Rudimentary Peni: Death Church (Cassette)

The words legendary, seminal, and classic get thrown around
at will these days, but Rudimentary Peni’s debut album is
all of them. Recorded over two days at Southern Studios by
John Loder and originally released in 1983 by CRASS off-shoot
label Corpus Christi, “Death Church” showed a band moving
away from the urgency of their two early 7”s and into their
own realm. Creating a template that bands have been trying
to replicate ever since, while ticking all the boxes to become
a genre-defining album. Iconic artwork, a unique sound and
their own lyrical universe. All merging seamlessly. Sonically the
album is full of Nick Blinko’s extraordinary vocals and equally
remarkable guitar, Grant Matthews’ big meandering driving
basslines and Jon Greville’s tight and relentless drum work
which together made something intricate and hard hitting,
with a sequence that makes the 21 songs on the album flow
perfectly. Visually, the album is every outsider art lover’s wet
dream. A six-panel poster sleeve with every inch covered in
Nick Blinko’s claustrophobic black and white line drawings,
while lyrically the songs deal with madness, religion, death, and
questioning humankind from a dark poetic place rarely found
in any art form.