Toy (German band)

History

Evils Toy was formed in 1992 by Volker Lutz and Thorsten Brenda, who were introduced by a mutual friend aware of their shared interest in industrial music and their individual musical projects. After completing several tracks, they sent a demo tape to various labels, including the German Hypnobeat label, a sub-label of Hyperium Records, which released their debut album Human Refuse at the end of 1993. Their second album, Morbid Mind, followed a year later and was recorded at André Schmechta's T.G.I.F. Studios, a facility known for recording works by Schmechta's project X-Marks the Pedwalk and other German EBM and industrial acts. This collaboration also produced an XMTP remix of "Dear God" that appeared on the album and as a standalone CD maxi single.

The band's combination of distorted vocals and EBM rhythms with occasional melodic touches found moderate success, but their breakthrough came in 1995 with the single "Organics," which received significant airplay on both sides of the Atlantic. "Organics" and the subsequent album XTC Implant introduced a new sound that integrated high-energy techno into their typical dark electro, distinguishing them from contemporaries and exerting a lasting influence on the EBM scene. The 1997 album The Illusion was the last Evils Toy release that could accurately be described as industrial. Angels Only!, released the following year, moved away from distorted vocals toward a synthpop style and was the first Evils Toy recording to feature Oliver Taranczewski, as well as the last with Thorsten Brenda. For background vocals and live keyboards, Volker brought in his long-time girlfriend Cordula K, who also appears in the videos for "Virtual State" and "Dream With Me."

Taranczewski's addition to the band in 1997 brought lyrical inspiration from the stories of H. P. Lovecraft, which infused the band's sci-fi ethic. Tracks on Angels Only! — "Back On Earth," "From Above Comes Sleep," and "Colours Out Of Space" — drew directly from Lovecraftian themes of the Great Old Ones, R'lyeh, and the text The Colour Out of Space respectively. Taranczewski continued to weave these themes into the remaining Evils Toy releases and into early T.O.Y. songs as well.