Alien Sex Fiend

Alien Sex Fiend emerged among the first acts tagged goth rock and quickly distinguished themselves through flamboyant stagecraft. Their preference for a camp-infused B-movie sensibility set them apart from the gloomier tone favored by many contemporaries. Drawing from the Cramps, Alice Cooper, glam rock, punk, and psychedelia, the band delivered macabre live spectacles while crafting music that fused pounding electronic rhythms, abrasive guitars, and distorted dub effects alongside eclectic samples. Though tagged goth, deathrock, post-punk, or industrial at various times, ASF ultimately defied neat categorization. During the 1980s the group issued a steady stream of recordings, among them the fan favorites Acid Bath (1984) and "It" the Album (1986), plus a run of remix-heavy singles and EPs that highlighted their experimental bent. They absorbed electronic dance styles ahead of most peers in the goth and industrial fields; the 1989 single "Haunted House" delivered on its title, and the band leaned into techno and trance with 1990s efforts such as Inferno (The Odyssey Continues) (1994). Later albums including Information Overload (2004) and Possessed (2018) folded in traces of dancehall and drum'n'bass.

The band's roots trace to the Batcave, the London venue widely recognized as goth culture's birthplace. Nick Wade, employed there at the time, adopted the name Nik Fiend and launched Alien Sex Fiend in 1982 with his wife Christine Wade (performing as Mrs. Fiend on synth), guitarist Yaxi Highrizer (born David James), and drummer Johnny "Ha Ha" Freshwater. Before ASF, Wade had played in the punk outfit Demon Preacher and in Alice Cooper-inspired projects the Earwigs and Mr. & Mrs. Demeanour.

After early cassette-only releases, the group made its official entrance with the 1983 single "Ignore the Machine," a staple in goth clubs, followed by the album Who's Been Sleeping in My Brain? A string of independent-chart successes arrived in 1984 with "R.I.P.," "Dead and Buried," and "E.S.T. (Trip to the Moon)," the latter the world's first 11-inch single. The impact of Acid Bath expanded their reach, turning Alien Sex Fiend into major figures in Japan and yielding the 1985 live set Liquid Head in Tokyo.

Once Johnny Ha Ha exited, the remaining trio recorded the stark Maximum Security in 1985. After "It" the Album in 1986, timed with their support slot on Alice Cooper's Nightmare Returns tour, they issued Here Cum Germs in 1987, the last album featuring Yaxi Highrizer. Reduced to a duo, the Fiends moved toward synth- and sample-driven sounds on Another Planet (1988), a direction extended by Curse (1990), which contained the minor hit "Now I'm Feeling Zombified."

Replenished by guitarist Rat Fink Jr. and keyboardist Doc Milton, Alien Sex Fiend returned in 1992 with Open Head Surgery. Following the 1993 live album Altered States of America, Nik and Mrs. Fiend scored the CD-ROM game Inferno; the resulting instrumental electronic album appeared as Inferno (The Odyssey Continues). After issuing the anthology The Singles 1983-1995, the band parted ways with longtime label Anagram and founded 13th Moon Records. The trance-leaning 1996 EP Evolution carried them further into electronica, a trajectory continued on Nocturnal Emissions (1997).

Following assorted compilations and live documents such as the 1999 retrospective Fiend at the Controls, Vols. 1-2, ASF unveiled Information Overload in 2004. Para-Abnormal, a collection of remixes and rarities, surfaced in 2006. Personal setbacks postponed the next studio effort until Death Trip arrived in 2010. Cherry Red issued the first of two expansive box sets, Classic Albums and BBC Sessions Collection, in 2015; Fiendology, a three-disc overview, followed in 2017. Possessed, the group's first full-length in eight years, emerged in 2018.