The Black Room
Encyclopedia
The Black Room is a never-released LP by The KLF/The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu
, originally intended to be a complement to their earlier LP The White Room
.
"), then heavy-metal
techno (like "America: What Time Is Love?") and finally it was to be a thrash-metal collaboration with Extreme Noise Terror
. It's unknown how much of each incarnation was complete before it was scrapped and recording was re-started.
Jimmy Cauty
said of it in December 1990: "The 'Black Room' album will all be this kind of electro turbo metal. It's not really industrial
like, say, Throbbing Gristle
, because it's coming from house
and has an uplifting vibe about it. But it's so heavy it will just pin you to the floor."; while Bill Drummond
said of it in 1991: "It's the compete yang to the yin of The White Room. It'll be very very dense, very very hardcore
. No sort of 'up' choruses or anthems. I think it's going to be techno-metal, I think that's gonna be the sound. Techno-metal. Which'll be... a cross between Techno and Heavy Metal. Megadeth
with drum machines."
band Extreme Noise Terror
were employed, and the two bands were still recording in February 1992 when The KLF scrapped the sessions. "What actually happened," said ENT singer Dean "was that Bill heard us on [John] Peel
when he was in the bath and got in touch. They had wanted to do rock versions of their songs with Motörhead but something fell through, so he rang us... The message said it's Bill from The KLF, but I thought they said 'the ALF
' so I didn't take much notice... Later, we got another message saying it was definitely Bill from The KLF and I said 'f--- off! What does he want with us?' But it all got explained eventually." Asked how they have found working with "the pop genius of the age" the band agreed on a party line: "Just say that he's mad, barking bleedin' mad..."
Mark Stent
, the engineer/producer for these sessions, thought the music was pure genius. "The most awesome track for me was one called "The Black Room and Terminator 10" which was like a very slow tempo thrash
. It was mad. It was brilliant, absolutely brilliant, and it would have shown a lot of people up because it was as ballsy as hell. Guitars screaming all over the place, Bill doing his vocals and Dean (of ENT) doing his. There was such a raw power to it. It was so different from anything anyone else had ever heard. This was really heavy."
One track was released from this collaboration, a metal version of "3 a.m. Eternal
". The two bands also performed together at the 1992 BRIT Awards
ceremony, a performance which NME
listed at number 4 in their "top 100 rock moments".
The KLF
The KLF were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
, originally intended to be a complement to their earlier LP The White Room
The White Room
Allmusic said that The White Room "represents the commercial and artistic peak of late-'80s acid-house" and Q magazine called it "strikingly imaginative" and "a more subtle form of subterfuge" than previous works...
.
History
The Black Room was referred to in interviews even before the White Room was released. Originally it was planned to be hard techno (in the style of and featuring the original version of "It's Grim Up NorthIt's Grim Up North
"It's Grim Up North" was a 1991 single by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu , the main lyrics of which consist of a list of towns and cities in the North of England, set to a pounding industrial techno accompaniment reminiscent of steam whistles, all of which segues into an orchestral instrumental of...
"), then heavy-metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
techno (like "America: What Time Is Love?") and finally it was to be a thrash-metal collaboration with Extreme Noise Terror
Extreme Noise Terror
Extreme Noise Terror are a British crust punk / grindcore band originally formed in Ipswich, England in 1985. The band are widely considered one of the earliest and most influential European grindcore bands, and particularly the forefathers of the crustgrind subgenre.Notable for one of the...
. It's unknown how much of each incarnation was complete before it was scrapped and recording was re-started.
Jimmy Cauty
Jimmy Cauty
James Francis Cauty is a British artist and musician born in Liverpool, England, in 1956...
said of it in December 1990: "The 'Black Room' album will all be this kind of electro turbo metal. It's not really industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
like, say, Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English industrial, avant-garde music and visual arts group that evolved from the performance art group COUM Transmissions...
, because it's coming from house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
and has an uplifting vibe about it. But it's so heavy it will just pin you to the floor."; while Bill Drummond
Bill Drummond
William Ernest Drummond is a Scottish artist, musician, writer and record producer. He was the co-founder of late 1980s avant-garde pop group The KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with which he burned a million pounds in 1994...
said of it in 1991: "It's the compete yang to the yin of The White Room. It'll be very very dense, very very hardcore
Hardcore techno
Hardcore techno is a type of electronic music typified by the rhythmic use of distorted and atonal industrial-like beats and samples...
. No sort of 'up' choruses or anthems. I think it's going to be techno-metal, I think that's gonna be the sound. Techno-metal. Which'll be... a cross between Techno and Heavy Metal. Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
with drum machines."
Extreme Noise Terror
The Black Room was scheduled for release by KLF Communications for the end of 1991, which was put back to March 1992. At some point, grindcoreGrindcore
Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that started in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....
band Extreme Noise Terror
Extreme Noise Terror
Extreme Noise Terror are a British crust punk / grindcore band originally formed in Ipswich, England in 1985. The band are widely considered one of the earliest and most influential European grindcore bands, and particularly the forefathers of the crustgrind subgenre.Notable for one of the...
were employed, and the two bands were still recording in February 1992 when The KLF scrapped the sessions. "What actually happened," said ENT singer Dean "was that Bill heard us on [John] Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
when he was in the bath and got in touch. They had wanted to do rock versions of their songs with Motörhead but something fell through, so he rang us... The message said it's Bill from The KLF, but I thought they said 'the ALF
Animal Liberation Front
The Animal Liberation Front is an international, underground leaderless resistance that engages in illegal direct action in pursuit of animal liberation...
' so I didn't take much notice... Later, we got another message saying it was definitely Bill from The KLF and I said 'f--- off! What does he want with us?' But it all got explained eventually." Asked how they have found working with "the pop genius of the age" the band agreed on a party line: "Just say that he's mad, barking bleedin' mad..."
Mark Stent
Mark Stent
Mark 'Spike' Stent is a British record producer, and audio engineer who has worked with The KLF, Björk, Keane, Depeche Mode, Muse, Erasure, Hard-Fi, Massive Attack, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Marilyn Manson, Pet Shop Boys, Dave Matthews, No Doubt/Gwen Stefani, CSS, Beth Orton,...
, the engineer/producer for these sessions, thought the music was pure genius. "The most awesome track for me was one called "The Black Room and Terminator 10" which was like a very slow tempo thrash
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
. It was mad. It was brilliant, absolutely brilliant, and it would have shown a lot of people up because it was as ballsy as hell. Guitars screaming all over the place, Bill doing his vocals and Dean (of ENT) doing his. There was such a raw power to it. It was so different from anything anyone else had ever heard. This was really heavy."
One track was released from this collaboration, a metal version of "3 a.m. Eternal
3 a.m. Eternal
"3 a.m. Eternal" is a song by The KLF, numerous versions of which were released as singles between 1989 and 1992. In January 1991, an acid house pop version of the song became an international top ten hit single, hitting #1 in the UK Singles Chart and #5 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and leading to...
". The two bands also performed together at the 1992 BRIT Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
ceremony, a performance which NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
listed at number 4 in their "top 100 rock moments".