Possession

Long before he became The Bug, Kevin Richard Martin was the leader of God, a nine- or ten-member unit that combined screaming free jazz with grinding postpunk, metal, and dub. It included many players from the London improv scene, plus Godflesh’s Justin Broadrick on guitar. This, their first studio album, was released on Caroline in the US and Virgin(!) in the UK; it’s a sprawling, low-end-fixated (three bassists and two drummers) monstrosity that sounds like Godflesh covering Charles Mingus. The rhythms are tribal and pounding and occasionally funky (“Hate Meditation”); Martin’s vocals are a hoarse roar, and his sax is a post-Pharoah Sanders flamethrower. John Zorn guests on three tracks, adding high-pitched screeches reminiscent of his work with Painkiller to the mix.