''High Priest of Love'' is a 1986 EP and second studio release by

Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction were a British hard rock group, which was formed in 1985. Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction play a sleazy style of commercial hard rock featuring big riffs and choruses, as was the trend in the band's ...

. This EP was released soon after Zodiac had signed with Phonogram Records. A video for the title track, directed by Andy Lee, was issued during the summer compiling live footage of the band. The band secured an opening slot for

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...

to support the release. The title track was included on the ''

Return of the Living Dead Part II ''Return of the Living Dead Part II'' is a 1988 American comedy horror film written and directed by Ken Wiederhorn, and starring Michael Kenworthy, Marsha Dietlein, Dana Ashbrook, Thom Mathews, James Karen, and Phil Bruns. It is the first of ...

'' movie soundtrack in 1988, and was also covered in 1990 by British neo-Nazi band No Remorse on their album ''Blood Against Gold''.

Critical reception

Donald McRae of ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a " rock inkie", the ''NME'' would become a maga ...

'' named band as "competent crud" and an album as "ridiculously mannered, mildly funny and ultimately useless piece of rock product". '' Sounds'' reacted in an opposite way. Jack Barron was impressed by Mindwarp's "wicked wit". He described music as "six-legged riff monster so cliched it makes your aesthetic ears blush, yet so crude it crushes your ribs with equal doses of cartoon humour and occasional flashes of raw power". Reviewer summarized: "And with the scathing tongue of a

Lydon Lydon is a surname of Irish origin, an anglicization of "Loideán", and may refer to: *Alexander Francis Lydon (1836–1917), English engraver of natural history *Alexandra Lydon (born 1979), Irish and American television actress * Christopher Ly ...

, the speed-scorched larynx of a

Lemmy Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was a British musician. He was the founder, lead vocalist, bassist and primary songwriter of the metal band Motörhead, of which he ...

and the deep throat of a

Beefheart Don Van Vliet (; born 'Don Glen Vliet'; January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble known as the M ...

, all Zodiac wants to do is put his love gun in your mouth and blow your head off. Your finger is on his trigger". As a result, in the end of the year ''Sounds'' writers included EP into their list of the most important, influential and significant albums of 1986 with recognition that "Zodiac, the delinquent genius whose poetic prose and codpiece colossus thrilled the girlies and chilled the guys; Slam, the garbage man who thinks he's the new messiah on drums; Cobalt, a guitarist who quit Wham! when they introduced minor chords, dismissing them as poofs; and Kid, a teenage Dennis the Menace with spunk stains up his AC/DC T-shirt". "1986 was their year and no one else's".

Track listing

Credits

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction * Zodiac Mindwarp – Vocals * Cobalt Stargazer – Guitars *

Kid Chaos Kid Chaos, also known as Haggis (born Stephen Harris) is a British rock bassist and guitarist who played in incarnations of hard rock bands Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction, The Cult and The Four Horsemen as well as guesting with ''Appetite ...

– Bass * Slam Thunderhide – Drums Production *

David Balfe David Balfe (born 1958) is an English musician and record company executive, most notable for playing keyboards with the Teardrop Explodes, founding the Zoo and Food independent record labels, signing Blur and for being the subject of thei ...

– producer

Critical reception

Track listing

Credits

References

Further reading