Biography
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Members
- Andy Hawkins
- Gabe Katz
- Ted Epstein
Blind Idiot God is an instrumental rock trio formed in 1986 in St. Louis, Missouri, United States by guitarist Andy Hawkins, bassist Gabe Katz and drummer Ted Epstein. They socialized with the St. Louis hardcore punk scene, including members of Drunks with Guns and Ultraman. After hearing their self-produced cassette demo, Greg Ginn of Black Flag, signed them to SST Records, and the band moved to Brooklyn. In 2006, Blind Idiot God reunited after roughly a decade of inactivity, with Tim Wyskida (of Khanate) replacing Epstein.
Though at its core heavy metal, Blind Idiot God's music was informed by punk rock, dub reggae, and classical music composers, notably György Ligeti and Igor Stravinsky. In a 1997 Guitar Player interview, Hawkins explained one reason he drew inspiration from classical music: "When I listen to a lot of metal and hard rock, I think 'Great Intensity! Boring chords!'"
Critical opinion of the band was mostly positive: Brian Olewnick described their self-titled debut album 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;" while Piero Scaruff writes, "The ugly geometry of its mini-rock symphonies had few precedents in popular music … (Blind Idiot God) deserve the title of precursors and founding fathers of math rock."
The phrase "blind idiot god" comes from horror writer H. P. Lovecraft's description of the god Azathoth.
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