Clan Of Xymox

Clan of Xymox have shaped the darkwave scene profoundly with their energetic and frequently danceable introspective goth rock. Beginning with the 1985 full-length Clan of Xymox, the Dutch group established themselves as regulars on the 4AD label. They reclaimed their original name Xymox on 1989's Twist of Shadows, adopting a more synth-based approach that extended into techno and house on releases such as 1992's Metamorphosis. As industrial rock gained traction, the band relocated to Berlin, restored the name Clan of Xymox, and introduced deeper vocals with heavier guitars starting on 1997's Hidden Faces. Steady output on labels including Metropolis and Trisol led them to explore harder electronics on 2011's Darkest Hour and to honor their inspirations on 2012's Kindred Spirits. They addressed the COVID-19 pandemic on 2021's Limbo and issued the 2022 single "Save Our Souls" to support Ukraine.

Ronny Moorings on vocals and guitar and Anka Wolbert on bass and vocals formed Clan of Xymox in Nijmegen, Netherlands in 1983 after meeting two years earlier. Moorings and Wolbert later moved to Amsterdam and released the LP Subsequent Pleasures as Xymox in 1984, an edition limited to 500 copies. Their role as opening act for Dead Can Dance in England drew the attention of 4AD Records and secured a contract. One year later the group lengthened its name to Clan of Xymox and recorded a self-titled album in 1985, followed by Medusa the next year. In 1987 they shortened the name once more to Xymox and contributed a new version of "Muscoviet Mosquito," originally from Subsequent Pleasures, to the 4AD compilation Lonely Is an Eyesore. After the single "Blind Hearts," Xymox left 4AD for PolyGram/Wing.

Xymox delivered their most commercially successful LP, Twist of Shadows, in 1989, which sold 300,000 copies. During the height of the rave explosion the group relocated to England, where the infectious and uncharacteristically upbeat "Phoenix of My Heart," closer to the Madchester scene than any prior Xymox work, reached the modern rock charts in 1991. The full-length Phoenix pursued this alternative dance direction further. Wolbert left that year and was replaced on bass by Mojca Zugna. In 1992 Xymox moved from PolyGram/Wing to ZOK Records, recording Metamorphosis that year and the trance-leaning Headclouds in 1993 before Moorings returned to the Netherlands for a three-year hiatus.

Moorings felt inspired to resume music-making when industrial reached its commercial peak. He moved to Berlin and restored the band's name to Clan of Xymox. Tess Records issued Hidden Faces in 1997. Creatures, the first album released by Metropolis Records in the United States and Pandaimonium in Europe, appeared in 1999. This was followed by the two-CD Live in 2000 and the archival The John Peel Sessions the following year. Notes from the Underground from 2001 was reinterpreted on the double-remix CD Remixes from the Underground, which arrived in 2002. Farewell in 2003 was a themed album whose main topics were bittersweet goodbyes to lovers and friends. The 2004 collection The Best of Clan of Xymox placed latter-day highlights beside re-recordings of early material. Breaking Point appeared in 2006 and included the single "Weak in My Knees." Their first release for Trisol in Europe, 2009's In Love We Trust, returned to the layered sound of their 4AD years.

Live at Castle Party, the group's second concert release, surfaced in 2011 together with Darkest Hour, one of the band's most industrial efforts. 2012's Kindred Spirits consisted of cover versions of songs by the Cure, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead, and others. Matters of Mind, Body and Soul appeared in 2014, while Dark Entries reissued Subsequent Pleasures on vinyl. Days of Black was released in 2020, and several EPs of remixes and B-sides accompanied that year's Spider on the Wall, featuring the driving post-punk dance single "She." Limbo, with lyrics addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, appeared in 2021, and The John Peel Sessions received its first vinyl release, again by Dark Entries. In 2022 Clan of Xymox released the song "Save Our Souls" about the Russian war on Ukraine, with proceeds donated to organizations against human and animal suffering.