Assassins of God - Black Tongue Speaks Vol. I

Assassins of God appeared suddenly out of nowhere, released three albums, & disappeared without really ever causing a great stir. They played the first Lolapalooza & toured Europe often.Of their three discs, Black Tongue Speaks, Vol I is without a doubt their masterpiece. It is characterized by a dark atmosphere on songs like “I am My Disease” & “The Hate Song”, also by restless, hysterical guitar & fantastic bass runs. There are walls of sound & noise that go on to develop into the most beautiful melodies & riffs. It is hard to explain their music & I’ve never heard another band like them. They were occasionally classified as “Jazzcore”. Personally I feel they don’t fit into any category.

The members of AOG: Ken Kearney (guitar & vocals); Ellen Schoenwetter (bass); & Bruce Ducheneaux (drums) are part of the incestuous art/musick scene in San Francisco. Ken Kearney appears with the Mutants on Forensic Report. Lately Ken has been playing more straight ahead jazz backing Tracy Sirota & in his own Ken Kearney Quartet. Ken Kearney early on played in the Atones with Mark Weinstein of MX-80 Sound (& Amoeba Records owner).

MX-80 Sound were one of those bands ahead of their time, influencing bands such as Sonic Youth, the Swans & Live Skull among others. MX-80 played rather dissonant, discordant heavy-rock. Their main influences seem to be Captain Beefheart & the Stooges, yet at times they seem more akin to Pere Ubu, Television, early Siouxsie & the Banshees, sometimes even managing to sound not unlike Joy Division.

Mark Weinstein & Bruce Anderson of MX-80 Sound had a ensemble group Pluto that Ken Kearney played in along with Len Paterson & his wife Ellen Schoenwetter. About Pluto’s The Field Recordings, “There is no way to describe the music & lyrics on this LP. All the world loves a good, healthy search for a lost set of keys…” It's not exactly rock'n'roll & it's not exactly jazz. It's more like something Tom Waits might play while relaxing in the bath after a hard day banging brake drums (Pluto also features Ralph Carney [tenor saxophone, clarinet, trumpet] from the Tom Waits band).

Len & Ellen play in the group Flowtilla (formerly The Len Paterson Trio) formed in 2000. Their driving sound is an eclectic mix of funk, afro, jazz & world tinged grooves. They released their first cd under the name Len Paterson Trio entitled Sunny Cloudy. They have released two more c.d.s as Flowtilla, 2003s Out of the Inside & 2006s Clariphonic.

Drummer Bruce Ducheneaux also has an extreme musickal pedigree. He originally joined the band Bomb after they were dropped by Warner/Reprise & after original drummer Tony Flag quit. This gives him an early connection to Ken Kearney, as Jay Crawford of Bomb was recruited for the band Housecoat Project (circa 1986). Ken played guitar for the Housecoat Project on a west coast tour while Jay was on tour with Bomb. Bruce has drummed with Waycross, Cinnamon Girls, & The Primal Abyss as well as being an integral part of several Gary Floyd (of Dicks, Sister Double Happiness infamy) projects, namely The Gary Floyd Band & Black Kali Ma.

Year of Release: 1991
Label: Bonzen Records (Germany) BONZ 007
Genre: Avant-garde punk or Experimental punk

Tracklist:
Logo Side:
Suitcase Nukes
Long Live the Jihad
I am My Disease
Cowbell Rock
The Hate Song
Virus

This Side:
The Vortex
Inuyxl Turbo - 1
Divinstein
Be Diminished
UFO's
Brontosaurus God
Bruce's Blues
(note: The first two songs on logo side run together. I have included both the run-together & split tracks. Take your pick.)

Download: Assassins of God - Black Tongue Speaks Vol. I
Download Size: 106.97MB (ripped from scratchy vinyl at 320Kbps)