Jehovahkill

Inspired by prehistoric monuments, the album features ancient, pre-Christian heathen and pagan themes, while commenting on "the destructiveness of mainstream religion."

The theme spread to the packaging, with the cover depicting the Callanish Stones, a site with a cruciform layout that predates Christ by at least 2,000 years.

[6] When Cope explained that it was what he had set out to achieve and "would prefer to stand or fall by the results," Marot allowed him additional recording sessions at the label's Fallout Shelter Studios.

[4] Although the existing content remained almost untouched, the album, re-titled Jehovahkill, was "ameliorated" with six further songs, including "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fine", "The Mystery Trend" and "No Hard Shoulder To Cry On".

[4] Cope would later describe Jehovahkill as the second instalment of an album trilogy that concerns Mother Earth, with the first being Peggy Suicide and the third being Autogeddon; in particular, Jehovahkill departs from the environmental concerns of Peggy Suicide and instead celebrates ancient, pre-Christianity heathen impulses, while noting what Cope, a self-described Odinist, believed to be "the destructiveness of mainstream religion.

"[9] Cope coined the term "megalithomania" for his new found interests,[10] and wrote about it in the liner notes,[5] where he describes the album as "concerning the Kelt and the Kraut, the cross and the serpent; and various related female issues that the mother would wish us to know.

[12] The album name, a pun of Jehovah and "overkill", was described by journalist Andy Gill as perhaps referring "to the Judaeo-Christian repression of our natural pagan energies and inclinations; or perhaps to the kicking Cope hands out here to the deity.

"[10] The album cover depicts the Callanish Stones on the Isle of Lewis, a Neolithic site with a cruciform layout that predates Christ by at least 2,000 years.

[2] In his book How the Neolithics Influenced Rock 'n' Roll, Andrew Johnstone called the cover design a "bold iconographic approach," writing that "[t]he isolation of the monument's structure emphasises its completeness and the dramatic statement the builders made far greater than a photograph would.

[7] "Akhenaten" has been described as "an investigation on Society's obsession with Christ,"[13] while "Fear Loves This Place" has been interpreted by critic Dave Morrison as "a tale of domestic brutality.

[16] Uncut wrote that the album contains a "mad scramble" of krautrock, pop and techno dance music,[19] while Jim DeRogatis called it psychedelic rock.

[11] Many of the songs start with simplistic acoustic guitar intros before, according to Andy Gill of The Independent, developing via overdub "accretions", "some into retro-hippy jams of boundless cosmicity like 'Necropolis', some into rave chants like 'Poet Is Priest...'.

"[10] "Soul Desert" was described by Raggett as picking up "where Peggy Suicide left off with 'Las Vegas Basement', with the same low-key late-night vibe.

"[7] The instrumental "Necropolis" bears a strong krautrock influence, revealing Cope's infatuation with 1970s German rock music,[16] and was cited as one of the "absurd" tracks on the album, alongside "No Hard Shoulder to Cry On" and "Know (Cut My Friend Down)", by critic Alec Foege.

[13] Starting with a garage rock riff before centring on numerous soundscapes, with one of the few lyrics being its title,[13] "Poet Is Priest…" is a krautrock funk song, featuring "acoustic astrology" from astronomer and musician Fiorella Terenzi,[7] and rave influences.

[21] In October 2006, a "Second Edition" of Jehvoahkill was released by Island Records, containing material from Julian H. Cope and the "Fear Loves This Place" single including the Dictaphone-recorded "Nothing".

"[19] Dave DiMartino of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "Jehovahkill sounds like a guy with great taste having an orgy in a recording studio — and echoing everybody he's ever liked in the process.

"[17] Andy Gill of The Independent called it "one of the week's more inspired albums" and noted "an odd wholeness to the project, the kind of result only possible when an artist takes a flier and pursues his personal vision, heedless of fashion,"[10] while David Cavanagh of Select wrote: "Spend the rest of your life making sense of Jehovahkill, ye Kelts and Krauts alike, and salute the soul of Julian H Cope.

"[11] Describing the album as a "strange but soothing act of rebellion," Alec Foege of Spin felt Jehovahkill was the musician's most consistent record to date, saying Cope "pontificates less and crafts better melodies" and figured his "message to the universe" as "remarkably selfless and sane.

"[13] Among retrospective reviews, Ned Raggett of AllMusic described it as "another fine Cope album," and commented: "If Jehovahkill isn't quite as perfectly balanced as Peggy Suicide, it comes darn close, definitely leaving the late-'80s trough behind.

The Callanish Stones are depicted on the album cover.
Avebury stone circle.
Krautrock bands such as Faust ( pictured in 2007 ) were a key influence on Jehovahkill .