Hellraiser Themes [This Version Was Reissued In 1990] (1987...c) [Coil...CD EP]

01 Hellraiser
02 The Hellbound Heart
03 Box Theme
04 No New World
05 Attack of the Sennapods
06 Main Title

Notes...

The Unreleased Themes for Hellraiser (The Consequences of Raising Hell) is the original title.

The Consequences of Raising Hell... is printed on the spine of the record, and is generally considered to be an alternate title for this release.

The first 3 tracks (Side A) are taken from Coil's soundtrack to the Clive Barker film "Hellraiser" which was rejected by the film studio. (The following quote from Barker appears on the cover: "The only group I've heard on disc whose records I've taken off because they made my bowels churn.")

The remainder of the tracks (side B) are a selection of short peices that were commissioned for use as music for advertisements on British television. They also appear on the anthology release Unnatural History III under the group title of "Music For Commercials". These tracks were originally planned to be released as a limited edition 7" EP on R+D Group 28.

side a: the Unreleased Themes for Hellraiser

1. Hellraiser
2. Box Theme
3. Main Title

side b: music for commercials

1. Airline 1
2. Liqueur
3. Perfume
4. Video Recorder
5. Airline 2
6. Natural Gas
7. Cosmetic 1
8. Cosmetic 2
9. Analgesic
10. Road Surface
11. Accident Insurance

Title changed to Hellraiser Themes for CD edition (1990).

The commercial tracks from the 10" and CS releases were dropped for the CD, and replaced with three more tracks from the Hellraiser sessions. All of these tracks, plus additional tracks from the same sessions, appear on the anthology release Unnatural History II.

The first pressing of the CD had black lettering on a blue background, while the next few pressings had black lettering on a silver background. After switching to a different manufacturer, the colours changed again to black lettering on a white background.

Discussion...

Clive Barker and Coil were friends during the early 1980s and it's been frequently noted that he was inspired to write "Hellraiser" from some of the literature and art Coil used to collect. Naturally he wanted Coil to do the score but while initial reports claim their music was "too scary" for the film, the reality is closer to that of the Hollywood studio wanting their own chums to do the work.