Godflesh
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Godflesh was formed in 1988 in Birmingham, England by Justin Broadrick (an ex-member of Napalm Death) and Ben Green. The duo had previously worked together with guitarist Paul Neville under the name Fall Of Because, a name apparently taken from Killing Joke's song of the same name.
Sound and influences
Godflesh mixed industrial drum machine beats with discordant guitar and depth-charge bass. Although much of their work is based on the music of Swans, Big Black, Black Sabbath and, to a lesser extent, Throbbing Gristle, they were one of the first bands to pioneer the sound of industrial metal, influencing the well known industrial metal bands Ministry and Fear Factory.
Their name was established in underground music by albums such as Streetcleaner and Pure, which mastered the effectiveness of lo-fi production values in heavy music. A brief flirtation with major label Columbia Records in 1994 for Merciless EP and Selfless saw the duo take on a more high-end production approach. After a solid return to form in 1996 with Songs of Love and Hate, the group seemed to flounder for the remainder of the nineties sounding uninspired and toying with minimalist electronics. However, in 2001 Godflesh released the double album retrospective In All Languages and an album of new material, Hymns, that managed to bring the band back to its slow and heavy roots.
In 2002, Godflesh disbanded, but still released a remastered version of their extremely rare 1994 [EP] Messiah in 2003, which was doubled in length with all new remixes as a sort of parting gift. Broadrick went on to form Jesu in 2003.
During the thirteen years of the band, other notable members/contributors included Brian Mantia, Robert Hampson, Ted Parsons and Paul Raven.
Discography
- Godflesh (1988)
- Streetcleaner (1989)
- Slateman/Wound [EP] (1991)
- Slavestate (1991)
- Slavestate Remixes [EP] (1991)
- Cold World [EP] (1992)
- Pure (1992)
- Merciless [EP] (1994)
- Selfless (1994)
- Songs of Love and Hate (1996)
- Love and Hate in Dub (1997)
- Us and Them (1999)
- In All Languages [Double Album] (2001)
- Hymns (2001)
- Messiah (2003)
External links
- Official website (http://www.godflesh.com)
- Avalanche (http://www.avalancheinc.co.uk)de:Godflesh