Xorcist is the name of an American musical group whose output has ranged from electro-industrial and ambient.
Peter Stone (a.k.a. DJ/VJ Bat) became interested in electronics and computers at a young age, leading eventually to his leaving high school early to take a job at a software company.[1] As a child he took piano and drum lessons, and later recognized the possibilities in using electronics to create music via artists such as Gary Numan and Yello.[2]
Stone formed Xorcist as a one-man act after leaving his previous band, Belief,[3] circa 1986-7. He stylized the name by dropping the "e" from "exorcist," partially to avoid conflation with a metal band by that name.[1] Stone began by producing and self-releasing demo cassettes, one of which found its way to 21st Circuitry label co-founder, Don Blanchard, leading to a contract with the label. Xorcist's debut album, Damned Souls, was released in 1991; the first release on 21st Circuitry.[4] The album was quickly followed by multiple compilation appearances, including a 1993 cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit".[5] In 1994, Xorcist released Phantoms, a collection of unreleased tracks dating back to 1987[3] which peaked at No. 22 on the CMJ RPM charts in the US.[6]
Stone founded the Cyberden in 1991, a BBS focused on underground music and culture.[7] The Cyberden allowed bands, record labels, and fans to interact in an online community via chat and to exchange content using FTP or computer-based GUI clients.[3] Stone discontinued the Cyberden by 1996 due to financial issues, but transitioned the community to the web via hallucinet.com.[2] Stone also co-founded Bay area goth-industrial club, House of Usher.[8] The club hosted both live and DJ performances, usually split into two rooms, one for goth and darkwave music, and the other focusing on "cyber" and industrial music.[3]
For the 1993 Lollapalooza tour, Stone produced "The CyberPit," an interactive public area in the festival's "Village" where festival attendees could interact with networked computers to consult an interactive festival directory, post messages to the main stage screen, and online chat with other attendees.[9][3]
Although a solo act, Stone worked with others for live performances including Xavier Haight of Bay area industrial band, Malign, and producer Don Blanchard.[1] By 1997, Xorcist grew to include Evoltwin. In addition to providing some vocals, Evoltwin created the cover art for Soul Reflection and other subsequent releases.
Stone also created two side projects, Xenon[10] and Diode Fetish.
Xorcist went dormant after 2000, but re-emerged in 2017 with a pair of self-released instrumental compositions, followed in 2018 by the full-length album, God.[11] Later that year, Stone release a remix album, Legion, featuring remixes of Xorcist tracks by Scar Tissue, Prospero, and others.[12]
Stone still DJs and VJs under the name DJ/VJ Bat, and maintains the Xorcist.com website to promote his work.
Stone's work in sound design has appeared in MTV's Aeon Flux, and his work creating music and sound design in the video games Iron Helix, Bad Mojo and Space Bunnies Must Die.[10][1]