rudimentary peni / no more pain ep
"Come gentle death in dead of night and steal away the morning light"
The title song of the new Rudimentary Peni album No More Pain is but a brief one minute and thirty-six seconds - just long enough for Nick Blinko to repeat the four lines of lyrics twice. It's possibly the best use of 96 seconds that you're likely to encounter this year, or next. Nine seconds of rumbling bass intro before the drums and buzz-saw guitars kick in, and another 19 seconds before the lyrics make their appearance. The tempo builds, the lyrics are repeated, and it's over. With Rudimentary Peni, less is most definitely more.
No More Pain is the band's tenth's release (not counting live bootlegs and whatnot), and their first for four years. Although most would associate the band with the punk genre, in truth they only briefly contributed to that scene. Problems with illness made it impossible for the band to do the usual "band" thing of touring and promoting their records and, in truth, they have never sought out the approval or consideration of either their fans or their peers. Much like the artwork of guitarist/vocalist Nick Blinko -- what is now called Outsider Art - the band seems to be driven to make music not because they choose to, but because they have to. Though there is nothing naive about Rudimentary Peni, they appear to be driven simply by their own motives and not those typical to most bands.
No More Pain as an album is to my ears simply quintessential Peni, equally as compelling as Death Church or Cacophony, the two albums most often praised by their fans. The brutality of the thunderous noise that they weave, and the hypnotic rhythms within, create a truly menacing platform for Blinko's sinister delivery of cryptic and ominous lyrics. The feeling of unease is compounded by the subtle tempo changes that the band employ on many songs...before you know it your heart is beating faster in time. Luckily none of the songs are long enough to allow serious physiological distress, Southern Records.
