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(I apologise unreservedly for this image).
Backstory
You may remember that I was thinking of getting this album last time, and I've eventually given in, mainly due to curiousity as much as anything else. Godflesh is the project of Justin K. Broadrick, later of Jesu, and I've heard both name being bandied around as being fairly important metal bands. I also chose it because I thought this exercise would be a good opportunity to check out music I don't listen to that often. I have really very little idea what to suggest, wiki says "industrial metal". Well, we'll see.
Artwork
Ok, a bit minimal. Contains some fairly spooky photos (I have no idea what's going on in the one inside). Bare amount of information inside. 5/10.
(Also it turns out that's not the front cover I'm posing with up there. Oh well)
1. Messiah
Starts with a fairly big, yet melodic riff. Nice bass tone. Vocals quite understated, sort of spoken-word and quite low in the mix, which makes a welcome change from a lot of metal. This is a lot more listenable than I was expecting. I think there's a subtle hint of electronics, or at least some kind of tremelo-y noise in the background, which adds to the feel of the track quite nicely. I can definitely hear the common threads between this and Jesu, especially the Silver EP stuff.
2. Wilderness of Mirrors
Opens with some weird electronics and what sound like programmed drums (I checked the insert, and apparently the drums are indeed programmed, although they're done very well). Another big, squelchy bass sound and that kind of phasey, echoey guitar part that they love in industrial stuff. Again there's not a huge amount of variation as it goes on, but I suppose that's sort of the point. I do like the flangey electronics a lot. Another good track.
3. Sungod
Mostly drums and bass this one, with Broadrick's dispassionate (even for this album) vocals over the top. The guitar part is quite atonal and screechy, but it works quite well. There's not too much more to say, the tracks are fairly similar in their approach, but they all work quite well.
4. Scapegoat
Almost tribal sounding drums at the beginning (although they go a bit slowed-down drum n' bass later). I'm starting to appreciate how the repeition seen in these songs is part of the hypnotic charm. The vocals are a bit distorted on this one, which is a nice change and the guitar part is more of a traditionally metal one. This is probably the most aggressive track so far (and over 2 minutes shorter than everything else, I notice). Ooh there's even sort of metal shouting. \m/ I'm fond of this one.
5. Messiah Dub
I had wondered what all these "Dub" tracks were at the end. Then I found out this was originally supposed to be an EP released solely to the Godflesh fan club, but it got a rerelease some years later, with these four remixes tacked on to the end. Not sure what to expect.
I see why they call it "dub" now. There's a lot more bass, and it feels a bit slower and more groove-orientated. The bass isn't really distorted anymore either, it sounds like Jah Wobble playing it now. The vocals are nice and echoey too. Pretty good.
6. Wilderness of Mirrors Dub
A similar kind of thing going on here. They've not really played around with the structure of the songs very much so far, so I'm not sure how much extra value they add but they're interesting curiosities at least. This one is definitely a bit more swirly, atmospheric and shoegaze-y, so again I can see the link with Jesu.
7. Sungod Dub
I'm realising trying to judge these dub versions against the originals is somewhat tricky, given the fact that I've only listened to each one time. I suppose this is a limitation of the live reviewing format, but I don't suppose this problem will occur too much. It's not sounding too repetitive as I'm listening so I guess that's a plus for the remixes! I notice some additional piano and spacey background noise on this one, which I heartily approve of.
8. Scapegoat Dub
I'm expecting something different her, however, since the remix is about 5 minutes longer than the original track. Right away the drums sound even more drum n' bass/jungle style. Man these remixes make Godflesh sound quite a lot like Killing Joke. I like how they make up the extra time on these - it sort of deconstructs the original and throws it a lot of buzzy electronics and ambient noise while the drums pound on.
Overall, I really liked that. It was an interesting, and surprisingly listenable introduction into a genre I've been meaning to investigate for a while. I've been having a bit of a metal binge this week as well, which helps.
Hope you enjoyed this.
Horatio x
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