| Perversion | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 9, 1998 | |||
| Recorded | Mr. Blood, Upper Room Studios, St. Louis | |||
| Genre | Industrial rock, industrial metal, electronic rock, alternative rock | |||
| Length | 40:45 (U.S.) 40:50 (UK) | |||
| Label | TVT (U.S.) Dragnet Records (Germany) | |||
| Producer | Roli Mosimann, Gravity Kills | |||
| Gravity Kills chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Perversion | ||||
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Perversion is a 1998 album by industrial rock band Gravity Kills. It was released on June 9, 1998, through TVT Records.
During an online chat session on April 17, 2000, the band disclosed that the title of the album was originally going to be 'Whore', and after their record label pushed back, the title was changed to 'Perversion' two days before the CDs went into production. They also stated that the actual title of the tenth track, 'Belief', is simply the word itself, and the '(To Rust)' was the result of a misprint during the cover art's production process. The album art features a scan of an instructions sheet on safe handling of meat and poultry. The inner sleeve features a double-spread image of the band in a room occupied by pigs; vocalist Jeff Scheel is tied to a chair while rapidly shaking his head, while the other band members are stood next to a table with headphones on. A red neon sign is affixed to the wall behind them, displaying seemingly nonsensical white Japanese text.
A promotional CD was released under the same name in early 1998, containing all of the album's tracks. "Drown" was retitled as "Drowned" or "Drowning" depending on the pressing. After being approached by TVT Records, American cosmetics brand Urban Decay released a nail polish as a promotional tie-in product for the album. The polish, titled 'Perversion', was a glossy black color and was given away for free with each copy of the album bought from various outlets. Vocalist Jeff Scheel said of the collaboration, "I think it fits in with most rock bands because there's this marriage between rock music and fashion anyway. And guys wear [nail polish]. Anyway, I will be wearing it." The color became a staple until Urban Decay discontinued their nail range. [1] [2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [3] |
| eMusic | [4] |
| Spin | 3/10 [5] |
Perversion was met with mixed reviews and ratings. Allmusic gave the album 2.5/5, eMusic gave it a 4/5 and MOG gave it 3/5. It reached #107 on the Billboard 200. Reviewing the album for Spin, Joshua Westlund commented that the band was recreating Nine Inch Nails's song "Head Like a Hole" and stated, "Gravity Kills songs have no subjects because pronouns don't matter to singer Jeff Scheel; the charges against "you" in the first verse always come back as revelations about "me" in the second. Lust, disgust, and ennui sound like the same numb sensation in GK's music. Which might explain why "darkness" has seldom sounded so gray." [5]
| Country | Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. | Billboard 200 | 107 |
| Country | Chart (1998) | Title | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. | Mainstream Rock | Falling | 35 |
Some of the songs appeared in some compilation volumes and promos:
| Year | Song | Compilations/promos |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Drown | Crossing All Over, Vol. 9 |
| Alive (Hurricane Mix) | Offroad Tracks Vol.16 | |
| If (Compound Remix) | TVT Warped '99 | |
| Alive | Creed on (CD Sampler) | |
| - | Falling | Virtually Alternative 92 |
"Drown" and "Alive" were featured in Test Drive: Off-Road 2 . "Falling" was featured in Test Drive 5 . "If" was featured in MTV Sports: Pure Ride.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Falling" | 4:02 |
| 2. | "If" | 4:06 |
| 3. | "Crashing" | 3:40 |
| 4. | "Drown" | 3:40 |
| 5. | "Alive" | 3:52 |
| 6. | "Wanted" | 4:04 |
| 7. | "Always" | 4:44 |
| 8. | "One" | 3:46 |
| 9. | "Disintegrate" | 4:40 |
| 10. | "Belief (To Rust)" | 4:16 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Poetry and Power (from the Gary Numan tribute CD)" | 3:19 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Alive (Hurricane Mix)" | 3:36 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Enough [Mix]" |
Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN, stylized as NIN, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band until his frequent collaborator, Atticus Ross, joined in 2016. The band's debut album, Pretty Hate Machine (1989), was released via TVT Records. After disagreeing with TVT about how to promote the album, the band signed with Interscope Records and released the EP Broken (1992). The following albums, The Downward Spiral (1994) and The Fragile (1999), were released to critical acclaim and commercial success.
Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten and Chrome. Industrial rock became more prominent in the 1980s with the success of artists such as Killing Joke, Swans, and partially Skinny Puppy, and later spawned the offshoot genre known as industrial metal. The genre was made more accessible to mainstream audiences in the 1990s with the aid of acts such as Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson, both of which have released platinum-selling records.
Pretty Hate Machine is the debut studio album by the American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released by TVT Records on October 20, 1989. Production of the record was handled by NIN frontman Trent Reznor and English producer Flood, among other contributors.
The Fragile is the third studio album by the American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released as a double album by Nothing Records and Interscope Records on September 21, 1999. It was produced by the Nine Inch Nails singer Trent Reznor and the English producer Alan Moulder, a longtime Reznor collaborator. It was recorded throughout 1997 to 1999 in New Orleans.
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Gravity Kills is an American industrial rock band from St. Louis, Missouri. Formed in 1994, they had their first hit single with "Guilty", a track later released on their 1996 self-titled debut album. The band released two additional albums of new material, Perversion in 1998 and Superstarved in 2002, as well as a remix album in 1997. Their singles "Falling" and "One Thing" both achieved minor radio success. Their music was described by one critic as "a blending of eerie industrial rock with a pop-infused melodic chorus and a bit of hard-core head banging." Due to the lack of tour support from their record label, they were unable to complete a tour for Superstarved and broke up in 2003. From 2005 to 2012, Gravity Kills reunited for occasional one-off festivals and shows. The band reunited in 2023 as they reissued their self-titled debut album and announced a singular show in St. Louis that same year.
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