Electric Hellfire Club
Unholy Roller
[Cleopatra]
Rating: 7.6
It's easy to hate the Electric Hellfire Club. They're rude, obnoxious, and
difficult (at best) to work with, not to mention that their music is
often more than a little annoying. And judging from their
keyboardist's sudden departure from the band after playing only three
shows of their 1998 tour, it seems that even some of the band members
share my opinions. Maybe it comes with the territory of being in
a band with a Satanic ex-member of the Thrill Kill Kult. Who knows?
What makes this disc strange is that it's actually likable.
Unholy Roller is a collection of remixes off of the last two Electric
Hellfire Club albums, Calling Dr. Luv and Kiss the Goat, along
with a couple new and rare numbers thrown in for good measure. The title
track comes off as a somewhat playful mission statement for the band,
and with lines like "I'm sick and tired of stupid Christians/ Trying to
run my life with their superstitions," you're almost forced to believe
that they've considered actual Satanism.
The evil- lovin' musical morsels continue with four mixes of "Prince of
Darkness," including a trip-hop-ish dub version that
comes off as one of the weirdest tracks on the disc. So maybe
the fact that most of the tracks were mixed by outside artists
is the only thing that makes Unholy Roller an enjoyable listen.
Enjoyable, that is, until the band's frightening accurate rendition
of Motley Crue's "Shout at the Devil."
So, if you're being peer- pressured into purchasing the Necronomicon and
cutting the heads off chickens but are still unsure about all that
black clothing, Unholy Roller offers an accessible industrial
introduction into what the Electric Hellfire Club is all about, without
having to tolerate too much of the band themselves.
-Skaht Hansen