Coil Essentials

Formed by former Throbbing Gristle member Peter Christopherson and John Balance, Coil made music that was carnal, visceral and entirely distinctive. While Throbbing Gristle’s innovations in industrial music provided a starting point for Coil in the early ’80s, the duo soon ventured into new terrain by combining their interests in dance music and psychedelia with lyrics that reflected their enthusiasm for avant-garde art, queer culture and the occult. Decadent and daring, songs like “Love’s Secret Domain” and “Closer (Unrecalled)”—one of many collaborations with Coil superfan Trent Reznor—retain a powerful allure.