Godflesh

About

Godflesh is the debut EP by English industrial metal band Godflesh. Despite often being overshadowed by the critical success of Godflesh's first full-length studio album, 1989's Streetcleaner, the EP was one of the first industrial metal releases and helped define the genre's sound with programmed drum beat, heavy metal guitar and unusual emphasis on ba. It was originally released in 1988 through Swordfish Records and later saw several reissues on Earache Records with two additional song. An unexpected underground succe, the eponymous EP made it onto the UK Indie Chart and peaked at position 20. Composition The EP's sound, informed by Swan, Big Black, Killing Joke and Throbbing Gristle, is notably heavy and slow, built upon the deliberately repetitive pounding of the drum machine and exploration of guitar chords and textures as well as noise through the same means; Broadrick's vocals (either screamed or wailed) are sparse. Critical reception and legacy: To its sound: Melody Maker published three discrete reviews of Godflesh from 1988 to 1990, each from different author. In the first, Simon Turner praised the EP's focus on a drum machine as well as Broadrick's "huge but overawed" vocal. Turner also appreciated the vulnerability of the music contrasted against its harshness and weight. In 1989, an author credited as 'P.O.' favorably contrasted Godflesh against then-current music trend, expressing a struggle to find what genre the band fit into. And in 1990, Simon Reynolds reviewed the Earache reissue of Godflesh, admiring its extreme weight and blend of diverse influence. To the EP's influence and reputation: Since the late 1980s and early 1990, Godflesh's reputation has grown, and critics have retrospectively looked at their debut EP in a favorable light. Martin Walters of AllMusic called the EP "one of the most influential recordings in the industrial metal scene", but suggested that new fans should listen to Streetcleaner (1989), Slavestate (1991) or Pure (1992) first. Walters also went on to describe the EP as "pioneering" and said that it "undeniably marked a high point in avant metal". Greg Prato (also of AllMusic) said Godflesh helped "pave the way for countless copycat acts", and Jonathan Gold of the Los Angeles Times suggested that the EP influenced the sound of many metal group, especially Ministry. Joe DiVita of Loudwire called Godflesh one of the "most exciting releases ever in heavy metal," and the same publication ranked it the 16th best metal EP ever. .

via Last.fm

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