Biography
While White Zombie garnered the bulk of acclaim for fusing narratives of sex, Satan, and gore to rock-infused dance rhythms carrying a heavier metallic slant, Chicago's My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult mined comparable territory across an equally extended span. Formed in 1987 after Buzz McCoy moved from Boston to join Groovie Mann, the pair aimed to craft music that could serve as accompaniment for low-budget exploitation films. Their first endeavor involved scripting a feature in the vein of Russ Meyer and John Waters titled "My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult," yet the project never advanced beyond planning; McCoy and Mann instead adopted the abandoned title for their new ensemble, whose extravagant live presentations earned descriptions of "sensory overload" through constant rotation of eccentric performers, stage objects, and striking visuals. After inking a deal with Chicago's influential industrial dance imprint Wax Trax!, the group delivered multiple recordings from 1989 to 1991, among them a self-titled EP along with the albums I See Good Spirits and I See Bad Spirits, Kooler Than Jesus, Confessions of a Knife, and Sexplosion!.
Interscope Records soon took notice and signed the act, re-releasing Sexplosion!, whose standout track "Sex on Wheelz" later appeared in Ralph Bakshi's animated feature Cool World. Thrill Kill Kult produced only one additional Interscope effort, 1994's 13 Above the Night, before moving to Rykodisc for subsequent works such as 1995's Hit & Run Holiday, a conceptual set recounting the exploits of "rebellious vixen" Krystal Starlust and her "fatal attraction" to drifter Apollo, and 1997's Crime for All Seasons. No fresh studio material emerged between 1998 and 2000, although the remix anthology Dirty Little Secrets surfaced in 1999. The band resurfaced in 2001 with The Reincarnation of Luna on the Invisible label, followed in 2002 by Golden Pillz: The Luna Remixes.
Ryko acquired the bulk of Wax Trax! catalog holdings in 2004, encompassing the group's early catalog, and proceeded to reissue the first three albums while unveiling the retrospective The Best of TKK and the remix collection Diamonds & Daggerz. A long-shelved project celebrating the disco period finally reached stores in 2005 as Gay, Black & Married. Two years afterward came the lounge-oriented Filthiest Show in Town. Launching their own SleazeBox imprint in 2009, the ensemble issued Death Threat together with Sinister Whisperz: The Wax Trax Years, a set of remixes and re-recordings. Anchored still by McCoy and Mann, the lineup marked its 25th anniversary with U.S. dates in 2012 and unveiled its twelfth album, Spooky Tricks, in 2014. A full performance of the debut pair of albums marked the 30th anniversary of the group's founding in 2017.
Beyond its own discography, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult supplied songs to multiple motion-picture soundtracks, among them Paul Verhoeven's Showgirls, Gregg Araki's Nowhere, and the commercially successful The Crow, in which the members also made a brief appearance. Tours over the years have included shared bills with similarly oriented acts such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, Lords of Acid, EMF, and Marilyn Manson.
Interscope Records soon took notice and signed the act, re-releasing Sexplosion!, whose standout track "Sex on Wheelz" later appeared in Ralph Bakshi's animated feature Cool World. Thrill Kill Kult produced only one additional Interscope effort, 1994's 13 Above the Night, before moving to Rykodisc for subsequent works such as 1995's Hit & Run Holiday, a conceptual set recounting the exploits of "rebellious vixen" Krystal Starlust and her "fatal attraction" to drifter Apollo, and 1997's Crime for All Seasons. No fresh studio material emerged between 1998 and 2000, although the remix anthology Dirty Little Secrets surfaced in 1999. The band resurfaced in 2001 with The Reincarnation of Luna on the Invisible label, followed in 2002 by Golden Pillz: The Luna Remixes.
Ryko acquired the bulk of Wax Trax! catalog holdings in 2004, encompassing the group's early catalog, and proceeded to reissue the first three albums while unveiling the retrospective The Best of TKK and the remix collection Diamonds & Daggerz. A long-shelved project celebrating the disco period finally reached stores in 2005 as Gay, Black & Married. Two years afterward came the lounge-oriented Filthiest Show in Town. Launching their own SleazeBox imprint in 2009, the ensemble issued Death Threat together with Sinister Whisperz: The Wax Trax Years, a set of remixes and re-recordings. Anchored still by McCoy and Mann, the lineup marked its 25th anniversary with U.S. dates in 2012 and unveiled its twelfth album, Spooky Tricks, in 2014. A full performance of the debut pair of albums marked the 30th anniversary of the group's founding in 2017.
Beyond its own discography, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult supplied songs to multiple motion-picture soundtracks, among them Paul Verhoeven's Showgirls, Gregg Araki's Nowhere, and the commercially successful The Crow, in which the members also made a brief appearance. Tours over the years have included shared bills with similarly oriented acts such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, Lords of Acid, EMF, and Marilyn Manson.
Singles
