Eternal Darkness (EP)

Eternal Darkness is the debut EP of Battery, released in 1991 by COP International.^[1]

Eternal Darkness
EP by Battery
Released	1991 (1991)
Recorded	July 1991 (1991-07)
Studio	Dynamaphone (San Francisco, California)
Genre	Industrial rock
Length	16:22
Label	COP Intl.
Producer	Shawn Brice Stuart Scanlon Evan Sornstein
Battery chronology
Eternal Darkness (1991) Meat Market (1992)

Music

Founding members Shawn Brice and Evan Sornstein met at Bennington College in Vermont in 1989. Both were influenced by electronic music, with Sornstein having grown up listening to Wendy Carlos (formerly Walter Carlos), Kraftwerk, Klaus Schultze and Isao Tomita.^[2] After composing as a duo they decided to recruit fellow student Stuart Scanlon to fill membership and earn extra credit and money - the college paid bands a hundred dollars to perform for a live audience.^[3][4] When asked why the name Battery appealed to its members, they replied: "According to any standard American dictionary it signifies: a percussion section of an orchestra, the artillery section of an army, cells where energy is stored, the dock/loading industrial section of a major city, and on and on."^[5]

After the members of Battery graduated and Scanlon parted ways with the band Brice and Sornstein met Christian Petke of Deathline International, who decided to launch COP International with Battery and Diatribe as its lead bands.^[6] In 1992 the title track appeared on the California Cyber Crash Compilation,^[7] one of the first releases by COP Intl, and "Never Forget" was provided to Zoth Ommog Records for Body Rapture II.^[8]

Reception

Industrial Reviews gave Eternal Darkness four stars out of five and praised the thoughtfulness, energy and charm across the EP's four compositions, especially on the lead and coda tracks.^[9]

Track listing

This Side

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Eternal Darkness"	5:08
2.	"Incest"	3:33

All tracks are written by Shawn Brice, Stuart Scanlon and Evan Sornstein

Other Side

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Never Forget"	5:40
2.	"No Release"	2:01

Personnel

Adapted from the Eternal Darkness liner notes.^[10]

Battery

• Shawn Brice – instruments, production, engineering
• Stuart Scanlon – instruments, production, engineering
• Evan Sornstein (Curium Design) – instruments, production, engineering, cover art

Production and design

• Christa Brüggemann (as SST) – mastering
• Pain Less – assistant production
• Christian Petke (as Count Zero) – assistant production

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
Germany	1991	COP Intl.	LP	COP 001

References

1. Finkler, Ed (June 13, 1996). "Interview with Battery, The Fenix, Seattle, WA". Sonic Boom. 4 (6). Retrieved August 27, 2020.
2. "Battery Interview". Unidentified German 'Zine. July 1996. Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
3. Baumgartner, Geoff (May 4, 1999). "Battery". Ink 19. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
4. Torres, Elexia (September 28, 1996). "Battery Interview, San Francisco, KDVS 90.3 FM". Rapture. Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
5. Christie, Dixon (August 1996). "Battery Interview". Online Digizine. Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
6. Congon, Kevin (November 17, 1995). "Interview with Battery, Club Arte, San Francisco". Sonic Boom. 4 (6). Retrieved August 27, 2020.
7. "Various Artists: California Crash > Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
8. Body Rapture II (booklet). Various artists. Hesse, Germany: Zoth Ommog Records. 1992.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
9. Lic (June 25, 2009). "Battery: Eternal Darkness". Industrial Reviews. Leo Levin. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
10. Eternal Darkness (sleeve). Battery. Oakland, California: COP International. 1991.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

External links

• Eternal Darkness at Discogs (list of releases)