Search - Godflesh :: Godflesh

Repay your master by surpassing him

D. K. Malone | earth | 12/20/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I was a Swans fan before I was a Godflesh fan. I actually heard Streetcleaner (their second record) before this debut of theirs. As my friend loaned this to me so I could hear it for the first time, he said, "It's a little different from Streetcleaner, it actually sorta sounds like the Swans." And I agreed. The first few tracks really do sound like a leaner, meaner, more "focused" Cop/Young God era Swans. But listening to this the other day, I noticed something I can't believe I didn't notice 10 years ago: The later tracks (especially Wounds) sound like later Swans, around the Greed/Holy Money era. In any case, I today note the irony in that I almost never listen to the Swans anymore, but I still listen to all of my Godflesh CDs on a fairly regular basis. They've definitely fared better in the test of time. Heavy oppressive sound with absolutely zero treacle."

Not for the weak.....

asm | US eastcoast | 07/31/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One dimensional? Prehaps. Heavier than pretty much all else? Definitley. This, the first album by Godflesh, originally released on Swordfish records(i own the original on white vinyl) is one of the most single mindedly brutal releases out there...second only to Cop or Filth from the Swans. This 8 song debut envelops you in total audio devastation...envision a huge tank lumbering over a post-war battlefield; the sounds are slow and rumbling, almost too big to fit in your head. The vocals are mournful and uplifting in the same breath...sometimes being buried in a avalanche(ha) of guitar harmonics and tons of distortion...supposedly Justin only used two pedals and his marshall to acheive this sound. Do not bother with this if you want "indusrial" music. Go buy Ministry instead.....ya wimp."

Somewhat damaged

Chris Turk, lightbulb_sun@yahoo.de | Regensburg, Germany | 02/22/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Remember, Godflesh guitarist/singer J.K.Broadrick once was a member of Napalm Death's legendary fist incarnation, along with N.J.Bullen and Mick Harris, who would later form their own industrial-dub project Scorn (again, with some help from Broadrick for their first longplayer "Vae solis"). This self-titled album is a collection of very early Godflesh tracks and two additional remixes. The music really seems to be opposite of ND's high-speed grindcore. The tracks are often downtempo, and they are as hot, ropy, and devouring as lava, with rumbling bass-lines, droning guitars, and hardly intelligible, croaky vocals. Still, I don't find this album particularly interesting. Godflesh's later-era records like "Songs of L & H" and "Us and them" offer a greater variety of styles and moods and are more accessible than this relatively one-dimensional collection of soundscapes. Not a bad album, though, and probably a worthwhile purchase for hardcore fans."