Customer Reviews

Blind Idiot God

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4 star:		(2)
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Three cheers for the SST records folks for discovering these St. Louis natives way back in the late 80's (got the date wrong again, Amazon). The cover is highly appropriate for the paranoid intensity of this band when in full gear. The disc was split, on vinyl, into orchestral speed-metal lanscapes on side 1 and acid-tinged dub drippings on side 2. The faster titles manage to paint sonic structures that mimic their highly appropriate titles ("Shifting Sand") and the dizzying sojurn through twisting sewerpipes on "Subterranean Flight" is an unforgettable highlight. The dub tunes show a charming approach by these midwestern white geeks who definitely know their chops. Drummer Ted Epstein has brought an almost lyrical approach to the instrument, and holds the 'lead' duties more than guitarist Andy Hawkins, who is too busy painting white-hot screaming dreamscapes to bother with single-string noodling. Very sophisticated and not for the shallow-minded.

Famed for complaining of Slayer, "great intensity, boring chords!", Andy Hawkins is a predecessor to Helmet's Page Hamilton, Mike and Ian of Don Caballero, and many of the other fine guitarists who have since tried to give advanced musical ideas a bracing rock expression. This debut features a Blue Cheer-strength tribute to Stravinsky, a Meters cover, and three excellent dub instrumentals. The meat of the album however is in the original compositions of this power trio, which are rich in shifting, aggressive rhythms and savage but brilliantly-coloured guitar harmonics. An influence on everyone from the Dazzling Killmen to Ui, BIG really should be a better-known entity. Why is the LP "Cyclotron" not also available?

Three nerdy white boys riff their way through this excellent release, bouncing from soulful rock to pounding metal to atmospheric jazz and--for a complete curveball--dub reggae. B.I.G. predate Don Caballero by a few years, but their math-metal pedigree remains the standard by which acts like Creta Bouriza, At The Drive-In and By The End Of Tonight thrive upon.

O THIS IS CERTAINLY.kind-of: a very tiny veneered slice of SMOOTH JAZZ kiwi or papaya mixed in a 44 gallon cauldron of hot lead speed metal then shot into space! o i remember being drenched in various alchemical catalysts while paradigms were being sweated right out the ontological system all the whilst listening to this in 1988...on vinyl of course...i wore it OUT...nonetheless, i sort of downloaded it manually back then...but i need i think i believe a CD version of it now. plus the other two. GET ANYTHING BY THIS BAND!