Review: Khost [Deconstructed & Reconstructed by] Godflesh – 'Needles Into The Ground'

KHOST [Deconstructed & Reconstructed by] GODFLESH
'Needles Into The Ground'
COLD SPRING RECORDS

UK experimental duo Khost, AKA Andy Swan (Iroha / Final / Atrocity Exhibition) and Damian Bennett (Carthage / Deathless) unleash a monstrous album in the form of 'Needles Into The Ground'. For this release the duo have teamed up with Godflesh founder Justin K. Broadrick who has ruthlesly deconstructed and reconstructed the source material gleaned from Khost's second album 'Corrosive Shroud' and transformed it into something quite different.

The original tracks 'Inversion', 'A Shadow On The Wound', and 'Revelations Vultures Jackals Wolves' were all cavernous and crushing in their heaviness. With a distinct low-fi edge that amplified the savage dissonance of the recordings and a flagrant disregard for genre conventions, these tracks were already unique. Khost have also added a new track to the EP in the form of 'Deathsset' which presents a still dissonant but more recognisably Godflesh influenced style that compliments Broadrick's efforts nicely.

What Broadrick has created from the source material is not a traditional remix album, but rather he has taken the sonic palette of the original recordings and weaved them into an industrial nightmare befitting the Godflesh moniker. The end result is akin to an apocalyptic machine devouring all traces of humankind from the face of the earth before setting it's sights on the planet itself. The tracks grind, rumble, strain and teeter on the brink of collapse to create an all-out sense of stifling claustrophobia.

The production is gritty, as you would expect befitting the experimental nature of the release, but it isn't just a din of mechanical noise. Broadrick has created a harsh and brutal assault on the ears, but is well mixed and to the standard we have come to expect from him.

For fans of noise, harsh industrial, and experimental metal this album is a must have. It is a dark and disturbing descent into nightmarish soundscapes twisted around an industrial metal core that will undoubtedly appeal to hardened Godflesh fans as well as anyone who enjoys the experimental end of the industrial spectrum. 

Read More

Review: Godflesh – 'A World Lit Only By Fire'

GODFLESH
'A World Lit Only By Fire'
AVALANCHE RECORDINGS

Hot on the heels of the hard and heavy 'Decline & Fall' EP, the duo of Justin K. Broadrick and B.C. Green return with the first full-length studio album stamped with the Godflesh moniker in thirteen years, 'A World Lit Only By Fire'. If anyone had doubts about the ravages of time on the bands heavy industrial metal sound the 'Decline & Fall' EP soon gave them hope. Featuring a thick heavy mix of mechanical rhythms, hard sludgy riffs and barking vocals, it ticked all the boxes for what Godflesh should be in 2014.

Cue 'A World Lit Only By Fire' and the band have carried on the onslaught in a big way. The grinding and bass-heavy opener 'New Dark Ages' is a classic Godflesh style relentless headbanger with an undeniable groove. Tracks such as 'Shut Me Down', 'Obeyed', 'Carrion', 'Tower Of Emptiness' and 'Forgive Our Fathers' follow suit and deliver the ferocity that fans of classic albums such as 'Streetcleaner', 'Pure' and 'Selfless' will undoubtedly be craving.

With ten tracks totalling less than an hour's running time, Broadrick and Green have kept the album streamlined and sharp for maximum impact. There's no unnecessary interludes or diversions. It is purely what Godflesh set out to do as best they can, and that is bludgeon you with noise. The riffs are strong and memorable, and the underlying bass grooves add a sticky kind of melody to the tracks.

There is a nod to the past but this is still a very contemporary album. The production feels spot on, and while it is still as thick and crusty as ever, it doesn't sound like they've set out to emulate 'Streetcleaner'. Instead they have re-manufactured the band's sound from the original blueprints and updated all the hardware.

'A World Lit Only By Fire' is a strong and self-assured return from an often imitated pioneering band. They may not be heading off in bold new directions. But they don't need to. Godflesh sound reinvigorated and passionate. And long may the fire burn.

Read More

Godflesh announce 'A World Lit Only By Fire'

Pioneering industrial act Godflesh have revealed the release date of their first full-length album since 2001's 'Hymn' and the follow-up to this years 'Decline And Fall' EP. The new album, 'A World Lit Only By Fire' will be released on band founder Justin K. Broadrick's (Jesu, Pale Sketcher et al) record label Avalanche Recordings on 7th October 2014.

Track List: 
01 New Dark Ages
02 Deadend
03 Shut Me Down04 Life Giver Life Taker
05 Obeyed
06 Curse Us All
07 Carrion
08 Imperator
09 Towers of Emptiness
10 Forgive Our Fathers

The band have also released a brand new track called 'New Dark Ages' via their Soundcloud page. 


For more information on the band and the forthcoming new album please visit the Avalanche Recordings website.

Read More

Review: Godflesh – 'Decline & Fall'

GODFLESH
'Decline & Fall'
AVALANCHERECORDINGS

Godflesh's legacy as pioneers of the industrial metal movement should not be underestimated. The duo of Justin K. Broadrick and G.C. Green left a trail of destruction behind them during their initial run from 1988 to 2002. Now thirteen years later and after a handful of high key live performances the pioneering band release their long-awaited new EP 'Decline & Fall'.

Acting as a precursor to the forthcoming album 'World Lit Only By Fire', the EP is a tantalising taste of what is to come. Straight of the bat the slow bludgeoning guitar, heavy distortion and rough vocals of 'Ringer' immediately hark back to classic albums such as 'Streetcleaner', 'Pure' and 'Selfless'. The second track brings out more of the mechanical groove and discordant guitar that defined the band's sound over their career for a heavy but memorable cut. 'Playing With Fire' once again ups the groove for a bass-heavy mix that is both jagged and alluring. While the title track rounds off the EP with an all out assault of blistering distortion heavy head-banging groove and demented beats.

The EP delivers everything long-time fans of Godflesh will be craving. The nods to the band's earliest albums are ever present, but it isn’t some exercise in nostalgia. The band truly mean business here and simply sound as great as they have ever done. Even the production is unmistakably Godflesh with a dark and thick mix dominating each track.

Although every song feels like they could have been cleaved from a past release, the band can still play with their formula and produce something that will entice new listeners just as much as they please their faithful ones – in particular the title track does a great job of this – so it will be interesting to see how Godflesh approach the imminent long-player.

Read More