Leichenschrei

Leichenschrei
Studio album by SPK
Released	1982
Recorded	October 1981 - March 1982 at SPK/Side Effekts studio
Genre	Industrial
Length	43:09
Label	Thermidor
Producer	SPK
SPK chronology
Information Overload Unit (1981) Leichenschrei (1982) Machine Age Voodoo (1984)
Alternative cover
1992 CD reissue

Leichenschrei is the second album by the band SPK. It was released in 1982 on Thermidor Records in the United States and in 1983 on the band's own Side Effekts label in the United Kingdom. The title is a German word meaning "corpse scream", and might refer to an alleged supernatural behavior exhibited by the deceased.

The band was listed on the initial Thermidor release as "SPK", although subsequent vinyl reissues were credited to "Sozialistisches Patienten Kollektiv", a reference to the leftist German patients' group of the same name. The name was misspelled on the CD reissue as "Socialistisches Patienten Kollektiv".

Legacy

In a 1987 interview for Italian fanzine Snowdonia, Edward Ka-Spel of The Legendary Pink Dots stated that he thought industrial music should have stopped after Leichenschrei, describing it as a "brilliant album" and "nobody could make a better, more definitive work in industrial music".^[1]

Oddity

The final track on side 1 of the vinyl LP contained a locked groove whose sound emulated a combination of a steam press and a pile driver. This track was often used in the mid-1980s by announcers at the University of Maryland WMUC-FM radio station to avoid dead-air when an announcer's relief failed to show. Rumour has it that this record was used so much that they wore the groove out on more than 5 copies over three years.

Track listing

No track listing was provided with the initial release on Thermidor Records. The first side of vinyl editions of the album end with a lockgroove. Sides one and two of the vinyl editions are labeled "Seite ((Lysso))" and "Seite ((Klono))", respectively.^[2]

Side one

1. "Genetic Transmission" – 3:17
2. "Post-Mortem" – 2:24
3. "Desolation" – 1:18
4. "Napalm (Terminal Patient)" – 2:39
5. "Cry from the Sanatorium" – 2:26
6. "Baby Blue Eyes" – 2:38
7. "Israel" – 2:46
8. "Internal Bleeding" – 1:46
9. "Chamber Music" – 3:26

Side two

1. "Despair" – 4:45
2. "The Agony of the Plasma" – 3:03
3. "Day of Pigs" – 4:18
4. "Wars of Islam" – 4:31
5. "Maladia Europa (The European Sickness)" – 3:50

Personnel

According to the album liner notes:^[3]

• Oblivion (Graeme Revell) – synthesizer, electronic rhythms, tape, syncussion, vocals
• NE/H/IL – synthesizer, electronic rhythms, tape, treatments, vocals
• Pinker – drums, syncussion, metal percussion, backing vocals
• Paul Charlier – guitar, bass, synthi
• Peter Kennard – guitar, bass
• Karel van Bergen – violin, vocals
• Sinan Leong – vocals, photography
• Brett Guerim – additional vocals
• Margaret Hill – additional vocals
• Lustmord – additional vocals
• Rose – additional vocals
• Phil Punch – mixing

Charts

Chart (1983)	Peak position
UK Indie Chart[4]	14

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
United States	1982	Thermidor Records	LP	T-9
United Kingdom	1983	Side Effekts	LP	SER 02
Germany	1986	Normal Records	LP	NORMAL 26
United Kingdom	1992	The Grey Area	CD	SPK 2CD

Notes

1. "The Legendary Pink Dots – Snowdonia, 1987". Retrieved 2009-03-30.
2. "SPK Discography – Leichenschrei". Retrieved 2009-03-30.
3. "SPK – Leichenschrei (LP) at Discogs". Retrieved 2009-03-30.
4. Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. Retrieved September 5, 2014.