Blind Idiot God is an American

instrumental rock Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes instrumental performance and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental music in rock can be found in practically every subgenre of the style. Instrumental rock was most popular f ...

trio formed in 1982 in St. Louis,

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, United States, by guitarist Andy Hawkins, bassist Gabriel Katz and drummer Ted Epstein. The phrase "blind idiot god" comes from horror writer

H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...

's description of the god Azathoth. Their often

improvisational Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

musical style combines influences from

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

noise music Noise music is a genre of music that is characterised by the expressive use of noise. This type of music tends to challenge the distinction that is made in conventional musical practices between musical and non-musical sound. Noise music include ...

20th-century classical music 20th-century classical music is Western art music that was written between the years 1901 and 2000, inclusive. Musical style diverged during the 20th century as it never had previously, so this century was without a dominant style. Modernism, i ...

, heavy metal, dub,

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

, and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

. They are currently based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and have often collaborated with musicians

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, wo ...

and

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conducting, conductor, saxophonist, arrangement, arranger and record producer, producer who "deliberately resists category". His Avant-garde music, avant-garde and experimental music, ex ...

. Their self-titled debut album, '' Blind Idiot God'', was issued by

SST Records SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was first founded in 1966 by Ginn at age 12 as Solid State Transmitters, a small business through which he sold elec ...

in 1987 and was well received critically. Brian Olewnick described it as "an extraordinary debut ..the three musicians exhibited startling originality and impressive technique both on their instruments and in the depth and style of their compositions". With bassist

handling production duties, '' Undertow'' was released in 1988 and was followed by ''

Cyclotron A cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator invented by Ernest Lawrence in 1929–1930 at the University of California, Berkeley, and patented in 1932. Lawrence, Ernest O. ''Method and apparatus for the acceleration of ions'', filed: Januar ...

'' in 1992. Ted Epstein left the band in 1996 and the remaining members put Blind Idiot God on hiatus as they searched for his replacement. In 2001, Blind Idiot God reunited after roughly a decade of inactivity, with Tim Wyskida (of

Khanate A khanate ( ) or khaganate refers to historic polity, polities ruled by a Khan (title), khan, khagan, khatun, or khanum. Khanates were typically nomadic Mongol and Turkic peoples, Turkic or Tatars, Tatar societies located on the Eurasian Steppe, ...

) replacing Epstein. Between 2008 and 2010, Blind Idiot God recorded the material at studios in New Jersey; Barber Shop; and Orange Sound that would comprise their fourth album, '' Before Ever After''. Gabriel Katz departed in 2012 and was replaced by New York veteran bassist Will Dahl, making Andy Hawkins the only original member still performing in the band. ''Before Ever After'' was released on February 24, 2015, with the new lineup performing three live shows in New York to coincide with the release. In 2017, The band announced that they would be re-issuing their back catalog on multiple formats and that they had started work on a new album.

History

Early years (1982–1986)

Blind Idiot God was formed in 1982 in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

when its members were teenagers. Before adopting

and dub influences, they essentially played

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

, with their songs being roughly one minute in length. During this time, they socialized within the St. Louis hardcore scene, including members of Drunks with Guns and

Ultraman The , also known as ''Ultraman'', is a Japanese science fiction media franchise owned and produced by Tsuburaya Productions, which began with the television series '' Ultra Q'' in 1966. The franchise has expanded into many television shows, fi ...

. After failing to find a vocalist that shared their musical aspirations, the band opted to continue as an instrumental outfit. Their first live performance came in September 1983 at a basement party. After playing the first song of their set, a reggae version of " Hava Nagila", they were interrupted by the police who shut the party down after receiving complaints from the neighbors. After hearing their self-produced cassette demo, Greg Ginn of Black Flag signed them to

, and the band moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

in 1986.

Debut album and critical acclaim (1987–1988)

The band began searching for a producer who would be willing to work with their mixture of

noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...

, dub and heavy metal. Originally, Hawkins wanted to enlist the aid of British producer

Adrian Sherwood Adrian Maxwell Sherwood (born 20 January 1958) is an English record producer specialising in the genre of dub music. He has created a distinctive production style based on the application of dub effects and dub mixing techniques to other forms ...

, known for his work with numerous

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

groups as well as his contributions to the

industrial hip hop Industrial hip hop is a fusion genre of industrial music and hip hop. History 1980s The origins of industrial hip hop are in the work of Mark Stewart, Bill Laswell, and Adrian Sherwood. In 1985, former The Pop Group singer Mark Stewart relea ...

ensemble Tackhead. In January 1987, Blind Idiot God entered B.C. Studios to record with producer Martin Bisi, who they had met through composer

. Their debut album, the

eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

ously titled '' Blind Idiot God'', was released on

in 1987 and received critical acclaim. While categorized as heavy metal and

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

, the music made use of distortion techniques while hinting at

and

European classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

influences, with its final three tracks ostensibly belonging to the dub genre. The virtuosity of the band's players was praised in an article for '' Electronic Musician'', which said "Andy Hawkins' guitar dips and swirls, chases its tail, and ultimately screams its existence, while Ted Epstein and Gabriel Katz lend form and substance on bass and drums respectively. At 19, 20, and 21, the trio is young enough to dazzle with potential. Jazz, heavy metal, reggae, art music - B.I.G. has elements of all of these, yet establishes their very own recipe."

Underground success and second album (1988–1992)

The success of Blind Idiot God's first album coupled with powerful live performances earned them recognition in underground music circles. The band soon began collaborating with

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

composer and saxophonist

. Zorn contacted the band after attending one of their performances at CBGB's and professed his enthusiasm for their work along with his desire to collaborate with the group. The band joined him onstage on numerous occasions to perform improvised music, Zorn compositions and even in his John Coltrane cover band "Ascension" which featured infamous 2 minute versions of Coltrane compositions like A Love Supreme and Ascension. The Blind Idiot God's second album '' Undertow'' was issued the following year by Enemy Records and produced by

. The style remained similar to what had been represented on the band's debut, with excursions into dub territory interposing bludgeoning noise rock. Noted musical departures included the heavy metal/

hybrid "Alice in My Fantasies", a George Clinton cover, and "Purged Specimen", a short piece composed for them by

that also featured him on alto saxophone. Praising the Blind Idiot God's knack for memorable melodies and rapid tempo-changes combined with Laswell's production, EAR Magazine declared ''Undertow'' superior to their debut and "as addictive as a pot of strong coffee."

Third album and hiatus (1992–1996)

Released four years later, the band's 1992 album ''

'' was seen by some as lackluster due to the reliance on ideas previously explored and absence of distinct experimentation. In 1993, Blind Idiot God and

Henry Rollins Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, comedian, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1 ...

wrote and recorded the title song for the movie '' Freaked'', marking the first and only time the band collaborated with a vocalist. The entire band performed on Praxis' album '' Sacrifist'', released in 1993. After Cyclotron was released, the members began pursuing their own separate musical endeavors. Andy Hawkins began a solo guitar project named Azonic, under which he released '' Halo'' in 1994 and '' Skinner's Black Laboratories'' with Justin Broadrick of

Godflesh Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham. The group formed in 1982 under the original title O.P.D. (later Fall of Because) but did not release any complete music until 1988 when Justin Broadrick (guitar, vocals, programmi ...

in 1995. Gabriel Katz collaborated with Bill Laswell on '' Dub Terror Exhaust'', for which he composed music and contributed bass parts. In 1996, Ted Epstein left the band to pursue other interests. Unwilling to continue without a drummer, the remaining members placed Blind Idiot God on hiatus.

Return and new album (2001–present)

Drummer Tim Wyskida, known for his work in

, joined in 2001 and Blind Idiot God began work on their fourth studio album. However, setbacks and delays occurred as Gabriel Katz encountered problems with

tendinitis Tendinopathy is a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder ( rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow ( tenn ...

and hearing loss. The line-up finally began performing in a live setting in 2006, playing a series of well-received gigs in

. In 2012, Gabriel Katz left the band and was replaced by Will Dahl. In 2013, three newly recorded tracks appeared in the HBO documentary '' Downloaded'', a film by Alex Winter detailing the history of

Napster Napster was an American proprietary peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing application primarily associated with digital audio file distribution. Founded by Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker, the platform originally launched on June 1, 1999. Audio shared ...

. It marked the first time new material by Blind Idiot God had been made available to the public in over twenty years. The band's fourth full-length album, an accumulation of thirteen years worth of recorded material, was announced in 2014. Titled '' Before Ever After'', it was the debut release of Indivisible Music, a label founded by Andy Hawkins. ''Before Ever After'' was issued on vinyl on February 24, 2015, followed by a Compact Disc release on April 6, 2015. On April 13, 2016 the Blind Idiot God embarked on their "Raise the Titanic" tour, which marked the band's first live shows outside of the United States. Concurrent with their tour, ''Before Ever After'' was reissued for worldwide distribution. In 2017, the band announced the re-issue of their second album '' Undertow''. Set to be released on October 13, the newly remastered release is to include two versions of "Freaked", a collaboration with former Black Flag vocalist

and Blind Idiot God's sole composition to feature vocals. They also announced plans to re-issue ''

''.

Musical style

Though at its core heavy metal, Blind Idiot God's music is informed by

, dub, and

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

composers, notably

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best-known works include '' Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', '' ...

and

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

. In a 1997 ''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' was an American magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francis ...

'' interview, Hawkins explained one reason he drew inspiration from classical music was to use more advanced

harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

: "When I listen to a lot of metal and hard rock, I think 'Great Intensity! Boring chords!'" The band's music also heavily drew from

, with its members citing

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in comple ...

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, trumpeter, violinist, and composer. He is best known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Ja ...

and

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

as being early musical influences. Former drummer Ted Epstein has also commented on the role

funk music Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the mi ...

plays in his music, saying "something that has been with me since I was 15 or 16 is the idea of funk as a concept, the syncopation and the push/pull thing that exists in funk, embodied in

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. As one of the two flagship groups of George Clinton's P-Funk collective, they helped pioneer the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, ...

Grandmaster Flash Joseph Robert Saddler (born January 1, 1958), known by his stage name Grandmaster Flash, is a Barbadian-American musician and DJ. He created a DJ technique called the Quick Mix Theory. This technique serviced the break-dancer and the rapper by el ...

Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band formed in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1966 and active until 1983. Their work, which blended elements of funk, soul music, soul, psychedelic rock, gospel music, gospel, and R&B, becam ...

, and The Meters." Comparisons have also been made to Blue Cheer, Last Exit, the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

Glenn Branca Glenn Branca (October 6, 1948 – May 13, 2018) was an American avant-garde music, avant-garde composer, guitarist, and luthier. Known for his use of volume, scordatura, alternative guitar tunings, minimal music, repetition, drone (music), dronin ...

and

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

. In reviewing the band's debut, a critic of '' Electronic Musician'' noted that "if you took original Hendrix multi-track tapes, wiped the vocals off, and handed them to

Scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...

, the reggae dub-mixer, the result might sound like B.l.G." Since its inception, Blind Idiot God's music has been entirely instrumental, with its members stating their unanimous disinterest with incorporating vocals into their arrangements. Andy Hawkins has explained "when you hear a voice, it usually has such a distinct emotional quality to it. It speaks in a whole different kind of way then the music does, so it just interferes with what we are trying to do musically." However, during the early nineties the band expressed a desire to form a separate project that integrated vocals into their music.

Legacy

Filmmaker and actor Alex Winter is a long-time admirer of Blind Idiot God, having used their music in his debut feature film '' Freaked'' and again in his 2013 documentary '' Downloaded''. In 2014 he described them as "one of the most revered and influential bands to come out of the SST era ..they are as great and bold today, as ever." Former Black Flag vocalist

professed himself as being a fan of their work and felt honored in having collaborated with them.

Band members

Current members * Will Dahl – bass guitar (2012–present) * Andy Hawkins – guitar (1982–1996, 2001–present) * Tim Wyskida – drums (2001–present) Former members * Ted Epstein – drums (1982–1996) * Gabriel Katz – bass guitar (1982–1996, 2001–2012) ;Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:0 right:50 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1982 till:01/01/2021 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:Lines value:black legend:Studio_album Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:3 start:1983 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1984 LineData = at:03/01/1987 color:black layer:back at:06/01/1988 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1992 color:black layer:back at:02/24/2015 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:Andy text:"Andy Hawkins" bar:Gabriel text:"Gabriel Katz" bar:Will text:"Will Dahl" bar:Ted text:"Ted Epstein" bar:Tim text:"Tim Wyskida" PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Andy from:01/01/1982 till:01/01/1996 color:Guitar bar:Andy from:01/01/2001 till:end color:Guitar bar:Gabriel from:01/01/1982 till:01/01/1996 color:Bass bar:Gabriel from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2012 color:Bass bar:Ted from:01/01/1982 till:01/01/1996 color:Drums bar:Tim from:01/01/2001 till:end color:Drums bar:Will from:01/01/2012 till:end color:Bass

Discography

;Studio albums *'' Blind Idiot God'' ( SST, 1987) *'' Undertow'' (

Enemy An enemy or a foe is an individual or a group that is considered as forcefully adverse or threatening. The concept of an enemy has been observed to be "basic for both individuals and communities". The term "enemy" serves the social function of d ...

, 1988) *''

'' (

Avant Avant can refer to: People * Avant, part of music production team Bloodshy & Avant * Avant (singer), Myron Avant, an American singer * Clarence Avant, a music executive * Jason Avant, is a US American football player Places * Avant, Oklahoma, ...

, 1992) *'' Before Ever After'' (Indivisible, 2015) ;EPs *''Purged Specimen'' (Enemy, 1989) *''Sawtooth'' (Enemy, 1989)

References

External links

*
Blind Idiot God
at

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blind Idiot God American experimental rock groups American instrumental rock musical groups American noise rock music groups American post-hardcore musical groups Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups disestablished in 1996 Musical groups reestablished in 2001 Musical groups from St. Louis Musical groups from New York (state) American musical trios American dub musical groups Math rock groups Rock music groups from Missouri Enemy Records artists SST Records artists 1982 establishments in Missouri