Godflesh
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| Godflesh | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Birmingham, England, UK |
| Genre(s) | Industrial metal Experimental rock[1] Industrial Noise[2] Industrial hip-hop |
| Years active | 1988 – 2002 |
| Label(s) | Earache Records Music for Nations Koch Records Relapse Records Columbia Records Swordfish Records |
| Website | Official fan website |
| Members | |
| Justin K. Broadrick G. C. Green Ted Parsons |
|
| Former members | |
| Paul Neville Robert Hampson Bryan Mantia |
|
Godflesh was an industrial metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1988 by Justin K. Broadrick (guitar, vocals, and programming) and G. C. Green (bass). The band is highly regarded as one of the pioneers of industrial metal. The group disbanded in 2002.
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[edit] Sound and influences
Inspired by Big Black, Killing Joke, Swans, and Throbbing Gristle as well as fellow Brummies Black Sabbath, Godflesh were among the pioneers of industrial metal. Their influence can be distinctly heard in bands such as Pitchshifter, Ministry, and Isis.
Godflesh is known for their unique mixture of industrial drum machine beats with droning, discordant guitar and powerful, intermittent bass. (On their earlier albums, the rhythms, synths, and samples are credited to "Machine" or "Machines". Later, Godflesh would make use of human drummers Bryan Mantia and Ted Parsons.) Their eerie, slow, and repetitive style is commonly described as "apocalyptic". [3]
Broadrick's vocals are often guttural, making use of something akin to the death grunt technique, yet they also at times show a softer, more melodic side, as in "I Wasn't Born to Follow" from 1992's Pure. Godflesh lyrics are terse, cryptic, and bleak, often emphasizing duality or opposition, as illustrated by the opening lines of "Defeated" (from 2001's Hymns):
- Everything I build I destroy
- Everything I love always hurts
- Everything I hate I'd rather love
- Everything I am is everything I'm not
Paranoia and martyrdom are also common themes in Godflesh's music and cover art.
[edit] Career trajectory
In 1982, Green founded Fall of Because (named after a Killing Joke song) with Paul Neville. Broadrick, who had been playing guitar as a member of Napalm Death, joined the group in mid-1985 as drummer and vocalist. The band fell apart in 1987. Broadrick then spent a couple of years (1986-1988) as a member of Head of David. In 1988, he contacted Green about reforming Fall of Because. Justin decided to take over on guitars and they chose to use a drum machine to help out. They also decided to change their name to Godflesh.[4]
Godflesh established a presence in underground music with albums such as Streetcleaner and Pure, which demonstrated the effectiveness of lo-fi production values in heavy music. A brief flirtation with major label Columbia Records in 1994 for Selfless and the Merciless EP saw the duo take on a more high-end production approach. In 1996 Godflesh released Songs of Love and Hate, which featured the drumming of Bryan Mantia (Guns N' Roses, Primus, Praxis). The next album, 1999's Us and Them, saw the group experimenting with a more electronic, drum and bass-oriented sound in which the guitar played a less central role. In 2001 Godflesh released the double album retrospective In All Languages. That same year they released an album of new material, Hymns, which featured the precise drumming of new band member Ted Parsons (formerly of Swans and Prong) and brought the band back to its slow and heavy roots while retaining elements of its experiments with electronica.
Green left the band in late 2001. It was announced that he would be replaced by former Killing Joke and Prong bassist Paul Raven; however, Godflesh disbanded in 2002 when Broadrick suffered a nervous breakdown just before departing for a tour of the U.S. [5] As a kind of parting gift, the group released a remastered version of their extremely rare 1994 EP Messiah, which was doubled in length with all new remixes. Broadrick and Parsons went on to form Jesu in 2003.
During its fourteen year lifespan Godflesh toured with numerous bands, including Danzig, Front Line Assembly, L7, Loop, Ministry, Napalm Death, Nirvana, Prong, Revolting Cocks, Skinny Puppy, Type O Negative and Strapping Young Lad. [6]
[edit] Collaborators and side projects
Several other musicians have recorded and played live with Godflesh. Paul Neville rejoined Broadrick and Green for the Streetcleaner and Slavestate albums. Robert Hampson, former guitarist for Loop, appeared on Pure and Cold World. (In 1991 Loop released the split 7" single Loopflesh covering the Godflesh song "Like Rats" while Godflesh performed Loop's "Straight to Your Heart".)
Members of Godflesh have been involved in numerous side projects, allowing them to explore interests in other musical genres, including electronica, ambient, dub, and 2step. Broadrick has collaborated with Kevin Martin and Alec Empire, among others. [7] Broadrick's current projects include Jesu and Final.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums, Singles and EPs
| Year of Release | Title | Label | Catalogue Number |
| 1988 1990 |
Godflesh [EP] (reissue) [Album] |
Swordfish Records Earache Records |
MOSH 20 |
| 1989 | Streetcleaner | Earache Records | MOSH 15 |
| 1991 | Loopflesh [EP] | Clawfist | |
| 1991 | Slavestate [EP] | Earache Records | MOSH 30 |
| 1991 | Slavestate Remixes [EP] | Earache Records | MOSH 30 |
| 1991 | Slateman [Single] | Earache Records | MOSH 47 |
| 1991 | Cold World [EP] | Earache Records | MOSH 56 |
| 1992 | Pure | Earache Records | MOSH 32 |
| 1994 | Merciless [EP] | Earache/Columbia | MOSH 116 |
| 1994 | Selfless | Earache/Columbia | MOSH 85 |
| 1995 | Crush My Soul [Single] | Earache Records | MOSH 127 |
| 1996 | Songs of Love and Hate | Earache Records | MOSH 157 |
| 1997 | Love and Hate in Dub | Earache Records | MOSH 178 |
| 1999 | Us and Them | Earache Records | MOSH 179 |
| 2000 2003 |
Messiah [EP] (reissue) |
AvalancheInc Relapse Records |
|
| 2001 | Hymns | Music for Nations |
[edit] Compilations
| Year of Release | Title | Label | Catalogue Number |
| 1996 | Slateman/Cold World [EP] | Earache Records | MOSH 47 CD |
| 1996 | Selfless/Merciless | Earache Records | MOSH 116 |
| 2001 | In all Languages [2xCD]/DVD | Earache Records | MOSH 246 |
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- The Aztec term for Psilocybe mushrooms is Teonanácatl, or God's flesh. [8] (Broadrick claims that this is just a pleasant coincidence. [9])
- The image on the cover of Streetcleaner is a still from the movie Altered States, a 1980 horror film by director Ken Russell in which the movie's protagonist, scientist Eddie Jessup (William Hurt) explores other states of consciousness with the aid of hallucinogenic mushrooms and an isolation chamber . Photos from the insert sleeve for the album are taken from David Lynch's Eraserhead (another major influence cited by Broadrick). [10] Most of Godflesh's artwork has been borrowed from various movies Justin and Ben always liked.
- It is no accident that both Leonard Cohen and Godflesh have albums called Songs of Love and Hate. In "Mothra" (from Pure), Godflesh "borrows" the lyrics "Your pain is no credential here / It's just the shadow of my wound" from the song "Avalanche" on the aforementioned Cohen album. [11] [12]
- Broadrick's independent record label is named "Avalanche Inc." [13]
- Contrary to popular belief, the album cover artwork for "Songs of Love and Hate" and "Love and Hate in Dub" are photographs in two complete different locations. Both may have a cross and a factory backdrop setting but they were taken in two unrelated locations. [14]
- Kirk Hammett (of Metallica) has been a big fan of the band for quite some time. In 1994, he even recorded some material with Justin. One day, Godflesh showed the video for Crush My Soul (by Andres Serrano) to Kirk and he loved it. Metallica later used a piece of footage by Andres for their cover on the album Load. In a later interview with Kirk, he is asked where the band got the idea of the cover. Kirk tells the interviewer that he saw something on television about Andres Serrano and that is how it came about, not giving any credit to (or even aknowledging the existence of) Godflesh. Justin says, "There's no copyright on Serrano. We'll be the first to admit that. But we planted the seed, and unfortunately we're not getting the credit, obviously." Fortunately, in at least one situation, Kirk has commended the band and also has stated that they are the "heaviest band in existence". [15]
- Justin Broadrick has been asked to join Danzig and Faith No More as a band member full time but Justin wanted to be focused on Godflesh during the time. [16]
- Once Earache merged with Sony (Columbia) Godflesh got the chance to do soundtracks. In 1995, they appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Hideaway. They also appear in the movie itself. During one of the club scenes, they are playing onstage in the background, performing the song Nihil. [17]
[edit] References
- Wiederhorn, Jon (1 May 2002). Godflesh Singer Suffers Breakdown, Breaks Up Band. MTV.com. Retrieved on March 4, 2006.
- Vinylnet Record Label Discographies. link. - Earache Records catalogue numbers.
[edit] External links
- Godflesh.com – Official fan website linked to from Broadrick's blog
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