- Electric Hellfire Club
Infobox musical artist
Name = Electric Hellfire Club
Img_capt =
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = group_or_band
Alias =
Origin = Kenosha,Wisconsin , U.S.
Instrument =
Voice_type =
Genre =Industrial metal
Occupation =
Years_active = 1991–Present
Label =Cleopatra Records
Associated_acts =My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult
URL =
Current_members =Thomas Thorn ,Sabrina Satana , Ricktor Ravensbruck, Wilhelm Curse
Past_members =
Notable_instruments =The Electric Hellfire Club is an
industrial metal band mixing elements ofglam metal , techno,gothic rock ,psychedelia and experimental noise. The band also makes use of sampling, mainly fromgrindhouse horror films and criminal documentaries.History
Based in
Kenosha, Wisconsin , the Electric Hellfire Club was formed in1991 whenThomas Thorn (aka Buck Ryder), departed the industrial/techno bandMy Life With the Thrill Kill Kult .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!", dancer and back-up singer
Sabrina Satana would join the group, and Peterson would be replaced on drums by percussionist Richard Frost.The EHC toured extensively throughout the early to mid 1990's, both as an opening act, and as headliners in their own right. Among the bands they toured with are:
Type O Negative ,Christian Death , Spahn Ranch,Penal Colony , andGenitorturers .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 . Midway through this tour, drummer Richard Frost and Keyboardist Giddle "Go-Go" Partridge departed the band. Thus began a lengthy cycle of revolving band members that seemed to last until the band's last national tour in2002 . During this period of near-constant touring, the band toured with such acts asType O Negative , Danzig,Coal Chamber ,GWAR ,Powerman 5000 ,Fear Factory ,Godflesh , and played one-off shows withSpahn Ranch and Goth legendsAlien Sex Fiend .At some point during 1996 singer Thomas Thorn met
Church of Satan founder,Anton LaVey , and was ordained apriest in the church by LaVey. Thorn later wrote a eulogy of LaVey following the latter's death in 1997, which appeared in the Church of Satan's house organ "The Black Flame".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 the1997 filmGummo .Following the completion of an extensive tour in 2002, the band entered a period of extended hiatus. Numerous rumors of new tour dates and studio material, including a
DVD , have surfaced since then, but other than a cover song ofMetallica 's "Devil's Dance", released through the band's website in early 2004, no such activity has come forth. On the message board of the then-official website, the band blamed the growth ofpeer-to-peer file sharing for harming its sales. Guitarist Ricktor Ravensbruck stated on the website that the band's record sales had been affected to the point that he could no longer earn a living solely from them.2005 saw the band scatter, and become apparently defunct. Frontman Thomas Thorn relocated from the band's nativeWisconsin to theFlorida Keys , and Sabrina Satana relocated toLos 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 [http://www.electrichell.net electrichell.net] , and the band's page on the websitemyspace.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 late2008 , the band began releasing demo versions of previous songs, and other rare recordings via their page on myspace.com. These tracks were/are available for streaming, and are changed on a semi-regular basis. This is to date, the only instance that the band has officially made available material from the 1991 demo album; entitled "12 Songs From Hell".Line up
The band has undergone many changes in membership, with only frontman Thomas Thorn remaining throughout its history.
*Thomas Thorn - vocals, keyboards, samples, programs
*Ricktor Ravensbrück - guitars, effects
*Sabrina Satana - bass, vocals
*Wilhelm Curse - live keyboards, samplingMiscellanous
A fan and convicted murderer
Caleb Fairley attended an Electric Hellfire Club concert on September 10, 1995 in Philadelphia, PA. The same night he killed Lisa Manderach, her baby daughter Devon, sexually assaulted the mother and dumped their bodies in nearbyValley Forge National Park . At that show its is believed that Fairley asked then keyboardist for the band, Shane Lassen, if he could help him "in establishing a more personal relationship with Satan".Discography
*Burn, Baby, Burn! 1993, Cleopatra Records
*Satan's Little Helpers 1994, Cleopatra Records
*Kiss the Goat 1995, Cleopatra Records (reissued 2005)
*"Trick or Treat? Halloween '95" 1995, Cleopatra Records (Limited pressing of 1,000 LPs on Orange Vinyl, and 500 CD copies)
*"Calling Dr. Luv" 1996, Cleopatra Records
*"Unholy Roller" 1998, Cleopatra Records
*"Empathy for the Devil" 2000, Cleopatra Records
*"Witness The Millennium" 2000, Cleopatra Records
*"Electronomicon" 2002, Cleopatra Records (reissued 2005) [ [http://www.discogs.com/artist/Electric+Hellfire+Club,+The Discogs discography] (Retrieved June 2007)]References
External links
* [http://www.electrichell.net EHC Official Site]
* [http://www.myspace.com/electrichellfireclub EHC Myspace Page]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.