Tainted Coil

“From the oceans of blood came new life, the worst of which was the Tainted Coil. With the twisted forms of the First Ones, but the angry power of Ormagöden, they were hated, feared, and almost exterminated.” — The Narrator

The Tainted Coil is the faction led by Doviculus that consists of demons that oppress humanity. Their style is based on the Industrial and Alternative Metal sub-genres, as well as themes of BDSM and Gore. They operate by a strict hierarchical system based on that of macabre version of organised religion.

Multiplayer[edit | edit source]

“The Tainted Coil spreads its demon seed using a perverse hierarchy, that includes Battle Nuns, War Fathers, and Overblessers, whose double team attack gives unholy birth anywhere on the battlefield.” — The Narrator

This faction's chief advantages in stage battles are the Hierarchy units, which are capable of spawning other units directly onto the battlefield. This allows the player to create a large number of units with differing strengths wherever they are needed. The Hair Metal Militia, led by General Lionwhyte, works under the Tainted Coil as an elite unit of sorts, but is not usable in Multiplayer.

Story[edit | edit source]

The Season of Pain is upon us....
This article contains spoilers for Brütal Legend. Click here to reveal them.

The first of the Tainted Coil emerged from the seas created from the blood of Ormagöden, retaining his anger and the vile appearance of the First Ones. They would have been wiped out if it weren't for the Titans keeping them as pets, who gave them restrictive S&M leather outfits to help them resemble their masters.

After their masters ascended to the heavens to become the Metal Gods, the Coil searched the world for some remnants of them, and through magic, created Humans through worship of a Titan's toenail. Rather than loving their new creations, the Coil saw their small size as an insult, and immediately grew to hate them, and quickly enslaved them.

In a bid to reclaim the lost secrets of the Titans, The Demon Emperor Succoria traveled forward in time using an idol of Ormagöden. She took with her a small group of slaves, including one murderous stowaway. When she failed to return, Doviculus became the new Emperor of the Tainted Coil.

Soon after the advent of Eddie Riggs, the rebellion against the Tainted Coil starts proper, with the formation of the Ironheade faction. The Coil does not often oppose Ironheade directly; Ironheade must first defeat the Hair Metal Militia. Its leader, General Lionwhyte is a subordinate to Doviculus. After Lionwhyte is defeated, Doviculus murders Lars Halford, and summons several Bleeding Deaths to destroy the Pleasure Tower.

Sometime after Ironheade's escape, Doviculus reopens the Sea of Black Tears, which then attracts Ophelia. After diving into it's black depths, a doppelganger, Drowned Ophelia, arises and creates an army to destroy Ironheade.

After Ironheade defeats the Drowning Doom. Doviculus meets Eddie in the cathedral, where he murders the Drowned Ophelia and summons the Black Tear Monster. A battle breaks out between the two factions, ending with Doviculus' decapitation. Afterward, Tainted Coil units are seen paroling the Western Continent.

Units[edit | edit source]

“The wizards of gore, led by scum of the earth Doviculus. The Coil's stage only produces hierarchy units-Battle Nuns, Warfathers, and Overblessers. Doviculus communes with them to create new units anywhere on the battlefield.” — Instruction Manual

Hierarchy Units[edit | edit source]

Main article: Coil Hierarchy

Hierarchy units form the upper echelon of the Tainted Coil that spawn from the Megastage.

Battle Nun: Melee infantry, hierarchy unit
Warfather: Ranged infantry, hierarchy unit
Overblesser: Ranged infantry, hierarchy unit

Minion Units[edit | edit source]

Minion units are spawned by double teaming with Hierarchy Units.

Soul Kisser: Basic melee infantry
Punishing Party: Basic ranged infantry
Skull Raker: Large general-purpose infantry, effective at short or medium range
Screamwagon: Support vehicle
Pain Lifter: Ranged vehicle, infantry-killer
Heart Cutter: Ranged vehicle, anti-vehicle specialist
Hate Cage: Massive ranged infantry

Summoned Units[edit | edit source]

Summoned units are spawned using guitar solos.

Tick Chopper: Fast vehicle, melee infantry-killer; only summonable via a solo
Bleeding Death: Massive melee infantry; recruited from the stage and summoned to the player's location through the Launch of Death solo.

Non-playable Units[edit | edit source]

Druids: Melee infantry, not used in stage battles however, they do appear on the Heart Cutter altar.

Solos[edit | edit source]

Soundtrack[edit | edit source]

Beautiful People - Marilyn Manson
Blitzkrieg - Deathstars
Free Your Hate - KMFDM
Ignisis Dance - Wrath of Killenstien
Love Dump - Static X
Rip the System - KMFDM
Snap Your FIngers, Snap Your Neck - Prong
Thieves - Ministry
Stigmata - Ministry
Superbeast - Rob Zombie

Patrols[edit | edit source]

Main article: Patrols

Tainted Coil patrols will first start to appear after the mission "Doom's Dawn" is completed. The patrols will be larger in number and will contain higher level units until the Brütal Campaign is complete. They are encountered exclusively on the Western Continent, replacing the Hair Metal Militia patrols from before.

Trivia[edit | edit source]

Doviculus, and well as the Tainted Coil in general, seem to show a resemblance to the Cenobites from Clive Barker's The Hellbound Heart and its film adaptation Hellraiser, due to their sadomasochistic themes, appearance, and demonic nature.
- Additionally, Doviculus also shares similarities with Darkness from the film Legend, another demon which Tim Curry portrayed.
- Doviculus also wears fishnets around his arms possibly in reference to Tim Curry's role as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in Rocky Horror Picture Show.
- Early concept art for the Tainted Coil shows a gigantic demon in the background, resembling Dio's mascot Murray. As Ronnie James Dio was to be the original voice actor for Doviculus, its possible this was an early design for the demon Emperor.
The Coil is the only faction whose base camp is never visited or even seen.
While it isn't clear if this includes all demons, members of the Tainted Coil appear to be hermaphroditic in biology, Doviculus being able to reproduce with both male and female members of his forces.
The Tainted Coil's logo resembles an amalgamation of a skull and the international bio-hazard symbol.
The Tainted Coil has the fewest songs in their soundtrack, with ten.