Before Ever After Explained

Before Ever After
Type:	studio
Artist:	Blind Idiot God
Cover:	Before ever after.jpg
Caption:	CD edition cover
Released:	Vinyl: CD:
Recorded:	–
Studio:	The Barber Shop, NJ Orange Sound Studios, NY
Genre:	Noise rock, math rock, dub
Length:	75:24
Label:	Indivisible
Producer:	Andy Hawkins, Bill Laswell
Prev Title:	Cyclotron
Prev Year:	1992

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]}

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 Afters 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]

Personnel

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

Blind Idiot God

• Andy Hawkins – electric guitar, 7-string guitar, production, mixing
• Gabriel Katz – 5-string fretted bass, 5-string fretless bass
• Tim Wyskida – drums

Production and design

• Jason Corsaro – engineering
• James Dellatacoma – engineering, mixing
• Alex DeTurk – mastering
• Michael Fossenkemper – mastering
• Seldon Hunt – illustrations, design
• Bill Laswell – production, mixing
• Robert Musso – engineering

External links

• Before Ever After at Bandcamp

Notes and References

1. Web site: Blind Idiot God - "Before Ever After" . indivisiblemusic.com . 2014 . September 22, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141006105732/http://www.indivisiblemusic.com/releases/blind-idiot-god-before-ever-after/ . October 6, 2014 . dead .
2. Web site: columnist . Blind Idiot God Announces New Album 'Before Ever After' . New Noise Magazine . November 25, 2014 . November 27, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141204140244/http://newnoisemagazine.com/blind-idiot-god-announces-album-before-after/ . December 4, 2014 . dead .
3. Web site: Hank . Shteamer . Heavy Metal Bebop: Bill Laswell . heavymetalbebop.com . June 2011 . November 27, 2014.
4. Blind Idiot God . . C. Parker . 2006 . 269-274 . 81 . September 23, 2014.
5. Web site: Voice of the Structure . . August 6, 2014 . September 23, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150327113935/http://azonicsonic.bandcamp.com/track/voice-of-the-structure . March 27, 2015 . dead .
6. Before Ever After . . 2015 . booklet . Indivisible . Brooklyn, New York.