Obomatic - Antidote (Early Mix)

In 2000, we began recording songs for the first Obomatic CD. The first song completed was a song idea I had originally sketched together while on vacation in Myrtle Beach, SC in 1997 using only a Roland MC-303. Steve O took that rough sketch of an idea and turned it into a more complete song. Scottologic and I added some additional parts and the song, T3, was born. I mention this song creation process because it was anomalous to the rest of the CD.

The second song we recorded was a Steve O track called Antidote. As with the rest of the tracks for the CD, Holy Uncontrollio!!!, Steve O would bring in his rather complete song demos and then the rest of the band would add their parts to them. Here's a previously unreleased early mix for Antidote which is essentially the Steve O demo with a rough vocal track and some additional synth parts added.

P.S. Pictured from L to R: Troll IO, Timmotronic, Steve O, and Scottologic.

Any Questions? - Extinction

Extinction was one of the final songs composed for Any Questions? - Mutation release in 2000. After completing several harsh and aggressive Industrial tracks, I felt the need to slow things down, retreat inwards, and create a dark, sinister electronic soundscape to compliment the other songs on the release.

The result was an ominously bleak sounding instrumental. Birthed during one late night recording session as I watched John Carpenter's 1994 film, In The Mouth Of Madness, I truly felt as if I was spiraling deeper and deeper into an abyss of Lovecraftian despair. A sample from the film, "Every species can smell its own extinction", exemplifies this mood and provided the impetus for the song.

MC2P4 and LTJTHC came in during a later recording session and added to the horror I created. LTJTHC's tribal-like electronic percussion urges the song forward while MC2P4's eerie synthetic leads fill the listener with a sense of total futility.

Come join us on this descent downward...

Any Questions? - Strange Days

Strange Days was the second video off our Any Questions? 2000 release, Mutation. While preparing for the Alive I Am tour in 2004, we needed to quickly shoot and edit videos for the new songs that we were adding to our set list. These songs were Evolution and Strange Days.

To tackle the video for Strange Days, we set up a location shoot in MC2P4's shed on one VERY hot Summer day in June 2004. The shed was about 10' x 10' in size and, of course, we closed the door, blocked off all the windows with black scrim, turned on the par cans and strobe lights, and blew fog all over the set. The end result was a sweat lodge of radioactivity, terror, and disgust.

We first shot the calm footage of me (Ttam Troll) wearing a clean room suit, respirator, and goggles while fake typing very poorly at a computer terminal. I, obviously, needed to work on my acting. Next, we captured the video feedback footage and then it was time for MC2P4 to don his infamous "wire costume" and put on another tour de force performance of blood, disgust, and sweat.

It is also worth noting that this video features the "$5 champy". A non-functional, custom built home stereo receiver system which I bought for, you guessed it, $5 at a used musical instrument store. When we opened up the unit to find out why it wasn't working, we discovered the previous owner's stash of crack cocaine. Unprepared and unwilling to "experiment", we contacted an appropriate disposal service.

On the final edit, we also cut in scenes from the movie Strange Days, which was the original inspiration for the song.

This was done quick and dirty, guerrilla style but it is still a favorite among us and our fans. I hope you enjoy it.

Any Questions? - Evolution

Evolution was the third video off of our Any Questions? 2000 release, Mutation. MC2P4 delivers an acting tour de force performance and is joined by Ho Magos (Ken Chandler), who provides a white faced demon cameo. You get to see MC2P4 do it all in this video. A nearly nude MC2P4 dons his infamous "wire costume", feasts upon severed heads, injects himself with re-animation reagent, is implanted with LED systems, and much, much more.

I (Ttam Troll) was behind the camcorder directing ("Do weird face shit!") and filming for most of the scenes but some additional footage was shot by Steve Olsen, Ho Magos, Brian "Who" Black, and even Jackey McConnell (she shot the outdoor snow footage). It was assembled into a final edit in 2004 when we were preparing for the Any Questions? - Alive I Am tour.

One of the locations that we shot at was the abandoned Pennhurst State School and Hospital in Spring City, PA. While shooting footage there, we were forcibly removed from the property by their security. Apparently, we were "trespassing" and we were told that we were lucky that they didn't put us in shackles and cart us off to jail.

Oh, the things we do for our art...

Any Questions? - Body Bags

Body Bags was the first video off our Any Questions? 2000 release, Mutation. We took the song's title literally and slid ourselves into large garbage bags on a very hot summer day to shoot part of this video. The video also has all of the other "classic" Any Questions? elements - gas masks, blood, violence, fog, toxic liquids, strobe lights, dismembered baby dolls (taken from my sister years ago) and, of course, severed heads!

This was shot in The Griffith Compound at The Farmhouse in 1999. Steve Olsen manned the video camera while Kelly Hoffman and Beth Ballein were running lights and shooting off fog when they weren't assisting with video or suffocating in body bags.

It was a long but very fun day!