Blanck Mass: Animated Violence Mind review – testament to unsung genius

Benjamin John Power is one-half of F*** Buttons, one of the best experimental English electronic acts of the 21st century, and the whole of Blanck Mass, an alias for a solo project that has produced four wildly diverse records, which all ambitiously mesh ambient, metal, industrial, and techno sensibilities.

His 2017 studio album, World Eater, was a sort of an electronic state of the world address in a post-Brexit and Trump universe eating itself alive. Animated Violence Mind is a more personal and direct sonic odyssey, as Power’s father died during the final stages of making the album.

Death Drop is quite possibly the best track he’s penned yet, a dizzying rollercoaster of sound, fury and grief that sounds like nothing else on earth.

At his best, Benjamin John Power’s Blanck Mass can be as innovative as trailblazing electronic pioneers such as Aphex Twin or Burial.

Love is a Parasite is another ferociously pleasant blast, while Creature/West Fuqua soothes with tranquil harp sounds. The gentler, ambient side to Blanck Mass was explored on his eponymous debut, and second album, Dumb Flesh.

Animated Violence Mind follows World Eater as something more singular and unique, and a thrilling testament to the unsung genius that is Benjamin John Power.