1998 album on World Serpent, 72 minutes long and consisting of four tracks of minimal electronica. The first 3,000 copies include six brightly colored stickers with graphics on them in lieu of a booklet. Gatefold slipcase.
1998 album on World Serpent, 72 minutes long and consisting of four tracks of minimal electronica. The first 3,000 copies include six brightly colored stickers with graphics on them in lieu of a booklet. Gatefold slipcase.
CD Reviews
4 tones: Coil in concentrate
Philippe Landry | Louisiana | 02/02/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm fascinated with how some critics and non-critics don't get it. I think it's because they've never been confronted with music that is actually functional: functional in the sense that it has a purpose in an environment. Jhonn, Sleazy and Drew created Time Machines to facilitate time travel and momentary displacement. I've read that many non-drug utilizers get the same kicks from it. I've never used a narcotic in my life, but when I play it while reading about magick, history, ancient science, etc. the words on page the seem more tangiable and the worlds seem more real. Time Machines is akin to Brian Eno's early ambient/drone works but with a darker edge. analogue frequencies abound! it's a great sonic exercise to focus in on the intricate little resonances and oscillation change-ups. track 2, 5-Me0-DMT, has a the numbing effect of a soft, misty needle being inserted into my head. i often try to listen to it under different conditions like being hungry, driving in the woods at night, sitting in the dark, etc. and each time there is something different waiting to be heard. Like most of Coil's post-Worship The Glitch work, it definately has a "presence". Don't think you have to take drugs to listen to it or that you have to see/feel anything at all; to quote Jhonn "It Just Is". don't push it's properties. let it lead your head. there isn't any one kind of experiance.
Along with Musick To Play In The Dark Vol.1&2, the Seasonal EP's and A Thousand Lights In A Darkened Room, Time Machines best represents Coil's intent and sonic ideals."
Not for everyone, but definitely for some!
Philippe Landry | 04/07/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This CD really hits the spot when I'm in strange emotional places. It's extreme ambience... the tracks are droning electronic washes which evolve and fold in on themselves. You can get some particularly cool effects when particular harmonic resonances synchronize with your audio system and room acoustics."
Everyone is wrong
David Beavers | San Francisco, CA United States | 11/10/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Well, not everyone is wrong; only people who are wrong, although being right doesn't help either, which might or might not be the premise for this album. Coil is very very good and this may be their very best: Astral Disaster & How to Destroy Angels are more experimental and weird, and Musick for Dark is more like songs with things in them, but this is actually (i think) their most intensely focused "album." A friend once said of 5-MeO-DMT (coincidentally the name of the 3rd track on this album) that the effects last "20 minutes / forever". Yikes. That might be said of this collection in general. Balance & Christopherson are weird sons of bishops. Good music for bedtime, writing, or unspeakable acts."
Music of the spheres
Max Gasner | New York, NY United States | 02/21/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Ok, so you can take drugs and listen to this CD. Extra points for the Eagle Scout who matches the track to the molecule - report back in this space. But the album is much more profoundly psychedelic than that: it doesn't need help, and it sure is more than a means to an end. (That being said, I do also listen to it while I sleep. Also in the dark.)
Nietzsche says somewhere something about learning to say not, "I do not like it," but rather, "I am not strong enough." If you can find a copy of this album you should buy it instantly, and then spend hundreds of hours playing it over and over again."
Groundbreaking? Not really. Interesting? Extremely...
pope_roy | Chelmsford, MA United States | 10/02/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Luckily for me, I live near a store that has a back issue of Coil stuff. This beauty was sitting on the shelf for about half a year before I broke down and bought it. And let me tell you... it's a mind expanding album, to say the least. Coil isn't the first act to experement with dark drones (look up indie artists Mindspawn and Loseven), but there is a certain quality to the tracks that make it unique. The album consists of four tracks, each at least ten minutes in length, of harmonic droning. The disc was literally made for use with drugs to "facilitate time travel", and as a result the songs are bizzare, to say the least. You certainly have to be in the mood to listen to it. While I've never experenced the "acoustic games" some other reviewers mentioned (mainly because I have a really crappy stereo system), with headphones (drugs or not) the album stirs something in your subconcious. There are enough subtle changes in the disc to arouse something in your mind... it's hard to explain, but halfway through the first track I get a plesant buzzing at the top of my head. Perhaps the boys have been experementing with extremely low frequiences: I don't know. All that matters is that this album is perfect if you're in the mood for relaxing or meditation, and while it may not improve on repeated listens like other abstract ambient works (Aphex Twin's "SAW v. II", Microstoria's "snd"), it certainly is facanating in it's own right."
Track Listings (4) - Disc #1