Get Your Own Player!
According to one official source, Bryan Erickson and other acquaintances started to experiment with electronic music in the late 1980s, forming the basis for the band known as Velvet Acid Christ. "Velvet Acid Christ had their origins in an 80's high school electronics class, where Bryan and Chris Workman would debate the merits of Amiga versus Atari. Bryan and Grigory Bilham (an early member of VAC) were at the time working in a punk/funk band, which, by 1990, was altered to the trio of Bryan, Chris, and Grig the early 1990s, the friends' interest in music increased, electronic instruments with diverse capabilities became more accessible to them, and they began to experiment with elements of sound that complimented their lifestyles. Many songs composed by the group in this early era served solely to enhance the drug-inspired experiences shared by its members, and their collective work strayed from rock music and other, more conventional genres into its electronically-driven, darker theme.Two demo albums, ''Fate'' and ''Pestilence'', were recorded and released in 1994, though copies of these albums were distributed mostly within the local Colorado area. The album ''Neuralblastoma'' was recorded in 1995 and distributed similarly. These three albums were distributed by EDT Records, Erickson's self-created record label. Two other albums were also recorded during this period, ''Dimension 8'' and ''Oblivion Interface'', though these were not officially released until 2000 and 2004, respectively.VAC was signed to its first mainstream label, German-based Off Beat Records, in 1996. That same year, a selection of the band's library was assembled and released under the name ''Church of Acid'' within Europe. This album presented club-goers with the first appearance of "Futile", which remains one of VAC's most popular tracks. Because of ''Church'', numerous fans and critics in the industrial music scene, both in Europe and in America, began to take notice of the previously unknown band.Through the mid to late 1990s, particularly during production of ''Church'', band members came and left for varying reasons. Disagreements between Erickson and album contributor Gary Slaughter arose, and Slaughter's involvement with VAC diminished to the point of resignation. Erickson recruited Chris Workman to take Slaughter's place during the completion of ''Calling ov the Dead'', and after its release in 1998, they too parted ways amidst differences.Erickson endured the band's hardships and established many new connections, one of which involved Metropolis Records, VAC's current label in the US. A deal was reached between the two parties in which Metropolis offered to license the band's European releases from the Off Beat label and bring them to America under their sublabel, Pendragon Records. The Pendragon division was eliminated soon after, and Velvet Acid Christ was annexed into the main Metropolis family.The band's most commercially successful album to date was their next release, 1999's ''Fun With Knives''. It was a foray into the dance-oriented branches of the industrial music tree. Sales of the album were propelled by the singles "Decypher" and "Fun With Drugs", and by the track "Slut", which featured female vocals from Anna Christine of the band Luxt. The US version of the album also contained a remix of the track "Futile" as a hidden bonus.Also in 1999, Velvet Acid Christ was added to a new sublabel of Off Beat Records, Dependent Records. Dependent was launched specifically to showcase the band and other Off Beat artists who were popular in the European EBM market. Presently, the sublabel continues to distribute VAC's material across the continent.In 2001, after the completion of 2000's ''Twisted Thought Generator'' and a personally strenuous concert tour, Erickson decided to abandon his dependence on drugs and sought to improve his health through diet and exercise. This turning point has been referenced by Erickson as a major reason why Velvet Acid Christ was allowed to continue. He used this momentum to create 2003's ''Hex Angel: Utopia/Dystopia''.Erickson spent 2004 re-releasing some of VAC's earliest material as well as introducing previously unreleased works with the compilation series ''Between the Eyes'' and by providing free MP3 downloads of ''Dimension 8'' and ''Oblivion Interface'' on VAC's official website.http://www.lyricsfreak.com
