Charles Hayward provides some amazing drum stylings.This album is Coil pushing their sound ideas and probably their sanity to their very limits. Beyond the iconic Steven Stapleton cover art here reproduced in unseen definition the doors of perception still open wide for both long-term Coil aficionados and new-comers to this supremely innovative release to explore unknown depths. The long-overdue re-release illustrates how far ahead of the curve Coil were with the sounds on this album, which still sounds as fresh and mind-blowing as it did back in the early 90s.

• 1 Disco Hospital
• 2 Teenage Lightning 1
• 3 Things Happen
• 4 The Snow
• 5 Dark River
• 6 Where Even the Darkness Is Something to See
• 7 Teenage Lightning 2
• 8 Windowpane
• 9 Chaostrophy
• 10 Further Back and Faster
• 11 Titan Arch
• 12 Lorca Not Orca
• 13 Love's Secret Domain
• 14 Disco Hospital (Unedited)
• 15 Teenage Lightning (Gtr)
• 16 Snow (Demonic Apollo a Version)
• 17 Dark River (Alternative Ruff from Point Studio Mix)
• 18 Teenage Lightning (Various)
• 19 Further Back and Faster (Didgeridoo)
• 20 Snow (Demonic Apollo B Version)
• 21 Carvers and Gilders (Chaostrophy)
• 22 The Dark Age of Love (Balance)
• 23 Love's Secret Domain (Early Instrumental)

 

I've been a big fan of this wonderful band since seeing their video for their cover of Tainted Love. That was a nice start exploring this band and all of their zany coconspirators. When Loves Secret Domain came out in 1989 on Wax Trax it almost seemed like they were going pop. They weren't. This album sounds just as dangerous now as it did then. Its companion album Stolen and Contaminated Songs is just as good yet different even though it is ostensibly outtakes . Music to Play in the Dark is another favorite of mine.

 

Thanks! Looking forward to this.

 

Wax Trax is also releasing a version this year too: COIL - Love's Secret Domain 30th Anniversary Edition / 2 LP DELUXE EDITION - Limited Black

I've loved LSD since it was released, still have my original cd, but no digital front end to play in on, so I am stoked to see these and the MTPITD on vinyl. TBH, I wish Infinite Fog would've dropped the outtakes and made this a 45 rpm version, but I can't have everything.

It will be interesting to compare the IF and the Wax Trax versions

 

The sentiment I've seen so far is people actually preferring the IF remaster despite its unofficial status. I suppose it comes down to a preference of the job done by Josh Bonati (Wax Trax remaster) or Martin Bowes (IF remaster). I've yet to A/B them.

 

I think their high point is Horse Rotorvator but definitely in the market for this.

 

Do you have the Wax Trax lp already? I thought that wasn't going to be released until July?

 

I ordered the gold vinyl version from Bleep and I'm hoping it will arrive tomorrow

 

I got my white lp copy the other day and I'm finally listening to it today. It sounds a lot better then I was expecting and I'm quite pleased after my first listen. TBH, I was biased towards expecting this to be a little more "bootleggy", since it's a quasi non-official release. All in all though, they did a pretty good job of mastering this; it doesn't have that digital to vinyl harshness that I was dreading. The pressing is flat and really quiet; not sure who pressed this but they did a good job IMO.

Also, I have no idea what they mean by "Comes in a Deluxe Hardcover Triple-Gatefold...." in the description . It's a standard thickness lp cover, not really a hardcover.
Coil – Love's Secret Domain (2021, White, 30th Anniversary Edition, Vinyl)

 

Is there any word on the Wax Trax version? It's listed as Sold Out on the WaxTrax site but not listed at all on Discogs. I have the 3LP IF version and I prefer it to the old CD at least, but both anniversary versions have reverted to the CD track list for the main LP, so I'm assuming it's a digital source for both. WT presumably do have legit access to the masters as they released it in the US originally and Danny Hyde seems to have approved the IF version, whatever that's worth. The ownership of Coil's catalog is a real mess unfortunately.

 

From their site: COIL - Love's Secret Domain 30th Anniversary Edition / 2 LP DELUXE EDITION - Limited Black

**THIS IS A PRE-ORDER. RECORD WILL SHIP STARTING JUNE 20, 2021**


I guess all the pre-orders have sold out

BUT, this looks still available if you want to plunk down the $$$$
COIL - Love's Secret Domain 30th Anniversary / CHAOSTROPHY EDITION - 4 pc Vinyl + CD

 

I just pre-ordered the Amber x 2 LP version from Wax Trax. It's delayed until mid August.

 

Here's a cool interview with Coil collaborator Stephen Thrower from The Quietus:

The Quietus | Features | A Quietus Interview | Further Back And Faster: A Return To Coil's Love's Secret Domain

 

The Infinite Fog versions are out. I got the 3LP version that has the bonus archival tracks.

 

It was sort of an impulse buy after I got the email from Wax Trax. I have a soft spot for that label.

 

Good read, thanks.

 

I’ve received my Wax Trax copy of this and it sounds great!

 

Received mine yesterday after it got sent from Chicago to a suburb of Chicago via Pittsburgh. It looks great and sounds great as well. The booklet inside has some nice photos and the cover has some interesting embossing. Well worth the wait.

 

Man I really want to support them. Wanted to grab the Confessions Of A Knife remaster, but no unreleased stuff was on it, and their mastering like everyone else today is pretty heavy handed

 

I totally agree. The cover art is much "brighter" than the Infinite Fog version, and the mastering is more dynamic and 'swirly' to my ears. I find the IF version much more flat in comparison

 

I tried to contact Wax Trax a couple of times to ask about mastering and sourcing specifics. No response = no purchase. I've got the old WT CD and it's sound quite nice IMHO, so I'll likely just stick with it. Any new remaster is just likely to be louder and more compressed which does this music no favors.

 

Those old Wax discs are great. Audiophile label and they didn't even realize it at the time!
I grabbed the 2019 Industrial Accident as it had some rarities on it, pretty heavy handed.

 

I don’t have one wax Trax album that sounds bad. There is no doubt it was audiophile quality for the least likely audiophile crowd. I’ll take my wax Trax albums over an eagles one step any day.

 

When does the Pablo Cruise one step come out?

 

It's interesting for wax some used FOON (Belgium) plates on some of the albums/singles.
Ministry's Halloween Remix, MPO Captain Bob.
I'm thinking for the compact discs they pretty much did flats. No wonky EQ'ing etc...