Not the Band who Must not be Named....Blind Idiot God---Remarkable Improvisational Dub Shredding from St Louis

Blind Idiot God was a thrashy improvisational rock trio from the 1980's, originally from St Louis, Mo. What a great Lovecraftian band name they had, and one beautifully freaky Lovecraftian album cover! Up there with Pink Floyd's Piper at the Gates of Dawn. These outward elements aligned perfectly with sort of music they played. A lot of musical worlds collided head on with this music---thrash, free jazz, hard rock, punk, dub. No vocals. This is a pretty unique sounding recording to me, the musicianship is superb; just beneath the amazing powerhouse guitar shredwork is a completely rock solid kick ass rhythm section.

The other notorious B.I.G.

Either I had forgot or never knew this, but this eponymous album (their first) from 1987 was released on SST records. The notion that SST was a pretty super label at one time has inadvertently become a forgotten factoid in my memory. But they were just that at one time. In addition to some of the great American bands of the 80, acts like Meat Puppets, Minutemen, Dinosaur Jr., Husker Du, Sonic Youth, and of course Black Flag, they were also releasing great music by other bands that are less well known, like B.I.G., or The Last. At one time there was a bit of cachet to be on the SST roster in the way Subpop label became actually bigger than the bands.

The Band:
Andy Hawkins: Guitar
Gabriel Katz: Bass
Ted Epstein: Drums

Album art and layout: Miles Rutlin

In the post-Punk landscape of the time, these guys were pretty sui generis. They definitely can't be described as "trendy". What's nice to me is that the songs are not aimless 19 minute of noodling around--the longest songs are 5 minutes flat. And the bounty of musical ideas are executed in fresh interesting ways. The album definitely is not  prototypical album of the era, probably inspired as much by the music of Sonny Sharrock, Chrome and King Tubby, as Bad Brains hardcore, The Ruts or Killing Joke. The albums rips along at a blistering pace--its almost like they share a common idea with what John Zorn was trying to do on Naked City, except he was crossing over from a jazz perspective. And Naked City came out a few years after Blind Idiot God!



For a band with a name like Blind Idiot God they certainly had a great deal of vision. Their album is a truly artistic statement, particularly as this is their first recording. I don't know how many people know about this album, but I am sure a fair share of musicians covering a variety of genres are familiar with them.



As much as I like a good pop hook, it's always great to hear a band that has carved out its own space with musical chops and ingenuity. I bought this album originally at about the time it was released, and it still sounds just as vital today. And frankly, I probably would have bought it blindly just for the cool name and amazing album art. Blind Idiot God also put out 2 other albums, Undertow & Cyclotron before they called it quits in the early 90's.

Give these guys a listen if you dare.....