most beautiful melodies and riffs
Assassins of God appeared suddenly out of nowhere, released three albums, disappeared without really ever causing a great stir. They played the first Lolapalooza and toured Europe often.Of their three discs, Black Tongue Speaks, Vol I is without a doubt their masterpiece. It is characterized by a dark atmosphere on songs like “I am My Disease” and “The Hate Song”, also by restless, hysterical guitar and fantastic bass runs. There are walls of sound and noise that go on to develop into the most beautiful melodies and riffs. It is hard to explain their music and I've never heard another band like them. They were occasionally classified as “Jazzcore”. Personally I feel they don't fit into any category.
The members of AOG: Ken Kearney (guitar and vocals); Ellen Schoenwetter (bass); Bruce Ducheneaux (drums) are part of the incestuous art/musick scene in San Francisco. Ken Kearney appears with the Mutants on Forensic Report. Lately Ken has been playing more straight ahead jazz backing Tracy Sirota and in his own Ken Kearney Quartet. Ken Kearney early on played in the Atones with Mark Weinstein of MX-80 Sound (Amoeba Records owner).
MX-80 Sound were one of those bands ahead of their time, influencing bands such as Sonic Youth, the Swans and Live Skull among others. MX-80 played rather dissonant, discordant heavy-rock. Their main influences seem to be Captain Beefheart and the Stooges, yet at times they seem more akin to Pere Ubu, Television, early Siouxsie and the Banshees, sometimes even managing to sound not unlike Joy Division.
