now i know most people reach for Streetcleaner but this is for those who are dedicated fans. Ive been still trying to wrap my head around Hymns as i picked up the reissue a few days ago. Pure is good but a little too hip-hop in places. Selfless is catchy as fuck. Streetcleaner is good with some filler. Slavestate seems more like an EP to me. anyways, discuss.
PUUUURRRREEEEEE
also the Merciless EP and Us & Them, even though most people hate it.
Streetcleaner
& 12" that really begs to be played loud : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C75dN16XP_c (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C75dN16XP_c)
Quote from: ConcreteMascara on April 02, 2013, 11:38:04 PM
Us & Them, even though most people hate it.
I can understand why people would dislike that album but I think it's good. It's been a while since I listened, I'll have to dig it out. I remember there being some stinker tracks but also some very good ones (Bittersweet, The Internal). Hints here and there of what he'd eventually do with Jesu (which I like, mostly just the early stuff though)
Considering how highly Streetcleaner is regarded, I was quite disappointed when I got it. Some tracks are great, but especially the second half of the album is a letdown for me. Tedious-sounding stuff that hasn't aged well either. I don't know anything else by them.
At one point I liked Jesu (got their first 2 albums) but I haven't felt the need to listen to them for years now. I still like the track Silver though, but I can't even be bothered with getting that EP.
Quote from: acsenger on April 03, 2013, 06:37:17 AM
Considering how highly Streetcleaner is regarded, I was quite disappointed when I got it. Some tracks are great, but especially the second half of the album is a letdown for me. Tedious-sounding stuff that hasn't aged well either. I don't know anything else by them.
I feel exactly opposite! I think Streetcleaner has aged the best! I think it is much heavier sound than Pure. That is bounding, yet bass & guitar are better in Streetcleaner. I don't think there is single weak track on that either. No matter if you talk of LP or CD with bonus tracks.
STREETCLEANER!
The opening track "Like rats" is still one of the best tracks ever, but also "Locust furnace".
Anyway I loved most of his stuff and live was quite a devastating experience.
Totally in line with what Mikko said.
Quote from: tiny_tove
Totally in line with what Mikko said.
yup.
SLAVESTATE Maxi CD 1991, shortly released after STREETCLEANER, is in my opinion also a timeless classic ... rather minimalist though, can`t get enough!
http://youtu.be/5HVuqrilCM8
http://youtu.be/Fegt-bD3q_k
Like Pitchshifter and UltraViolent I always thought Godflesh were poor heavy metal.
Quote from: Steve on April 03, 2013, 05:39:27 PM
Like Pitchshifter and UltraViolent I always thought Godflesh were poor heavy metal.
The same impressions. I have always thought that they were poor kalki of early Swans... but, my opinion shouldn't be considered due to I have been always opponent to heavy (death/black) metal genres.
Pitchshifter was a bit lame, I agree. But there were several Godflesh-like bands active in the UK early 90s. Besides Pitchshifter also GGFH, Headbutt and Sonic Violence - the latter two i saw live on their Europe tour 1992 ... absolutely amazing!
Any Godflesh fan should get highly enthusiastic about this:
http://youtu.be/L94ZrHqmJUg
Transfixion!
Quote from: Steve on April 03, 2013, 05:39:27 PM
Like Pitchshifter and UltraViolent I always thought Godflesh were poor heavy metal.
Actually, I didn't think it as "industrial" when I got Streetcleaner LP. I bought it while buying things like Napalm Death, Blood (ger), Entombed, and such things - many also known from Earache. To me it seemed just great odd metal album among all the other metal. Only later I associated it with "industrial". Always great, nevertheless!
I personally got into industrial through Earache Records and Peaceville Records. And same as Mikko, besides buying classics from Morbid Angel, Nocturnus also records from O.L.D (James Plotkin`s first band), John Zorn/Naked City, GGFH, Sore Throat, Godflesh, Scorn, Pitch Shifter, Sonic Violence, etc. ... all kind of related to metal. And still all these bands mentioned here belong to my all time faves ...
One more for the Streetcleaner bus here.
I really enjoyed the first Jesu EP when I first got it and picked up the s/t album upon release to find it very grey and terribly tedious. Haven't bothered with them since and now a few years further down the line I don't care much for Heart Ache either. Hasn't aged well at all I don't think, although still not as bad as the s/t. Shame, as I've enjoyed much of what else JKB has done.
"Go Spread Your Wings" is one of my favorite tracks ever.
And yeah, Streetcleaner is pretty much perfect.
I really like Us & Them, with all those cheesy as hell breakbeats... In my opinion, this is his best record composition-wise, even though it's nowhere as heavy or brutally honest/honestly brutal as, say, Streetcleaner.
I wish I hadn't sold my copy of Streetcleaner, I remember it as being pretty enjoyable. Saw Godflesh a lot before its release during 1989 - sometimes with noise-rock type acts like Terminal Cheesecake and God, sometimes alongside bands like Napalm Death - they straddled the scenes I guess. Paul Neville who played on side two had an OK band Cable Regime. The era seems a long time ago now and the sound is as curiously dated as the UK rave music of the same time. I had a tape of Pure and didn't like it much, never kept up with them after that.
I was privileged to see them in 91 with Robert Hampson in the line up. It was straight after the Pure album and it's one of the harshest gigs I've ever been to.
They may have flagged a bit after Pure but I don't think they ever did a bad album. The last album, Hymns, could possibly be up there with Streetcleaner.
Why are jokers like Pitchshifter mentioned in this thread? It's like measuring Machineage Voodoo by the standards of Leichenschrei. Godflesh were gods. Pitchshifter were woefully shite.
I remember having a cassette recording of Terminal Cheesecake* & liking it. Godflesh, I never cared for much. I was disappointed in the debut but that may have had to do with all the industrial/noise that I had a greater interest in at the time.
*Giving them a listen now & it's not what I remember but I have no clue what year or rel it was...
I'm more curious to know which is the least favorite album. I'm not as familiar with the last couple. They all seem like high quality albums. I was prepared for disappointment with Pure, but it surprised me. I'm not sure I could pick a favorite. I was never obsessed with them, so I've wanted to go back and really delve deeply into each.
Pitchshifter, Cold World, Meathook Seed, Fudge Tunnel...lots of quality music in that pocket. Hate Songs in E Minor might be my favorite overall album from all these cats, but that might be more because of the memorable sound than the songs. It's been a while.
Just listened to some of the tracks from the debut & first full-length. Opinion hasn't changed. I don't like the pitched vocals at all. I remember owning the LP but, I think, I had a recording of the debut.
Quote from: GEWALTMONOPOL on April 04, 2013, 11:41:19 PM
I was privileged to see them in 91 with Robert Hampson in the line up. It was straight after the Pure album and it's one of the harshest gigs I've ever been to.
Right Martin, I saw them in Stockholm on the same tour. So much hate and anger in the room. The band cut the set short out of frustration with the percieved indifference of the small crowd. And yes, as was mentioned, definitely a heavy Swans vibe in there. Never really was floored by their albums though; sold what I had long ago. Revisiting them on Spotify now didn't do much for me.
Quote from: post-morten on April 05, 2013, 12:43:32 PM
Quote from: GEWALTMONOPOL on April 04, 2013, 11:41:19 PM
I was privileged to see them in 91 with Robert Hampson in the line up. It was straight after the Pure album and it's one of the harshest gigs I've ever been to.
Right Martin, I saw them in Stockholm on the same tour. So much hate and anger in the room. The band cut the set short out of frustration with the percieved indifference of the small crowd.
Very similar to what it was like in Malmö. Not many turned up. 30-40, if that. In some it might have been indifference but I think most were intimidated by the whole thing. The only time people dared walk up to the front of the stage was when they played Like Rats. The funniest thing was the 2 kids in Morbid Angel shirts who had a long conversation about "but where is the drum kit?" before the show. When it started they walked out in disgust. Talking to Broadrick afterwards he didn't seem to mind the pathetic turn out. He was full of praise for the venue (the legendary Stadt Hamburg) and said he'd really enjoyed playing. Everyone was surprised that there was so little interest in them. That certainly wouldn't have been the case today.
Quote from: Zeno Marx on April 05, 2013, 12:40:44 AM
I'm more curious to know which is the least favorite album. I'm not as familiar with the last couple. They all seem like high quality albums. I was prepared for disappointment with Pure, but it surprised me. I'm not sure I could pick a favorite. I was never obsessed with them, so I've wanted to go back and really delve deeply into each.
Pitchshifter, Cold World, Meathook Seed, Fudge Tunnel...lots of quality music in that pocket. Hate Songs in E Minor might be my favorite overall album from all these cats, but that might be more because of the memorable sound than the songs. It's been a while.
all great bands. shame there isn't a lot of Godflesh love here beyond the first LP
Any time they decided to use a human drummer the results were intolerable...
Quote from: GEWALTMONOPOL on April 04, 2013, 11:41:19 PM
Why are jokers like Pitchshifter mentioned in this thread? It's like measuring Machineage Voodoo by the standards of Leichenschrei. Godflesh were gods. Pitchshifter were woefully shite.
It was Numetal's greatest crime to make me lump Godflesh in with Pitchshifter, Spineshank, and other such bands with similar sounding names when i was a teenager.
Streetcleaner is one of those things ive come to in the last 4/5 years and thought "My god, this is what the 16 year old me would have loved!". It is of course a brilliant piece of work whenever you find it, but i cant help feeling that id have enjoyed it even more if id heard it when i was a teenager.
Messiah is easily one of my favorites. It is funny to me that when you mention this album most people who only know streetcleaner kinda just shrug.
I don't think there is a Godflesh record that I would consider to be weak. I think all of them have at least one really crushing track.
That said, I tend towards Streetcleaner and Pure.
I would say my favorite tracks come from the S/T release; "Avalanche Master Song" and "Ice Nerveshatter".
Least favorite is probably "Songs Of Love And Hate" or "Us And Them"; but that would only be in comparison to the other Godflesh albums. I really enjoy both of those records, and listen to them semi-regularly.
That Fall Of Because "Life Is Easy" release is also really strong. Interesting to hear the FOB version of "Merciless" compared to Godflesh's version.
I wish I knew what was going on in the "Fight Show" track!
(http://deathwishinc.com/estore/graphics/00000001/godflesh.lp.hi.jpg)
I really like this first ep.
Godflesh is one of my top 5 bands ever!
I saw them last year at Brutal Assault. Heavy as hell!!!
I like track Flowers a lot! The most underrated track by them.
Quote from: Dr Alex on May 04, 2013, 01:14:03 PM
I like track Flowers a lot! The most underrated track by them.
One of the best! No question.
Streetcleaner, and Love & Hate In Dub. I am way into all the breakbeats. Especially after listening to a fair amount of Curse of the Golden Vampire.
Anyone dig the Fall of Because album?
(http://www.mediaboom.org/uploads/posts/2010-08/1282908821_e2d0d8e8a4b1532d164a1e91290c4c9c4_full.jpg)
Some of my favorite tracks are on there...
So has anyone listened to the new Godflesh album that came out today? Any initial reactions?
http://godflesh1.bandcamp.com/album/a-world-lit-only-by-fire (http://godflesh1.bandcamp.com/album/a-world-lit-only-by-fire)
Quote from: ConcreteMascara on October 06, 2014, 09:03:16 PM
So has anyone listened to the new Godflesh album that came out today? Any initial reactions?
http://godflesh1.bandcamp.com/album/a-world-lit-only-by-fire (http://godflesh1.bandcamp.com/album/a-world-lit-only-by-fire)
Listening now. Sounds really really good and heavy.
not sure about this kind of returns
I second that Androphilia. While Godflesh albums like Streetcleaner, Pure and the final one, Hymns, stand as some of the most important in my record collection I will give this new one a wide berth. I have no time for reunions. I never did and I never will.
Quote from: ConcreteMascara on October 06, 2014, 09:03:16 PM
So has anyone listened to the new Godflesh album that came out today? Any initial reactions?
http://godflesh1.bandcamp.com/album/a-world-lit-only-by-fire (http://godflesh1.bandcamp.com/album/a-world-lit-only-by-fire)
is it supposed to sound this distorted or is it problem on my end?
probably the worst sounding guitar tone of any godflesh album, unfortunately..
After few listening during night bicycle driving I like it a lot. Massive and angry album. Great one!
I listened a couple of times and I'm feeling a little underwhelmed... Guitar tone aside, the bass tone that was probably my favorite element of Godflesh doesn't comes close to that sound I love so much from the first albums and the drum machine is just.. So bland. Like, they used a drum machine because that's what they did in the old days but now it feels like there was no effort put to it, the sound sounds a little cleaner and more modern but not "evolved" at all, less aggressive and the drum patterns are very "meh". A lot of times the music made me think of Sepultura, and not exactly the "good old days Sepultura", but something from Chaos AD (that I kinda like, but...).
There are some good stuff in it, and I liked the vocals, I'll definitely listen to it more times, but right now I'm not feeling it so much.
Favorites still everything until "Pure".
Yea, the bass sounds pretty good, and personally I don't mind the guitar sound, but I was underwhelmed as well, although for different reasons. I didn't care much for the vocals, and in fact found the drum patterns a little too busy - I think more could have been done with less, especially less high-hat. Ultimately, though, there was little in the actual music that gripped me.
My big Godflesh moment came from "Streetcleaner", which to me sounded unlike anything else I had heard until then and impressed me instantly. Funnily, when I brought the first ep after hearing "Streetcleaner" I wasn't so impressed except for the track "Weak Flesh" which is still head-banging great to me. And I haven't heard anything else for various reasons.
http://thequietus.com/articles/16496-justin-broadrick-godflesh-favourite-albums-interview?page=8 (http://thequietus.com/articles/16496-justin-broadrick-godflesh-favourite-albums-interview?page=8)
I bought both the new album and the EP on cassette, straight from Hydra Head Industries, and for some reason they shipped them in those shitty poly cassette cases, so the j-cards are a little damaged. Whatever. I'm still letting the new material set in, but I like it so far.
Seeing them back in April was a great experience.
Streetcleaner is one of the mile stones for me. In my opinion it have aged well. Yesterday I listened to new album and was pleasantly surprised. It certainly sounds like GF album, no extra gimmicks or any "let's bring Godflesh to modern age"-shit. Just good old guitar-bass-drum machine -combo. I have no complains about the sound.