The band’s debut LP, ‘Death Church’ was first released in 1983, and was recorded in just two days. And here it is, finally reissued in all its g(l)ory. It’s unquestionably a punk album in every sense, its darkly theatrical edge and macabre leanings give it something of a gothic edge. In this sense, it’s gothy punk– broadly in the way ASF were gothy – edges cast shadows over some of the most snarlingly aggressive and antisocial punk tunes committed to tape.
It’s gritty and grimy, alright, wallowing in its own fecal matter by way of an artistic statement. It’s also the definition of fast and furious, with most of the tracks sub of two minutes. ‘Psycho Squat’ is a mere 29 seconds long – and it’s 29 seconds of squalling guitars and shouted vocals, a sound that’s squalid and deranged. In fact, ‘Death Church’ sounds like the cover suggests it does. It’s not the easiest listen, but then, what ‘Death Church’ lacks in accessibility, it compensates hundredfold in attitude, energy and the way it epitomises the anarchistic, anti-establishment nihilistic ethos that punk was supposed represent. By this, I mean that anyone who idolises the Sex Pistols as the encapsulation of all that is punk clearly hasn’t a clue, and probably hasn’t heard this. Whereas the Pistols were all about image and marketed as the scourge of civilised society, Rudimentary Peni really knew how to shove it to the system and stick it to the man, and proved it by releasing an album too abrasive to be marketable or hold any overt commercial appeal. And that’s what makes ‘Death Church’ so bloody great.
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In short – and it is short - ‘Death Church’ is an album that anyone who claims to have even the remotest interest in or knowledge of punk needs to be acquainted with.
Rudimentary Peni Online
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