Mindflayer - Take Your Skin Off
(Bulb)
Made up of one Brian Chippendale of Lightning Bolt and Mr. Brinkmann of the shamanic video/electronics troupe Forcefield, Mindflayer offers a distinctively darker side of Providence, RI, than either of the aforementioned groups. Chippendale provides his usual distorted vocals and clattering percussive spasms, though his technique tends, on the whole, to be a bit simpler and slower than in his other band, while Brinkmann's electronics are sharp-edged swells of science fiction modulations, distorted, bowel-shuddering grooves and bursts of thunderous static. And while not completely removed from the repertoire of either Brinkmann or Chippendale's other projects, probably the best comparison that could be made is that Mindflayer might be the sound that would result if bassist Brian Gibson was electrocuted for the duration of a Lightning Bolt gig, and Chippendale played along to the throbbing sounds that resulted. There's a surprising amount of rhythmic groove on Take Your Skin Off, with both the drums and damaged electronics, despite their tumultuous predisposition, offering the listener plenty to which to nod their aching head. The duo often lock into a relatively simple rhythm, and no matter how clamorous or ear-splitting the proceedings get, Mindflayer stick to the rhythm to anchor their individual explorations of the stated theme. The extended "You're dead at the bottom of a Dungeon, Deal with it," aside from functioning as a sign of some undefined D&D inspiration, showcases Mindflayer's slime-soaked ability to eat at your stomach while you're nodding your head or pumping your fist, building on a heavy, sludgy beat before falling apart and rebuilding itself more than once into a different song (and different recording). But rather than sounding like a haphazard pastiche of song segments unused elsewhere, the twenty-minute track is an incessant brain warp, shifting shape but never relenting in its attempts to turn your brain into mush.
|
