Bodychoke is the brainchild of Kevin Tomkins and Paul Taylor (of Sutcliffe Jügend and Power Electronics), and was active in the UK from 1993-1999. They released three very good albums in that time, the second of which being Five Prostitutes, and another one in 2004.
Five Prostitutes is an incredibly disturbing look into the mind of an infamous serial killer - Jack the Ripper. Bodychoke uses a very methodic and diverse array of sounds to create this thriller of an album, all circulating around the murders of five women. This, and their other albums (which I will be exploring very soon), represent a "dark and intriguing version of rock, with thick bass and thin drums, guitars that make noises and hum and drone and feedback, cello of all things (!!), and two singers who run the gamut from whispering to yelling and even sing and harmonize."
It also came with a curiously sick dedication:
"This album is dedicated to all those who, in the pursuit of pleasure, have suffered imprisonment or execution."
I was surprised to hear very Slint-like melodies almost alongside the sudden dissonance of harsh noise. The vocals in "Anal" and some other track reminded me very much of the throaty, brutal voice of Michael Gira, which was a very pleasant realization. "Cripple" is a particularly disturbing song, serving as a sort of anthem to the complete domination, murder, and mutilation of women. Be prepared to be disturbed, Five Prostitutes is an incredible and utterly haunting album.
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