The Formative Years - Rudimentary Peni
Of the array of British anarcho punk bands that became prominent in the early 1980s, Rudimentary Peni proved to be one-of-a-kind due to the band refraining from adopting the punk uniforms of the time, frontman Nick Blinko’s witty lyricism and his self-taught trademark highly intricate macabre monochrome artworks that adorned all of their releases.
Negotiating schizoaffective mental health issues by channelling them into his visual art and music, Nick Blinko exhibited an obsessive mania that personalised Rudimentary Peni’s transcendent music, which trailblazed territory and eventually became the foundation for what was to become known as grindcore.
Following the excellent early US hardcore inspired “Farce” 7”, “Death Church” was Rudimentary Peni’s first full-length. More catchy in nature, it preceded the HP Lovecraft inspired, wildly ambitious concept album “Cacophony”.
Pushing the envelope further by cohesively mixing a myriad of different genres from traditional punk, thrash via gothic, skits and interludes to what could be perceived as a classical approach to composing, the album stands and falls with Blinko’s layered vocals and is set in scene via unrivalled, jaw dropping vinyl packaging that was lightyears ahead of its time.
To this day Rudimentary Peni remains a singular band with an immersive aesthetic reminiscent to a lucid surrealist nightmare whose influence cannot be overstated.
