Foetus (band)

Foetus is the primary musical outlet of industrial music pioneer J. G. Thirlwell. Until 1995 the band underwent various name changes, all including the word foetus. Monikers adopted at different times include Foetus Under Glass, You've Got Foetus On Your Breath and Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel. After 1995 the name permanently became Foetus, though the related project The Foetus Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1997 and continues. Thirlwell acts as the sole instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter and producer for all Foetus works and as such is the only member of the band. Other artists may occasionally collaborate with Thirlwell on Foetus works but are not considered members of Foetus. Thirlwell is solely responsible for the musical output of the band.

Discography

The first Scraping Foetus off the Wheel LP, Hole

Studio albums

• Deaf – You’ve Got Foetus on Your Breath (1981)
• Ache – You’ve Got Foetus on Your Breath (1982)
• Hole – Scraping Foetus off the Wheel (1984)
• Nail – Scraping Foetus off the Wheel (1985)
• Thaw – Foetus Interruptus (1988)
• Gash — Foetus (1995)
• Flow – Foetus (2001)
• Love – Foetus (2005)

Live, remix and compilation albums

• Rife – Foetus Corruptus (1988)
• Sink – Foetus Inc. (1989)
• Male – Foetus in Excelsis Corruptus Deluxe (1992)
• Boil – Foetus (1996)
• York (First Exit to Brooklyn) – The Foetus Symphony Orchestra feat. Lydia Lunch (1997)
• Blow – Foetus (2001)
• Damp – Foetus (2006)
• Vein – Foetus (2007)

EPs, singles and miscellaneous

• Spite Your Face/OKFM – Foetus Under Glass (1981)
• Wash It All Off – You've Got Foetus on Your Breath (1981)
• Tell Me, What Is the Bane of Your Life – Phillip and His Foetus Vibrations (1982)
• Custom Built for Capitalism – Foetus Over Frisco (1982)
• Calamity Crush – Foetus Art Terrorism (1984)
• Wash/Slog – You've Got Foetus on Your Breath (1985)
• Finely Honed Machine – Foetus Über Frisco (1985)
• The Foetus of Excellence – The Foetus of Excellence (1985)
• Bedrock – Foetus All-Nude Revue (1987)
• Ramrod – Scraping Foetus off the Wheel (1987)
• Butterfly Potion – Foetus Inc. (1990)
• Somnambulumdrum – Foetus Inc. (1992)
• Vice Squad Dick – Foetus/Chrome Cranks (1994)
• Null – Foetus (1995)
• Verklemmt/Be Thankful – Foetus (1995)
• Überschall 1996 – Foetus/Faust/Stereolab (1996)
• Null/Void – Foetus (1996)
• (not adam) – Foetus (2004)

Conceptual themes

All full-length Foetus album titles are four-letter, one-syllable words, often with multiple connotations. The artwork of Foetus releases shows a deliberate progression of colour: the earliest releases are black and white, with the addition of red on the Deaf album, and further addition of yellow on Nail. Full-color art was introduced on Gash. [1] Beginning with Flow, the artwork of primary albums reverted to black/white/red, though other releases continue in full colour.

External links

• Official Home Page
• 1995 Interview with J.G Thirlwell.
• U.K article
• Interview @ Legends
• freq_out
• Official Myspace page for "Llik your idols", a documentary about the Cinema of Transgression featuring Foetus