SNOG ( EBM BAND )

Snog is a band that was formed by Australian musician David Thrussell, along with fellow art school friends Tim McGrath and Julia Bourke in 1989. The band's music is a fusion of many different styles, including industrial, techno, ambient, experimental, funk and country music. The band name is a reference to "kissing and cuddling," and Thrussell has stated that the name symbolizes the Marxist concept of destroying barriers between people. Thrussell also records as Black Lung, which started as a brand to release extra Snog recordings.

History

Snog's first album Lies Inc. was released in 1992 and Pieter Bourke, who has since worked with Dead Can Dance and Lisa Gerrard, joined the band soon afterwards. The second album Dear Valued Customer, which drew heavily on techno influences, was then released in 1994. Also in 1994, the side projects Soma (Thrussell and Pieter Bourke) and Black Lung.
By 1997, the band was primarily a solo project for Thrussell, who collaborated with guest musicians on recordings. The next album release was Buy Me... I'll Change Your Life and country western-style guitar was featured, as well as a cover version of Lee Hazlewood's "Let the Little Flowers Grow". Third Mall from the Sun followed in 1999 and the album blended the styles of the previous two albums, in addition to new influences. Thrussell described the progression of Snog's musical styles in a 1998 interview with Sonic Boom Magazine: "In the past Snog has written a lot of dance floor material and while it has been successful, I kind of felt that I needed to write something different. I intentionally try and do something new with every Snog release. I do not want to get caught up in the musical trap of remaking the same album over and over".

Third Mall from the Sun was followed by the remix album Relax into the Abyss. In 2003, the album Beyond the Valley of the Proles was released and its follow-up Snog vs. the Faecal Juggernaut of Mass Culture was released three years later.
Snog continued to release music into the 21st century and the EP Everything Is Under Control (consists of remixes and the additional song "The Lament of the Lost Sheep") was released on iTunes on 25 March 2013. The EP was followed by the 23 April 2013 album release Babes In Consumerland and both recordings are part of a contract with the Metropolis record label.
A music video for Everything Is Under Control was published on the Internet on 19 March 2013. On 20 March 2013 Snog also released a 12" vinyl record with French record label M-Tronic entitled "The Plug-In Drug"; produced as blue-coloured vinyl and limited to 300 copies, the record features three songs from Babes In Consumerland, in addition to remixes and unreleased songs.
A music video for "Adolph's Library", from Babes in Consumerland, was published on the Internet in June 2013. The video was directed by Richard Wolstencroft, filmmaker and founder/director of the Melbourne Underground Film Festival (MUFF) and was filmed on location at the State Library Of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia.
The press release that accompanied the release of Babes in Consumerland stated that Snog has developed into an all-female band that consists of Samantha Sanders, Christine Arkley Smith and Dee—Dee is the new identity of Thrussell, who is living as a transgender woman as of the time of the press release. The list of guests on the album include Ash Wednesday, John Justin Stewart (Grace Jones), Felix Kubin, German producer Atom TM and the City of Prague Philharmonic choir.

Black Lung

In 1994 Thrussell released Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars, an album of B-sides from Snog's lengthy Australian CD singles for the German market - the Australian singles were up to 80 minutes, whereas chart-eligible singles in Germany could not be more than 21 minutes, so many tracks were left over.

The album was mostly composed of instrumental tracks taken from Snog's first album Lies Inc. and the Hey, Christian God single. (A year later, the album was also released on Germany's Machinery Records as Silent Weapons for Silent Wars. Thrussell disowned this later release due to the incorrect title, changes made to the artwork, and the fact that the tracks were in the wrong order, destroying the album's continuity.)

Since 1999, nearly all Black Lung releases have been on German industrial label Ant-Zen. In 1999, Thrussell collaborated with John Sellekaers from Xingu Hill to produce the 10" EP The Andronechron Incident, purportedly a soundtrack for an obscure Italian science fiction film. A full-length CD of the same title, containing many more additional tracks, was released in 2002 .
Thematically, Thrussell has used the project as an opportunity to indulge his fascination with conspiracy theories, with many album and track titles referencing conspiracies. Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars, also used by, Killarmy), refers to a document which came to light in the mid 1980s detailing a New World Order plan. Rhic-Edom is a direct reference to the acronym RHIC-EDOM: Radio-Hypnotic Intracerebral Control & Electronic Dissolution of Memory. The albums' liner notes frequently contain essays on various esoteric subjects, excerpted from conspiracy books or written by Thrussell himself.
2014 saw the return of the project with a Vinyl,"The Business Of Selling" release on M-Tronic records as a limited edition of 300 copies.

Politics

 

Thrussell's songs frequently contain themes of anti-consumerism, individuality and anti-big-brotherism.
The albums Third Mall from the Sun (1999), Relax into the Abyss (2000) and Beyond the Valley of the Proles (2003), The Last Days of Rome (2006) and City (2008) featured artwork by Canadian artist Chris Woods, whose paintings lampoon the advertising tactics of major corporations such as McDonald's, The Gap and Nike.
Snog supports the copying of its music and depending on the recording label, many releases are designated copyleft (or "copyright-free"), as indicated by a crossed-out "©" symbol that is printed on the album case.

Reception

In a 2008 review of The Last Days of Rome, Matthew Rich from Left Hip Magazine described Snog as "the greatest band at the moment".

Snog discography

• Corporate Slave – (12", CD Maxi) 1992 - Machinery
• Lies Inc. – (CD LP) 1992 - Machinery • (CD Album) 1993 - Id • (CD Album, Reissue) 1993 - Futurist, Machinery • (CD Album) 2003 – Ground Under Production
• Shop – (12", CD Maxi) 1992 - Machinery • (CD Single) 1993 - Id
• Born To Be Mild – (CD Maxi) 1993 - Machinery, Id
• Hey, Christian God – (CD Maxi) 1993 - Id
• Cliché – (CD Maxi) 1994 - Machinery • (CD Single) 1994 - Id
• Dear Valued Customer – (CD LP) 1994 - Id • 1995 - Machinery
• Dear Valued Customer/Live in the Global Village' – (2xCD) 1994 - Id
• The Future – (CD Maxi) 1995 - Metropolis, Id • (CD) 1996 - Zoth Ommog
• Lies Inc./Lies Inc. The Special Edition (2xCD) 1996 - Id
• Remote Control – (CD) 1996 - Metropolis
• ...Make the Little Flowers Grow – (CD Maxi) 1997 - Shock
• Buy Me... I'll Change Your Life – (CD LP) 1997 - Shock • (CD Album) 1998 - Metropolis
• Hooray!!! – (CD Maxi) 1997 - Shock • (CD Maxi) 1998 - Metropolis
• Dear Valued Customer/The Remix Files – (2xCD) 1998 - Rollercoaster Recordings
• The Ballad – (CD Maxi) 1998 - Shock
• The Human Germ – (CD Maxi) 1998 - Metropolis
• I Snog, Therefore I Am – (LP) 1999 - Hymen Records • (2xCD) 1999 - Hymen Records
• Third Mall from the Sun – (CD LP) 1999 - Metropolis, Hymen Records, Rollercoaster Recordings • (2xLP Album) 1999 - Hymen Records • (2xCD Album) 2001 - Equinox
• Lies Inc./Dear Valued Customer - (2xCD LP) 2000 - Metropolis
• Relax Into the Abyss – (CD LP) 2000 - Metropolis, Hymen Records • 2000 - Hymen Records
• Justified Homicide – (CD Enhanced, Ltd. Ed) 2001 - Karmic Hit
• Adventures In Capitalism – (DVD) 2003 - Metropolis
• Beyond The Valley of the Proles – (CD LP) 2003 - Metropolis, Hymen Records, Karmic Hit
• Beyond The Valley of the Proles/Your Favorite Electro-Folk-Swingers – (2xLP) 2003 - Hymen Records
• Fill My Hole – (CD Promo) 2003 - Karmic Hit
• Your Favorite Electro-Folk-Swingers – (CD) 2003 - Karmic Hit
• Real Estate Man (The Rema[k]es) – (12") 2005 - [k]rack-troni[k]
• Real Estate Man Plus – (CD Maxi) 2005 - Hymen Records
• Crash Crash Rema[k]es – (12") 2006 - [k]rack-troni[k]
• Crash Crash vs. Remixes and Exclusive Tracks – (CD Maxi) 2006 - Psy-Harmonics • (AAC file) 2006 - Metropolis
• Planet of Shit – (CD Maxi) 2006 - Psy-Harmonics • (AAC file) 2006 - Metropolis
• Sixteen Easy Tunes for the End Times – (CD LP, Enhanced) 2006 - Metropolis, Solnze Records, Karmic Hit
• The Kings of Hate – (CD Maxi Enhanced) 2006 - Psy-Harmonics • (AAC file) 2006 - Metropolis
• Snog vs. The Faecal Juggernaut of Mass Culture – (CD Album, Enhanced) 2006 - Metropolis, Psy-Harmonics
• City – (CDr, Single Promo) 2007 - Psy-Harmonics
• The Last Days of Rome – (CD LP) 2007 - Metropolis, Hymen Records, Psy-Harmonics • (CD EP) 2007 - Psy-Harmonics • (AAC file) 2007 - Metropolis
• Vaguely Melancholic – (CDr, Single Promo) 2007 - Metropolis
• City – (CD EP) 2008 - Metropolis
• Last of the Great Romantics - (CD LP) 2010 - Metropolis
• The Dissolving Satellite of Egoism Overturned - (CD LP) 2010 - Hymen Records
• Everything Is Under Control - (CD EP) 2013 - Metropolis
• "The Plug-In Drug" (12" vinyl) – M-Tronic
• Babes In Consumerland – (CD LP) April 2013
• Cheerful Hypocrisy – (CD, Digital Release) September 2015
• The Clockwork Man - (12" Vinyl) 2015 - Metropolis
• Compliance ™ – (CD, Digital Release) October 2015
• Rich Kuntz - (Single, Digital Release) 2016 - Metropolis
• The Clockwork Man - (Single, Digital Release) 2016 - Metropolis

Compilation appearances

• How To Use Machinery – (CD) 1991 - Appearing as Snøg, Track #4 "Spermy Man (Original)" - Machinery
• Mind/Body Compilation Volume 1 – (2xCD, Ltd. Edition) 1992 - Disc #2, Track #9 "Born To Be Mild" - Atomic Novelties
• The Yammouni Files – (CS, Ltd. Edition) 1992 - Side A, Track #4 "Manufacturing Consent" - Extreme
• How To Use Machinery II – (CD) 1993 - Track #1 "Bank" and Track #16 "Funereal" - Machinery
• Cybercore Volume 1 – (CD) 1994 - Track #11 "Born To Be Mild" - Siren Records
• How To Use Machinery Vol. III – (CD) 1994 - Track #13 "Naive Giant (Remix)" and Track #16 "Dear Valued Customer" - Machinery
• Trash Trance – (CD) 1994 - Track #9 "Reigning Terror (live)" - PBS Recordings
• 1992 - 1995 – (VHS) 1995 - Video #2 "Cliché" and Video #6 "Empires" - Dorobo
• A Label Introduction – (CD) 1995 - Track #10 "Naive Giants" - Machinery, Dynamica
• A Taste of Candy - Volume 2 – (CD) 1995 - Appearing as Snog vs. Q-Kontrol, Track #11 "Cliché" - Candyline Records
• The Best of Mind/Body : Electro-Industrial Music from the Internet – (CD) 1995 - Track #7 "Born To Be Mild" - Fifth Colvmn
• Machinery Vol. 1 – (CS) 1996 - Side B, Track #3 "Naive Giant" - Koch International
• Best of + One – (2xCD, Ltd. Edition) 1997 - Disc #2, Track #10 "Corporate Slave" (V1 Club Mixes) - Machinery
• Electronic Battle Weapons – (2xCD) 1998 - Disc #2, Track #14 "Hooray!! (Severed Heads & The Mormon Choir)" - Sony Music Entertainment (Australia)
• Electropolis: Volume 1 – (CD) 1998 - Track #14 "Born To Be Mild (Overtune)" - Metropolis
• Future Noir - A Collection - Beats for a New Dark Age – (2xCD) 1998 - Disc #2, Track #8 "The Future (XX0000)" - Nova Tekk, Credo
• Lágrimas De Miedo N°5 - Kimota – (CD) 1998 - Track #10 "Hooray!! (Black Lung and the Cast of Thousands)" - Fear Drop
• Psychedelic Demons' – (CD Compilation) 1998 - Track #6 "The Future (XX0000)" - Insolation, Zoomshot Media Entertainment
• The Flatline Compilation – (2xCD) 1998 - Disc #1 Track #1 "The Future" - Flatline Records
• Body Rapture 7 – (2xCD) 1999 - Disc #1, Track #13 "We Decorate Your Life (Industrial Mix)" - Zoth Ommog
• Dystopian Visions – (CD) 1999 - Track #4 "The Future (Takshaka vs. Snog)" - Dystopian Records
• EBM Club Classics Vol. 2 – (2xCD) 1999 - Disc #1, Track #12 "Corporate Slave" - Synthetic Symphony
• Elegy - Numéro 5 – (CD Sampler) 1999 - Track #10 "Hooray!!" - Elegy Magazine
• Teknoir – (2xCD) 1999 - Disc #2, Track #11 "Hooray!! (Black Lung And The Death Jungle 2000)" - Hymen Records
• The Flatline Compilation 2 – (2xCD) 1999 - Disc #1, Track #4 "Are You Normal Enough?" - Flatline Records
• TT 32 – (CD Sampler) 1999 - Track #19 "Real Estate Man" - Text Und Ton Magazin
• Angst (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – (CD) 2000 - Track #3 "Late 20th Century Boy" - Festival Mushroom Records
• Cyberl@b V2.0 – (2xCD) 2000 - Disc #1, Track #3 "Late Twentieth Century Boy" - Matrix Cube
• Metropolis 2000 – (CD) 2000 - Track #11 "Is There No One Who Can Save Us From Today?" - Metropolis
• Resist the Command – (CD) 2000 - Track #2 "Real Estate Man" - Dystopian Records
• Triton Compilation II – (2xCD) 2000 - Disc #1, Track #13 "Real Estate Man (Low Key Operations Make a Down-Payment)" - Triton
• :Per:Version: Vol. 1 – (CD Enhanced) 2001 - Video file "Late 20th Century Boy" - :Ritual:
• Experience - Psy-Harmonics Volume 5 – (2xCD) 2001 - Disc #1, Track #5 "Slide Into Extinction" - Psy-Harmonics
• Hotaka Mountain Festival '01 '02 – (2xCD + DVD) 2002 - DVD Track #7 "Born To Be Mild (Live at Hotaka Mountain Festival '01)" - Universal Records (Japan)
• Previews & Rarities – (CD) 2002 - Track #5 "Citizens" - Karmic Hit
• Noizzze. Just Do it. Invasion & Friends 2k4'– (2xCDr) 2004 - Disc #1, Track #2 "This Is Capitalism (Ambassador 21 Remix)" - Invasion Wreck Chords
• [k]rack-troni[k] Sonar 2004 Compilation' – (CD) 2004 - Track #10 "Real Estate Man (Super Awesome Electro Friends Forever! Remix)" - [k]rack-troni[k]
• Metropolis 2005 – (CD + DVD) 2005 - DVD Track #7 "Late 20th Century Boy" - Metropolis
• Antiphonal - DVD Compilation 1 – (DVD) 2006 - Track #11 "Corporate Slave" - Antiphonal Magazine
• Maschinenfest 2006 – (2xCD Ltd. Edition) 2006 - Disc #2, Track #3 "Crash Crash vs. Tim Wright" - Pflichtkauf
• Travel Sickness – (8xCD, Ltd. Edition Box) 2006 - Disc #6 Track #1 "Rotten Meat", Track #2 "Al-Qaeda Is Your Best Friend", Track #3 "The Rat Race", Track #4 "I'm Suspicious", Track #5 "The Ballad of Timothy McVeigh", Track #6 "Darlin', My Darlin'", and Track #7 "The Ballad" - Hymen Records
• 0000' - (2xCD) 2007 - Appearing as Hecq vs. Snog, Disc #2, Track #9 "Sknss" - Hymen Records, Kaleidoskop
• Cut&Go – (CDr) 2007 - Track #5 "This Is Capitalism" - Invasion Wreck Chords
• Fiend Magazine Sampler CD 2 – (CD Sampler) 2007 - Track #14 MEN "Turn On Your Brain Body" - Fiend Magazine
• Metropolis:Rebirth 1.0 – (2xCD) 2008 - Disc 2, Track #6 "Vaguely Melancholic" - Metropolis

Other

• Pearls Before Swine – Movie Soundtrack 1999 - (contributed tracks, alongside NON and Death in June)

Black Lung discography

Albums

• Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars - (CD) 1994 - Dorobo, Machinery, Think-Tank • (CD) 1995 - Machinery • (Pic LP, Ltd. Edition) 1998 - Ant-Zen
• The Depopulation Bomb - (CD) 1994 - Iridium • (CD) 1995 - Fifth Colvmn Records • (2xLP, CD) 1995 - Nova Zembla
• The More Confusion... The More Profit / Eugenics - (CD EP) 1995 - Nova Zembla, Iridium • (LP) 1995 - Nova Zembla
• Rhic-Edom - (CD EP) 1996 - Helix²
• The Disinformation Plague - (CD) 1996 - Nova Zembla, Helix² • (CD) 1997 - Metropolis
• Uncomfortable Questions for Comfortable People - (CD Maxi) 1996 - Helix²
• The Psychocivilised Society - (CD) 1997 - Nova Zembla
• Extraordinary Popular Delusions - (CD) 1998 - Nova Zembla
• Gizmo Prediction Fallout - (12") 1999 - Nova Zembla
• The Andronechron Incident - (10") 1999 - Ant-Zen • (CD) 2002 - Ant-Zen
• The Great Architect - (CD) 1999 - Nova Zembla
• The Wonderful and Frightening World of Black Lung - (2xCD) 1999 - Rollercoaster Recordings
• Rhic-Edom - (12") 2000 - Ant-Zen
• Profound and Sentimental Journey - (12") 2001 - Ant-Zen • (CD EP) 2001 - Ant-Zen
• Abnormality Broadcast / Sickly Seratonin Squeeze / Gizmo Production Fallout - (12") 2002 - Atomic Reactor
• The Sound of Meat - (10") 2003 - Ant-Zen
• The Grand Chessboard - (CD, LP) 2004 - Ant-Zen
• The Grand Chessboard + The Sound of Meat - (CD Maxi, Ltd. Ed.) 2004 - Ant-Zen
• Karmageddon - (12") 2005 - Ant-Zen
• The Coming Dark Age - (CD) 2005 - Ant-Zen, Psy-Harmonics • (CD) 2006 - Crunch Pod
• Concrete Octopus - (LP) 2006 - Ant-Zen
• Full Spectrum Dominance - (CD) 2009 - Ant-Zen, Psy-Harmonics, Tympanik Audio
• The Soul Consumer - (CD) 2010 - Ad Noiseam
• The Great Golden Goal - (CD) 2014 - Ant-Zen

Compilation appearances

• How to Use Machinery Vol. III - (CD) 1994 - Track #10 "Somatime" - Machinery
• Trash Trance - (CD) 1994 - Track #1 "The Banque of Worms" - PBS Recordings
• Forced Cranial Removal - (CD) 1995 - Track #12 "The Unreality Industry" - Fifth Colvmn Records
• Natural Born Techno 2 - (2xCD) 1995 - Disc #1, Track #4 "Eugenics - Second Movement" - Nova Zembla
• The Year of Silence - (CD) 1995 - Track #8 "Rex 84", Track #9 "Meat Manager" - Dorobo
• 3rd Side of the Record Compilation Two - (CD) 1996 - Track #3 "Domint (Horselover Fat)" - Bored Beyond Belief
• Ahimsâ - (CD) 1996 - Track #4 "Question Four" - Harmonie
• Blue Sector Vol 2: The Masters of Melbourne - (2xLP) 1996 - Disc #1, Side B, Track #3 "Question One" - Blue Sector
• Zeitgeist 2 - (2xCD) 1996 - Disc #2, Track #11 "Sinister Control Minority" - If?
• Beauty >> Forward - International Avantgarde Computer Enhancements - (CD) 1997 - Track #7 "Question Two" - Helix²
• Dark Techno One/Nine-Nine - (CD) 1997 - Track #3 "The More Confusion... The More Profit (Deviant Creation)" - Quantum Loop
• Intelligent Inside - (CD) 1997 - Track #1 "I Have No Mouth" - OffBeat
• Narcosis: A Dark Ambient Compilation - (2xCD) 1997 - Disc #2, Track #3 "Unconvincing Simulations of Happiness Part II" - Credo
• Natural Born Techno 6 - (CD) 1997 - Track #10 "Sinister Control" - Nova Zembla
• Shock Dance Sampler - (CD Sampler) 1997 - Track #22 "Question Three" - Shock
• Future Noir - A Collection - Beats For a New Dark Age - (2xCD) 1998 - Disc #2, Track #4 "Sinister Control Minority" - Nova Tekk, Credo
• Lágrimas de Miedo N°5 - Kimota (CD) 1998 - Track #1 "Drachanalia Part 2" - Fear Drop
• Natural Born Techno 7 - (CD) 1998 - Track #8 "The Club of Smokers" - Nova Zembla
• Hard Bodies - (CD) 1999 - Track #11 "Untitled" - Klangkrieg
• Natural Born Techno 9 - (CD) 1999 - Track #4 "Gizmo Prediction" - Nova Zembla
• Teknoir - (2xCD) 1999 - Disc #1, Track #2 - "Drachanalia Pt. 1" - Hymen Records
• Earthcore • Dirty Week - (2xCD) 2000 - Disc #1, Track #6 "Gizmo Prediction Fallout" - Earthcore Recordings
• You Know My Name - (CD) 2000 - Track #6 "Gizmo" - Moonshine Music
• Electro-Fiction - (CD) 2001 - Track #14 "Gizmo Prediction Fallout" - XIII BIS Records
• Maschinenfest 2001 - (2xCD Ltd. Ed.) 2001 - 'Blue' disc, Track #11 "Prema" - Pflichtkauf
• D-Side 11 - (CD) 2002 - Track #12 (as Black Lung & Xingu Hill) "The Mysteries of the Worm" - D-Side
• Magnox - (CD) 2002 - Track #6 "Despotic Heroic Diversion", Track #11 "Abnormality Broadcast (Remix)" - Atomic Reactor
• Belio:CD:War - (CD) 2003 - Track #10 "In the Trenches", Track #11 "The First Bomb Falls", Track #12 "Catastrophic Cognitive Void (End Remix)" - Hymen Records
• Daruma - (2xCD) 2003 - Disc #2, Track #9 " Autocratic Zeit Swift" - Ant-Zen
• Fracture - (CDr) 2004 - Track #32 "Prema" - Bruits De Fond
• Iconic - (CD) 2004 - Track #5 "Autocratic Zeit Shift" - Elejam, Psy-Harmonics
• D-Side 29 - (CD) 2005 - Track #3 "The Great Automobile Hunt" - D-Side
• Distorted 2005 - (2xCD) 2005 - Disc #1, Track #5 "The Great Automobile Hunt" - Not on a label
• Good-bye Sunshine - (CDr) 2005 - Track #11 "Prema" - Bruits De Fond
• Deep Down Under - (CD) 2006 - Track '1g' "The View from Hubbert's Peak" - Freeze Magazine
• Maschinenfest 2006 - (2xCD) 2006 - Disc #1, Track #6 "Concrete Octopus (Systemdeath Miqs By Hecq)" - Pflichtkauf
• Die! (CDr, Ltd. Ed., Promo) 2007 - Track #13 "The Great Automobile Hunt" - Not on a label
• Consume - Psy-Harmonics Vol.6 - (2xCD) 2009 - Disc #1 Track #9 "Concrete Octopus (Sir Reals Rancid Remix)" - Psy-Harmonics