GODFLESH / Purge (2023)

Opening track Nero is an ardent recall that's reminiscent of Pure but awash with Streetcleaner's punishing DNA, too. Thereafter it's a mixed bag. The apocalyptic hip-hop beats that JKB is fond of feature often, but there's some unusual layering. Like an industrial journey roadmap, it has twists and turns that provide intrigue and/or distraction. The tonal shifts make it seem like an alternate world evolution from Pure onwards, with elements characteristic of Selfless and Us and Them taking occasional prominence. But like any real world journey, it's not perfect. Permission could fit on a cyberpunk movie soundtrack, while Lazarus Leper's repetitive drone will be hypnotic to some, but for me was too long and demo-like, lacking clout. Before I do the same, I'll end this review with a summation: it's familiar enough to satisfy the faithful, but different enough to be divisive.

Songs of Note: Nero; Army of Non

3 burning rivers out of 5

GODFLESH / Post Self (2017)

The sparse press release info that preceded Post Self mentioned that lyrically the work would explore 'anxiety and depression, fear, mortality and paternal and maternal relationships.' Phew, heavy topics, indeed. But Godflesh is heavy music, so there's synergy at play. Despite that, parts of it are really quite accessible; the promised 'Post-Punk' influence is definitely there and is, for me, a welcome addition after the somewhat average A World Lit Only by Fire (2014) album.
In addition, the eloquence of Jesu, one of Justin K Broadrick's other musical vehicles, creeps in occasionally, functioning as a textured boon to the heaviness of pulsating bass, trenchant guitars and distinctive machine percussion.

Songs of Note: Post Self; The Cyclic End

4 universal slums out of 5

GODFLESH / Decline and Fall EP (2014)

If you imagine the Godflesh discography as a curved line, sound-wise the first E.P. from the reformed duo is a branch that splits off after Streetcleaner (1989) and intersects the curve again somewhere between Selfless (1994) and Songs of Love and Hate (1996). But you don't just have to deal in abstractions, check out the link below to get an understanding of what I mean. It's not a reinvention, thankfully, it's a re-invigoration and a tight return to the days of crunching, lo-fi heaviness.

Songs of Note: Decline and Fall (Full EP)

4 symbols of servitude out of 5

PALE SKETCHER / Just Won't Sing (2013)

The second E.P. from PS this year is a little strange at first, but if you haven't come to except the unexpected from Justin K. Broadrick by now then you've not been paying attention. It's firmly rooted in an electronic ambient style, but it's not limited to it. The loops are hypnotically buoyant. The bass is immense if your speakers are equipped to deal with it, and strangely isn't at odds with the overall feeling of peace and calm that the synth provides.
Like the previous release, Warm Sunday | Mogadon (2013), it's available as a digital DL only, from the official bandcamp page, where you can also hear all tracks for free before deciding whether or not to pony-up and support the artist.

Songs of Note: Silver Clouds; Air Tight

3 yellow woods out of 5

GODFLESH / Merciless EP (1994)

Three of the four tracks on Merciless are new, and the other is a remix of 'Don't Bring Me Flowers' from Pure (1992). Of the new tracks, two are beefed-up versions of older songs that were never before released, whilst the third (Merciless) was recorded specifically for the E.P. and is without a doubt the highlight.
It fits between Pure and Selfless (1994) and, just like the previous E.P. did, it forms a bridge between two very different sounding albums. It won't win any awards, but it should keep Godflesh super-fans (like me) very happy.

Songs of Note: Merciless; Flowers

3½ Meshes of the Afternoon out of 5

JESU / Silver E.P. (2006)

With each subsequent Jesu release the sound changes but stays the same. If that makes any kind of rational sense to you, then you're probably already a fan of the project and know exactly what I mean. If so, then you'll be right at home with the Silver E.P. For everyone else, it's as good a place to start as any.
There's synth; real and programmed drums; a distorted bass that buzzes like some kind of blunt, vibrating knife edge; and subtle vocal treatments that elevate everything to cloud level. So do yourself a favour: hit the play button, turn the volume up, sit back and be submerged in Broadrick's radiant candour.

Songs of Note: Silver; Star

4 kinds of gold out of 5

PALE SKETCHER / Warm Sunday | Mogadon (2013)

Pale Sketcher will be a name that sounds familiar to fans of Jesu, because Justin K Broadrick released a Jesu album named Pale Sketches (2007). This is him again, in another of his many guises, but it's lighter in tone than most of his other works. It has things in common with Jesu material but is stripped-back and deconstructed, replacing guitar with dreamlike quality synth. Broadrick is prolific with his music but he never puts out crap, so you can buy with confidence. It's a Name Your Price at Bandcamp. Go HERE.

Songs of Note: Warm Sunday; Mogadon

3½ non-interference projects out of 5

JESU / Jesu (2005)

The eponymous release was the first full length album from Jesu, released a year after the début E.P., Heart Ache. It took the crushing industrial drone that Broadrick is known for and hollowed it out. It's a slow process, but once achieved he was free to fill the gap with something new. Over the course of the album he changed the nature of what industrial music had to offer, opening it up to the beginnings of something that—dare I say it—resembles a kind of uplifting optimism.
It's well known that there’s beauty in darkness; Jesu fans know also that there's beauty in distortion, in minimalism and in purposeful drone.

Songs of Note: Tired of Me; We All Faulter

4 paths to divinity out of 5

LOOPFLESH | FLESHLOOP / Untitled (1991)

A hard to find split-release that featured Godflesh covering a Loop song, and Loop covering a Godflesh song. Loop's psychedelic drone makes the Godlfesh track sound like it's played at the wrong speed. It loses the crushing intensity but gains a deep melancholy. Godlfesh make the Loop track sound like a Godflesh demo, with extra cheap anarcho-punk style distortion. It only had two tracks, so here's both:

Songs of Note: LOOP: Like Rats; GODFLESH: Straight to Your Heart

3 splitsies out of 5

GODFLESH / Slavestate (1991)

Sampling Humanoid's acid house track 'Stakker Humanoid' was a bold move by Godflesh, but it resulted in an exciting hybrid of nihilistic heaviness and dance floor distortion that's hypnotically engaging in the right environment.
Some fans hated it, and still do… can't please everyone~.
For those of you willing to give it a try, the CD re-issue added the 'Slavestate Remixes' single and both new tracks from the 'Slateman/Wound '91' single, giving you three separate releases on one shiny disc. Triple win!

Songs of Note: Slavestate; Someone Somewhere Scorned

4 burning minds out of 5

JESU / Heart Ache E.P. (2004)

The first Jesu release is an E.P. that contains just two tracks, but it's no lazy money spinner. The two tracks combined clock in at almost 40 mins; that's longer than some bands manage to put on a full album.
I had no idea prior to hearing Heart Ache that Justin K Broadrick's voice was so well-suited to the kind of melodies offered herein. Some unexpected piano punctuates and then supports the down-tuned guitars with lush softness, helping it achieve the near impossible: atmospheric, ambient drone that's typically hypnotic but also really quite beautiful.

Songs of Note: Heart Ache; Ruined

4 (empty) pots of gold out of 5

GODFLESH / Love and Hate in Dub (1997)

Love and Hate in Dub is considered an E.P., but with 12 tracks and a running time of 71 minutes, I'd call it an album. Either way, it's a collection of remixed tracks from the similarly named Songs of Love and Hate (1996). It deconstructs and rebuilds them as ambient, dub, drum 'n bass, and even breakbeat versions. Some are much more interesting than their source, while others are meandering and go on far too long. It divided fans, and I've yet to meet anyone that likes all of it.

Songs of Note: Wake (Break Mix); Frail (Now Broken)

3 angels by your side out of 5

GODFLESH / Songs of Love and Hate (1996)

The Godflesh machine added a real live drummer for their fourth album, which coincided with a significant musical shift. The inclusion of some of Justin K Broadrick's other interests lessens the stark industrial sound even further than the previous album; there's hip hop blood in the veins of Songs of Love and Hate. It has moments that capture the early sonic assault, but mostly it's tamed, which is not to say it's lightweight, rather that it's less like a ton of gravel on your face and more like a ton of soil. Yes, a ton is still a ton, but if I'd a choice I'd choose the gravel.

Songs of Note: Wake; Angel Domain

3½ frail fears out of 5

GODFLESH / Cold World EP (1991)

Released the year before the nihilistic magnificence of Pure (1992) emerged, Cold World gave fans an idea of what was to come. It offered a fresh, new melancholic sound that was different than the début album but no less heavy; it felt like an organic progression. The stark emptiness held a beauty that couldn't be obliterated no matter how heavy the bass got. The title track is one of the finest from that era in the band's evolution.

Songs of Note: Cold World; Nihil

5 sterile beliefs out of 5

JK FLESH / Posthuman (2012)

JK Flesh is Justin K Broadrick, the brains behind Godflesh, Jesu, Techno Animal, Final, White Static Demon, etc. He's experimented for years with loop based hip-hop and heavy dub, infusing it with dreamy soundscapes or sledge-like distortion that demands much from the listener. Posthuman is something else entirely, but you can hear elements of all of his previous projects working together, creating a post-industrial/dubstep hybrid that a dozen others will try and imitate while Justin moves onto something else even more surreal. When you hear it, you'll understand why he issued it under yet another new name. Parts of it are too dance-heavy for my liking, and parts of it will be too Industrial-heavy for dance fans. It's a strange fish and impossible to categorise. I don't like half of it, but I can appreciate the immense power of all of it.

Songs of Note: Knuckledragger; Punchdrunk

3½ dreams of dissonance that will confuse many out of 5

GODFLESH / Selfless (1994)

If you took the punishing sledge of Streetcleaner (1989) and mixed it with the experimental, sterile nihilism of Pure (1992), then you'd have something resembling this third album. That should mean it's another perfect score, but something went wrong. It's not the music, it's the production, which is much too clean and much too perfect. Godflesh should be a raw, open wound, not a sutured appendectomy scar. It's still heavier than a lorry load of bricks, but it pales in comparison to what came before. The 24 minute ending track is interesting.

Songs of Note: Xnoybis; Crush My Soul

3½ splodges of organic shit growing on a microchip out of 5

TECHNO ANIMAL / Ghosts (1991)

Techno Animal don't play Techno, thankfully. I feel sorry for anyone that picks it up thinking that's what they're getting. Techno Animal is experimental musician Kevin Martin with K. Flesh (Justin K Broadrick) on programming duties. What that produces is the kind of heavy industrial hip hop that JKB side projects are known for, with a harsh ambient texture that scares the hell out of many listeners. It's jarring listening at times, but it's also one of the better undiscovered and bizarre industrial albums of the 90s. If it came on in a darkened dance hall the room would clear, and anyone left would be the person(s) I'd want to make friends with.

Songs of Note: Burn; White Dog

4 familiar drumbeats out of 5

GODFLESH / Pure (1992)

If nihilism had a sound, nothing would more closely resemble it than Pure. It takes the heavy sonorous sludge of the previous album, gives it a much less abrasive production and then layers it with a sterile, metallic quality. Its repetitive beats still pummel you, but on a different level - it's not a slug-like creature anymore, it's the burrowing into your ear with needle-teeth kind. Terroriser magazine voted it one of the top 100 albums of the 90s. I'm inclined to agree.

Songs of Note: Spite; Predominance

5 pains without credential out of 5

GODFLESH / Streetcleaner (1989)

Streetcleaner is over twenty years old but still kicks the shit out of most of the Industrial music around today. It's as powerful as a force of nature - a storm of sludge and grit and glass that eats into your brain and shreds your veins. A drum machine pummels along beneath a wall of lo-fi guitars and bowel-rattling bass while Justin K. Broadrick vocally releases his inner demons.
I'll never forget the first time I heard it and the life-changing impact it had on me. It's a masterpiece and as important to Industrial music as The Beatles were to Pop music. Yes, I did just compare Godflesh to The Beatles and I stand by it.
For the record, the 2010 remaster is a successful update, it makes everything a little clearer but loses none of the original's crushing power.

Songs of Note: Like Rats; Christbait Rising

5 dead, pale worlds out of 5

JARBOE and JUSTIN K BROADRICK / J² (2008)

Two of my favourite experimental musicians together on one album, Jarboe (of Swans fame) and Justin K Broadrick (Godflesh, Jesu, etc). At its most basic level it's the angelic/demonic voice of Jarboe layered over the top of Broadrick's Jesu-style soundscapes. But delve deeper and you'll find a marriage of two distinct identities that together produce a crushingly complex and chaotic third perspective. It oozes atmosphere and primal terror through ambient repetition.
It's not as initially amazing as I thought it'd be, but it gets under the skin after repeated listens - or more precisely after prolonged exposure. There have been no rumours suggesting they'll do a second album, but I really hope they do.

Songs of Note: Romp; Magick Girl

4 worthwhile experiments for the strange out of 5