My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult

by Greg Prato
Although White Zombie received most of the credit for mixing tales of sex, Satan, and gore with a rock/dance beat (although admittedly with more of a heavy metal edge), Chicagos My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult specialized in similar territory for just as long. Originally formed in 1987 by Buzz McCoy (who had recently relocated from Boston) and Groovie Mann, the duo sought to create a worthy musical accompaniment that could be used as a soundtrack to trashy B-movies. The duos initial project was to make a movie (in the style of Russ Meyer and John Waters) to be named My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult. The movie never got off the ground, but McCoy and Mann used the aborted movies title for the name of their just-formed group, as their over-the-top stage show was best described as sensory overload (featuring a revolving door of weird characters, props, and intense visuals). Signing on with Chicagos renowned industrial dance label Wax Trax!, the Thrill Kill Kult issued several releases between 1989 and 1991: a self-titled EP, plus the full-lengths I See Good Spirits and I See Bad Spirits, Kooler Than Jesus, Confessions of a Knife, and Sexplosion!
By this time, the group had attracted the attention of Interscope Records, which signed up the Thrill Kill Kult and reissued Sexplosion!, which had spawned perhaps the groups best-known song, Sex on Wheelz (the track would also be featured in director Ralph Bakshis animated movie Cool World). The group only issued one more release for Interscope, 1994s 13 Above the Night, before switching to the Rykodisc label and issuing such further releases as 1995s Hit & Run Holiday (a concept album of sorts, which told the tale of a rebellious vixen, Krystal Starlust, and her fatal attraction to a drifter named Apollo) and 1997s Crime for All Seasons.
The Thrill Kill Kult failed to issue any new studio recordings from 1998 through 2000, while a collection of 18 remixes, Dirty Little Secrets, saw the light of day in 1999. But, by 2001, the band had reappeared once more, issuing 2001s The Reincarnation of Luna and 2002s Golden Pillz: The Luna Remixes for yet another new record label, Invisible. In 2004 the Ryko label acquired most of Wax Trax!s releases, including early albums from the Kult. That same year they reissued the bands first three albums and released a new compilation, The Best of TKK, along with a set of remixes named Diamonds & Daggerz. An album dedicated to the disco era that had sat on the shelves for a decade finally saw the light of day in 2005 when Gay, Black & Married hit the shelves. Two years later the lounge-styled Filthiest Show in Town appeared.
In addition to their own releases, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult has contributed tracks to several movie soundtracks, including Paul Verhoevens Showgirls, Greg Arakis Nowhere, and the hit flick The Crow (in the latter of which the group made a cameo appearance); and over the years, has toured with such renowned (and similarly styled) bands as Siouxie and the Banshees, Lords of Acid, EMF, and Marilyn Manson.