Before Ever After

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Before Ever After
Before ever after.jpg
CD edition cover
Studio album by
Blind Idiot God
ReleasedVinyl: February 24, 2015 (2015-02-24)
CD: April 6, 2015 (2015-04-06)
Recorded2008 (2008) – 2010 (2010)
StudioThe Barber Shop, NJ
Orange Sound Studios, NY
Genre Noise rock, math rock, dub
Length75:24
Label Indivisible
Producer Andy Hawkins, Bill Laswell
Blind Idiot God chronology
Cyclotron
(1992)		Before Ever After
(2015)

Before Ever After is the fourth studio album by Blind Idiot God, released by Indivisible Records on February 24, 2015. It marks the first album of new studio material by the band since Cyclotron , released twenty-two years prior. Produced by guitarist Andy Hawkins with composer Bill Laswell, the album was first issued on double LP, then on CD and finally as a digital download. [1] Laswell has described Before Ever After as the band's apex. [2] [3]

Contents

Background

When drummer Ted Epstein left the band in 1996, guitarist Andy Hawkins and Gabriel Katz placed Blind Idiot God on indefinite hiatus while they searched for his replacement. Tim Wyskida, formerly of Khanate, joined them on drums in 2001 and Blind Idiot God began recording new material, with more emphasis placed on improvisation. In 2006 the band returned to the stage and performed a series of shows around New York City. Gabriel Katz, who had previously delayed band activities after developing tendinitis and hearing problems, [4] finally left the band and was replaced by Will Dahl in 2012. [1]

News of Before Ever After's release was first announced through the band's Facebook page on June 4, 2014. The album comprises music composed over a ten year period from when the band first reunited in 2001. In 2013, three tracks recorded for the album titled "Barrage", "Shutdown" and "High and Mighty" appeared in the HBO documentary Downloaded , a film by Alex Winter examining the history of Napster. [1] A new piece titled "Voice of the Structure", a solo recording by Andy Hawkins, was released on August 6 on Azonic's Bandcamp website and is set to appear on the album. [5]

The artwork for Before Ever After was created by Seldon Hunt, known for his work with Earth, Neurosis, and the Melvins. [2]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Blind Idiot God

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Twenty Four Hour Dawn"8:53
2."Night Driver"6:27
3."Antiquity"3:42
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Earthmover"6:23
2."FUB"6:46
3."Barrage"5:45
Side three
No.TitleLength
1."High and Mighty"5:53
2."Voice of the Structure"4:37
3."Under the Weight"4:00
4."Ramshackle"4:36
Side four
No.TitleLength
1."Wheels of Progress"7:55
2."Strung"6:18
3."Shutdown"4:33
CD edition track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Twenty Four Hour Dawn"8:50
2."High and Mighty"5:50
3."Antiquity"3:39
4."Earthmover"6:21
5."Night Driver"6:25
6."Wheels of Progress"7:53
7."Ramshackle"4:34
8."Voice of the Structure"4:36
9."Under the Weight"3:57
10."FUB"6:44
11."Barrage"5:42
12."Strung"6:15
13."Shutdown"4:32

Personnel

Adapted from the Before Ever After liner notes. [6]

Blind Idiot God

Production and design

Release history

RegionDateLabelFormatCatalog
United States2015Indivisible CD, LP 0001.1

Related Research Articles

Blind Idiot God is an American instrumental rock trio formed in 1982 in St. Louis, Missouri, 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's description of the god Azathoth. Their often improvisational musical style combines influences from punk rock, noise music, 20th-century classical music, heavy metal, dub, free jazz, and funk. They are currently based in New York City and have often collaborated with musicians Bill Laswell and John Zorn.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Blind Idiot God - "Before Ever After"". indivisiblemusic.com. 2014. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
  2. 1 2 columnist (November 25, 2014). "Blind Idiot God Announces New Album 'Before Ever After'". New Noise Magazine. Archived from the original on December 4, 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  3. ↑ Shteamer, Hank (June 2011). "Heavy Metal Bebop: Bill Laswell". heavymetalbebop.com. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Blind Idiot God". The Wire . C. Parker. 269–274: 81. 2006. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Voice of the Structure". bandcamp.com. August 6, 2014. Archived from the original on March 27, 2015. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  6. ↑ Before Ever After (booklet). Blind Idiot God. Brooklyn, New York: Indivisible. 2015.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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