Concocting a unique blend of thrash, math rock, and dub, the instrumental power trio
Blind Idiot God burst onto the scene in the late '80s, recorded three fine albums, and evaporated by 1993. Apparently only just out of their teens, the three musicians exhibited startling originality and impressive technique both on their instruments and in the depth and style of their compositions. Their faster, louder pieces are intensely churning, though essentially melodic in nature. Often they begin with anthemic lines, precisely and forcefully etched by
Andy Hawkins' guitar, backed by the supple, powerful drumming of
Ted Epstein. But, midway through, the melodies tend to be twisted and pulled like taffy, elongating into mutant forms only hinted at previously. This creates a marvelous tension, as one is never certain how a given song will resolve. The listener feels buffeted about, as if inside a roaring engine at 30,000 feet. In a complete and utter about-face, the album ends with three pieces that could hardly be further removed from the divine cacophony of the initial songs. Suddenly, the listener is in a spare, ethereal dub landscape, with
Gabe Katz's muted bass throbbing beneath light, floating shards of guitar sound, echoing into the distance. One is all the more impressed by the range of this band, capable of so expertly handling such disparate song forms. This is an extraordinary debut album by a group that proved all too short-lived.