The Electric Hellfire Club
The Electric Hellfire Club is an industrial metal band mixing elements of glam metal, industrial, gothic rock, and psychedelia. The bands lyrics contain tongue-in-cheek references to sin, violence, sex, devil worship and similar themes. The band also makes use of sampling, mainly from low-budget horror films.
Based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States, the Electric Hellfire Club was formed in 1991 when Thomas Thorn (aka Buck Ryder) departed My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult. The band has undergone many changes in membership, with only frontman Thomas Thorn remaining throughout its history.
The Electric Hellfire Club initially comprised Thorn (vocals, keyboard programming), co-founder and keyboardist Shane Lassen (aka Rev. Dr. Luv), and guitarist Ronny Valeo. After the initial string of live shows, drummer Eric Peterson (aka Janna Flail) would be added to enhance the band's live shows, thus completing the band's original lineup.
Prior to recording the first album Burn, Baby, Burn! (1993), dancer and back-up singer Sabrina Satana would join the group, and Peterson would be replaced on drums by Richard Frost.
The EHC toured extensively throughout the early to mid-1990s, both as an opening act, and as headliners in their own right. They toured with Type O Negative, Christian Death, Spahn Ranch, Penal Colony, and Genitorturers, amongst others.
During this period, the band released a remix album called Satan's Little Helpers (1994) and their second full-length LP entitled Kiss the Goat (1995). The band also released the Trick or Treat? single (1995), which featured cover songs like Halloween Medley (featuring the Bauhaus song Bela Lugosi's Dead) and AC/DC's Highway to Hell, along with a Leæther Strip remix of the original EHC track Incubus.
On January 22, 1996, Shane Lassen was killed in an automobile accident. After the death of The Rev. Dr. Luv, the band regrouped and recorded the album Calling Dr. Luv, dedicating the title track, a cover of the KISS song from which Lassen drew his stage name, in his honor.
After recording Calling Dr. Luv, the band began extensive touring again, setting out on the road with legendary noise musician Boyd Rice. During this period of near-constant touring, the band toured with such acts as Type O Negative, Danzig, Coal Chamber, GWAR, Powerman 5000, Fear Factory, Godflesh, and played one-off shows with Spahn Ranch and Alien Sex Fiend.
Before setting off on tour with GWAR in the summer of 1997, the band entered the studio and recorded the single D.W.S.O.B., which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1997 film Gummo.
They also performed a cover tune for the television theme song Charles in Charge, changing it and the inferred meaning with a goth/industrial style. The song was released on the two cd set of 36 TV show opening tunes of TV cover songs done by goth/industrial bands. The CD was titled TV Terror: Felching a Dead Horse and was released in September 1997.
EHC released their second remix album called Unholy Roller in 1998, followed by the compilation album Empathy for the Devil (2000), featuring previously released/unreleased cover songs and holiday hymns.
In 2000, the band also put out their fourth full-length LP Witness the Millennium. This marked a huge change in the sound of the band, which became more guitar-oriented and influenced by metal. The last EHC release entitled Electronomicon (2002) continued this industrial metal sound.
Following the completion of an extensive tour in 2002, the band entered a period of extended hiatus that has lasted 13 years. Numerous rumors of new tour dates and studio material, including a DVD, have surfaced since then, but other than a cover song of Metallica's Devil's Dance, released through the band's website in early 2004, no such activity has come forth.
2005 saw the band scatter, and enter a period of hiatus. Frontman Thomas Thorn relocated from the band's native Wisconsin to the Florida Keys, and Sabrina Satana relocated to Los Angeles. The official website went offline, and the official message board was taken down as well. 2005 and 2006 saw no official activity from the band.
In 2007 a new official website appeared at electrichell.net, and the band's page on the website myspace.com began receiving updates. Information on the website and Myspace page indicated that the band was regrouping and possibly working together again, and that Wilhelm Curse had resumed keyboarding duties for the band.
Throughout mid to late 2008, the band began releasing demo versions of previous songs, and other rare recordings via their page on myspace.com. These tracks were available for streaming, and changed on a semi-regular basis. This is to date, the only instance that the band had officially made available material from the 1991 demo album entitled 12 Songs from Hell.
Early 2009 brought about the reactivation of the band in earnest. In January it was reported at electrichell.net and on the band's MySpace page that preliminary work had started on a new full-length album, which would mark the band's first studio album in seven years. It also saw Charles Edward from the Denver area gothic metal band Seraphim Shock join the band as guitarist, replacing long time band member Ricktor Ravensbrück, who was serving time in federal prison on drug charges. Original drummer Eric Peterson rejoined the band in February, reuniting half of the band's original lineup.
In February 2011, a news update to the band's official site indicated that work on a new album was "indefinitely postponed." Shortly afterwards, the band's official site electrichell.net went down.
In February 2014, Frozen North Records announced via MK Ultra that Thorn, Ravensbrück & company had reunited and been signed to produce their first new album in over a decade, titled "Tech Noir." The album will reportedly pay tribute to not only the band's electro-industrial roots but also maintain the heavy-hitting metal crunch they've been associated with more lately.
As of December 2014, nothing else is known about future releases, except that the band has hinted on their official Facebook page that the new album will be coming soon.
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THE ELECTRIC HELLFIRE CLUB - OFFICIAL FACEBOOK
THE ELECTRIC HELLFIRE CLUB - OFFICIAL MYSPACE
THE ELECTRIC HELLFIRE CLUB - FAN SITE
Current Members:
Thomas Thorn - vocals, keyboards, samples, programming
Sabrina Satana - vocals, bass
Eric Peterson - drums, percussion
Ricktor Ravensbrück - guitars, bass
Discography:
1993 - Burn, Baby, Burn!
1994 - Satan's Little Helpers
1995 - Kiss the Goat
1995 - Trick or Treat?
1996 - Calling Dr. Luv
1998 - Unholy Roller
2000 - Empathy for the Devil
2000 - Witness the Millennium
2002 - Electronomicon Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
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