Godflesh - Hymns
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Music CD Cover
Artist: GodfleshEdition: Music CD
Format: Import
CD Release Date: 2007-04-16
Music Label: Music for Nations
Soundtracks:
- Defeated
- Deaf, Dumb and Blind
- Paralyzed
- Anthem
- Voidhead
- Tyrant
- White Flag
- For Life
- Animals
- Vampires
- Antihuman
- Regal
- Jesu
Free Music Notes for Hymns
Free Music Review: Godflesh is dead, long live Godflesh
Hit: 4 Stars
Whatever else you may think of them, it's hard not to give Godflesh credit for one thing: even more than a decade into their career, they managed to steer clear of any of the trendy directions they could've pursed in 2002. Hymns, their final release, is a resolutely metal album from start to finish, even largely doing away with the hip-hop and industrial elements that characterized some of their previous work. What you get instead here is stripped-down aggression that may not have marked a huge progression for the band, but did manage to pack a few surprises at points (more on that later). No, Hymns isn't as downright evil and scary as Streecleaner, and it's not a genre-bending masterpiece like Pure, but it is a highly listenable slab of heaviness that managed to close out Godflesh's career on a high note.
If you're in the mood for some headbanging, you came to the right place, as Hymns packs some of the most thunderous grooves in Godflesh's career. Ironically enough, Hymns often ends up bringing to mind the early work of Fear Factory, whose roots in Mr. Broadrick's work have always been obvious (the Fear Factory classic Demanufacture even includes a cover of an old song by Head of David, fronted by Justin himself). Several tracks on here, most notably the first three, are vintage 'Flesh, propelled by Justin's unmistakable in-your-face growl and angry lyrics. It's clear that riffage is the name of the game here, as the album's heavier material packs plenty of the proverbial punches to the gut. And there's even a human drummer this time around in the form of Ted Parsons, whose aggressive pounding (which makes up in enthusiasm for what it lacks in polish) brings a refreshingly organic element to the proceedings.
The album starts off in classic Godflesh fashion with the methodical, monolithic chug of Defeated before kicking into high gear with the explosive, infernal pummelling of the uptempo Deaf, Dumb & Blind and Paralyzed. The main riff of Deaf, Dumb & Blind is especially devastating (not to mention addictive), echoing the best recent work of Napalm Death as it bursts out of speakers in eardrum-abusing fashion. Animals is a piece of uncompromising sonic stomp led by Ted's crashing drumbeats, while Antihuman delivers a blast from the Pure-era past, mixing a bouncy hip-hop beat with grinding guitars and Justin's scorched-earth vocals. One of the things I've liked most about Godflesh since I started listening to them was the way they managed to distill heavy music to its most primal elements-guitar, bass, and drums (or drum machines as the case may be)-giving their music the kind of visceral attraction that can too often get lost in excessive technicality or complexity. Fortunately, that agenda is still very much in evidence here.
At the same time, it's obvious that Justin was looking to expand beyond the confines of his main band, and much of the material on Hymns foreshadows the direction that he would take with his current band Jesu. Starting with the fourth song, Anthem, and continuing through tracks like White Flag and Regal, Hymns delves into Isis-style post-metal territory, adulterating the band's traditional fearsome heaviness with ample doses of drone, melody, and clean vocals. And surprisingly, they get away with it quite well. Justin certainly won't make anyone forget about Frank Sinatra, but for all its rough edges his voice manages to attain a mournful quality that recalls the more profound moments on Pure, and occasionally even sound somewhat hypnotic (White Flag being the most prominent example). Godflesh's music (what I've heard, anyway), was always as much about disillusionment and disaffection as anything else , and this album is no exception; it just explores a somewhat novel way of expressing its emotions.
While Hymns did prove to be Godflesh's valedictory, have no fear: Justin is now heading up the aforementioned Jesu, whose sound is basically a logical extension of this album's (there are even some keyboards to be heard). Definitely worth a listen or two. And if you like Godflesh and Jesu, make sure to check out Isis and Pelican as well for some like-minded stuff.
Hymns Poster
Out of print in the U.S.! 2007 reissue of the seventh album from this Industrial/Metal band. Originally released in 2001, Hymns features 13 tracks including 'Defeated', 'Paralyzed' and 'Anthem'. Music For Nations.Hymns proves that well over a decade on from their inception, Godflesh can still make the sort of thunderously heavy music that blasts their imitators into submission. With the likes of Fear Factory and Foetus lining up to sing their praises, it's clear that the influence of these venerable Brum industrial innovators has far outstripped their sales. And now, it sounds like they're changing their tune. Hymns has far more in common with the modern stoner-rock firmament than any flour-faced industrial newcomers. From the opening "Defeated" (a sludgy Kyuss-style granite slab of solidified distortion and hammer-blow drumming) to the bleak nihilism of "Voidhead" ("Why am I such a void?" ponders frontman Justin Broadrick, over and over and over), this is clearly a heavy-metal relic in its most hoary, gnarled form. Fortunately, however, Godflesh possess an aptitude for crafting approachable tunes from such industrial-strength material. The glorious "Anthem" and "White Flag" possess a truly epic, stadium-sized sweep, but Godflesh never feel the need to sand down those rough edges. --Louis Pattison
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