THE UNRELEASED THEMES FOR HELLRAISER

Recorded in 1986 for Clive Barker's 'Hellraiser' film, this EP failed to get past the film company directors on the assumption that it was too distressing for a mainstream audience. In the end they opted for the usual run of the mill orchestral score which did little to enhance the film. Sadly Coil were shot down in flames ending their only chance at making it big.

Sporting one of the best sleeves of all time with an angel/skull - life/death painting, these tracks are of good quality which would have added enormously to a sadly dated and cheesy movie. Of particular note is 'Box Theme' which has a super scary music box played amidst an almost John Carpenter 'Halloween' type score. It's music from the graveyard where grisly maggot ridden hands claw their way from beneath the earth.

Alternating between sleazy horror with the use of strings, queasy synths and the odd military timpani drum it paints a picture of post nuclear doom. Occasional throbbing, repetitive bass lines add a portent of impending disaster. Stabbing treated piano only adds to the overall malaise. Despite it's paltry 20 minute running time, it hits all the right buttons. It's therefore something of a travesty that it was rejected from the outset. A sad loss, but a small gem within the Coil catalogue.

Coil's infamously rejected dark ambient soundtrack work for Hellraiser has been released in various forms over the years - first as a highly abbreviated EP, then with further bonus material from other soundtrack jobs added, then as tracks on the Unnatural History series of compilations.

The best release of the material so far is the 2015 one - reverting to the title The Consequences of Raising Hell (a subtitle used for some earlier releases of The Unreleased Themes For Hellraiser), it includes the 9 surviving Hellraiser tracks, a series of short pieces produced for commercials to pay the bills, and a clutch of untitled tracks which represent early instrumental working versions of pieces that ended up on Gold Is the Metal.

On the whole, it's as good a collection of Coil's mid-1980s soundtrack and similar instrumental work as we're likely to get. A little reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails' soundtrack to Quake in places, the Hellraiser material is just as spooky as the movie demanded; meanwhile, the remaining tracks explore other moods, with the advertising jingles offering a sort of interval before the more disquieting material creeps in on the concluding untitled tracks.

THE UNRELEAASED THEMES FOR HELLRAISER EP

HELLRAISER is a British paranormal horror film that was released in 1987 and directed by Clive Barker and produced by Christopher Figg. Based on the 1986 novella "The Hellhound Heart," the film tackles the realms of the supernatural that involves a mystical puzzle box which summons a group of extra-dimensional sadomasochistic demons called the Cenobites who cannot differentiate between pain and pleasure. According to the novellas they are a religious sect in Hell known as the Order of the Gash and sort of like the fairy godmothers of granting wishes to those seeking sadomasochistic pleasures.

Like almost all films, this one required a musical score and Barker's love of COIL's creepy electronic music seemed like the perfect match however the funders of the film, New World Pictures found that COIL's dark ambient horror synth mixed with industrial neoclassical darkwave wasn't commercial enough for a big ticket film and was rejected. The score was finally awarded to the established Christopher Young who had already proven himself with "A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge" and "Invaders From Mars" scores.

COIL has always been staunchly antiestablishment and therefore it's no surprise that their music was just too weird for the masses which is exactly why i have always found it so appealing! Despite not being commercial enough for a major movie studio, the rejected music that would be released as THE UNRELEASED THEMES FOR HELLRAISER features some of the most accessible sounds COIL crafted in its multi-decade career no matter how dark and forbidding they are. COIL's entire canon is a confusing labyrinth of tracks on various releases and other releases having multiple titles. This one is no exception.

While the original 1987 vinyl 10" was titled THE UNRELEASED THEMES FOR HELLRAISER, the 1988 cassette release was named THE CONSEQUENCES OF RAILING HELL.. The 1990 CD version was truncated to simply HELLRAISER THEMES. As it turns out though, all of these original EP releases have become somewhat irrelevant since the first side of the original vinyl and cassette titled THE UNRELEASED THEMES FOR HELLRAISER would find themselves on the 1995 compilation "Unnatural History II" and the second side titled "Music For Commercials" would end up on the 1997 compilation "Unnatural History III."

Musically this soundtrack that never was is divinely wicked sounding. With creepy haunting backdrops in conjunct with abstract atonal electronic noise, music box sounds reminiscent of the "Rosemary's Baby Theme," and a keen sense of rhythm, dynamics and grating contrapuntal elements. It's an electrifying hair raising musical score that deserved to find itself on some strange occult themed film for sure. No matter where you find this one, either in its original format or as part of the compilations, this is one of COIL's most disturbing and menacing musical performances and the perfect macabre set of tracks for the perfect soundtrack to a nightmare.