The Ape of Naples is a brilliant eulogy for the too-early-passed John Balance, the Coil album to cap the 25 or so years that Balance and Peter Christopherson made beautiful (or noisy, or dangerous) music together. Mostly a quiet, meditative affair, it's an album that sums up the group's career nicely, alternately revisiting the past with takes on "Teenage Lightning" and "Amethyst Deceivers" and acknowledging the presence (closer "Going Up" is the perfect song for Balance's passage from this plane to the next). The circumstances of Balance's death were regrettable -- still, his musical career speaks for itself. The Ape of Naples is his tribute. Rest in Peace, John.

Most casual listeners have probably never even heard of Coil, and if they did, chances are that it was their IDM masterwork, 'Love's Secret Domain.' This is a tragedy, as Coil has produced some of the most cutting-edge work in the history of electronic music, and 'The Ape of Naples' is not only no exception to this rule, but it may be their crowning achievement. Unlike the gleefully satirical parody of the British techno scene that was 'Love's Secret Domain,' 'The Ape of Naples' is filled to the brim with sorrow and regret, as well as meditations on mortality (vocalist Jhonn Balance died almost immediately after the album was finished) and unrequited love. There is a treasure trove of beauty in these songs, balanced with painful honesty and a wonderful, ironically funereal-yet-reassuring cover of the theme song to the British sitcom "Are You Being Served?", prophetically entitled "Going Up." A must have for Coil fans, and indeed fans of music in general.

PAUL LLOYD's igloomag.com REVIEW ::

(08.09.06) Just over a year after the tragic death of Jhonn Balance, Coil released their last ever studio album. Compiled from tracks recorded in the last few days before his death and from the Coil archive, The Ape of Naples consists of both new tracks and radical reworking of older tracks by Coil co-founder Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson himself. The cover includes a foldout insert with striking images and glossy artwork by Ian Johnstone - Balance's partner at the time of his death - and the lyrics to the tracks included on the album.

The Ape of Naples covers a range of stylistically different tracks originating from different eras of Coil's development, some already familiar (in different forms) to followers of their work. The album opens with "Fire of the Mind", a traditional folk type song with a death theme, as Balance's musings often do. "The Last Amethyst Deceiver" is another version of the already widely available "Amethyst Deceivers". This version has a more orchestral quality than previous versions but is not one of the strongest versions of this song, that honour falls to the electronic version regularly played live in recent years and available on the Live One thru Four series of CDs. "Tattooed Man" was released in its original form on the Selvaggina: Get Back In The Woods CD and was performed live at their last few shows. The track itself has a continental feel to it and features the `I love him, I hate him' lyrics that Balance delivered with such passion live.

The original version of "Triple Sun" was released on the ...And the Ambulance Died his Arms live album and has an undeniable beauty, the introduction providing a tense of air of expectation that opened some of their final shows. "It's In My Blood" and "Heaven's Blade" are reworked tracks from the unreleased Backwards album sessions at Trent Reznor's Nothing studios. The former is a nightmarish trip with a pounding mechanical throb and Balance wailing demonically while, of all the tracks on the album, "Heaven's Blade" seems more polished both musically and vocally, with an almost serene quality to the dark subject matter. "I Don't Get It" is one of the four completely new tracks and has a tense cinematic quality with Balance's electronically warped vocals inviting us further into the darkness. In contrast, there are intimate little glimpses of Balance the man, once asking Christopherson "Is that enough Sleaze?" and once in fits of laughter. Although each segment lasts only seconds they provide some comfort during a listening experience which draws closure on Balance's visionary qualities.

"Cold Cell" is another track that has been performed live a number of times with a harrowing video backdrop and was only previously released on 2000's The Wire Tapper 6 Special Edition compilation. This rework is musically atmospheric, vocally gentle and hymn-like, making "Cold Cell" both touching and evocative. "Teenage Lightning 2005" has also seen the light of day quite recently on 2004's Black Antlers studio CD and Selvaggina: Get Back In The Woods album. The original version dates back to 1991's Love's Secret Domain album and appears here in a completely reworked form. Maintaining a very tense building electronic atmosphere, "Teenage Lightning 2005" encourages the listener not to be afraid as "it's only lightning". As Balance's last full vocal track on The Ape of Naples, "Amber Rain" is a sombre yet strangely gentle journey accompanied by Balance's further musings on death and destiny.

"Going Up", the last song on the album, is sung by Francois Testory and features the words of the theme tune to classic British sitcom Are You Being Served? that was sung at Balance's funeral service. While this may seem an odd choice, "Going Up" is a truly beautiful and moving close to the final studio album of a legendary and visionary band known as Coil. The final words are softly spoken by Balance himself - "It just is."
>> igloomag.com <<

A farewell album of sorts to the Late Jhonn Balance, a brilliant composer of musick. His emotive vocals are prominent throughout all the songs.The album contains reworkings of older material such as "The Last Amethyst Deceiver," and "Teenage Lighting 2005." It also contains material that was originally started at Trent Reznor's Nothing Studio. The last song on the album is actually a cover of theme for the british sit-com "Are You being Served?" Guest-starring Francois Testory's high tenor, the song is tranformed into an ethereal dirge, a lament for Balance perhaps. Another fantastic highlight is "Heaven's Blade," originally conceived to be part of the now abandoned "Backwards" album, produced at Nothing Studio. It is quite different from the bootleg versions that are floating around. Mutated synth lines abound throughout Balance's engaging vocals. Along with it's catchy beats, it is dancefloor ready, and sure to be heard in upscale goth bars. Christopherson's production has become more fluid and sleek, making for perhaps their most accessible album to date. It is certainly going to become one of the Classic Coil albums ("Scatology,""Horse Rotorvator, "Love's Secret Domain," etc.). This album is an excellent introduction to the band's eclectic and interesting work, seeming to be the culmination of the band's many sounds and musical incarnations.

Awesomely and disturbingly designed to replicate a funeral prayer book, one can hardly be surprised to hear the cd begin as organ music: "Does death come along..."

Well, yes.

Taking off from "Lorca not Orca" (Teenage Lightening III), Jhonn Balance drives us deeper into Love's Secret Domain.

Here's what Peter Christopherson writes on the recent Steamin' Soundworks tribute to Jhonn Balance: "Jhonn Balance was my partner for 20 years, both in Coil and in bed. During that time, he delighted in scaring me by diving out into what appears, from the narrow viewpoint of our species, to be a Huge Dark Abyss."

Yes, the sum totality of Coil is that Dark Abyss. The Ape of Naples is just a way of saying goodbye to one you truly love and will deeply miss.