Coil's Jhonn Balance, RIP

Jhonn Balance, a founding member of the experimental industrial group Coil, died Saturday after a domestic accident. A statement on a Coil website stated: "We are greatly saddened to have to you that at about 5:30 p.m. Saturday Nov 13th, Jhonn Balance was killed in an accident at home. Under the influence of alcohol he fell from the first floor landing, hitting his head on the floor some 15 [feet] below."

Bandmate Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson, who was in the house at the time, apparently heard the crash and discovered Balance unconscious, but still breathing. After being rushed to a local hospital, Balance's condition deteriorated, and he died soon after. The site reports that no foul play is suspected.

Born Geoffrey Laurence Burton, Balance-- along with Christopherson-- formed Coil in London during 1983 after having been members of Psychic TV and Throbbing Gristle, respectively. With the assistance of a revolving door of additional members, Coil cultivated their dark, electronic sound throughout the mid-80s.

The band released the 17-minute, one-sided 12-inch "How To Destroy Angels" in 1984; the track implemented swords, gongs, and other non-musical sound sources, and it was followed later that year by their debut album, Scatology. In 1984, Coil also released a cover version of the Gloria Jones track "Tainted Love" (best known for Soft Cell's cover), which came with a gruesome music video depicting car crashes, AIDS, and Soft Cell's Marc Almond making a cameo as the Angel of Death.

Coil had a slew of releases late into the 80s, dealing mostly with sex, death, and the occult. After recording material for Clive Barker's movie Hellraiser that was eventually cut from the film, they released The Unreleased Themes for Hellraiser in 1987. In 1992, they hooked up with fellow industrialist Trent Reznor, who signed the band to his Nothing imprint.

Balance also logged time with bands such as 23 Skidoo, Zos Kia, and Current 93. As for any future plans, the band posted: "...parting will be hard for us all. Fortunately there is much to be done that will keep us busy in the next few difficult weeks." Coil had been scheduled to play at two upcoming festivals-- December's All Tomorrow's Parties show, and the MEM Festival in Spain shortly afterwards-- but there's been no word on whether they'll be going forward with those dates.