Godflesh - A World Lit Only By Fire (Album Review)

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 6/10/2014

Label: Avalanche Recordings

‘A World Lit Only By Fire’ CD/DD/LP track listing:

01. New Dark Ages
02. Deadend
03. Shut Me Down
04. Life Giver Life Taker
05. Obeyed
06. Curse Us All
07. Carrion
08. Imperator
09. Towers Of Emptiness
10. Forgive Our Fathers

Bio:

Industrial metal innovators Godflesh have announced the details of their highly anticipated full length A World Lit Only By Fire, set for an October 6 release on their own Avalanche Recordings label. The album arrives on the heels of June’s Decline And Fall EP, which was met with widespread acclaim for its effortless synthesis of the duo’s fan-favoured early albums, themselves groundbreaking genre experiments that pioneered an integration of electronic music’s bombastic rhythms, metal’s bludgeoning force, and post punk’s aural atmospherics. Whereas the new EP succeeded by fulfilling listener expectations, the full length exceeds them; delivering a full force exploration of the furthest boundaries of Godflesh’s extreme sonics, and then pushing beyond them, detailing the rich musical experience accrued in the dozen year span and countless musical projects (Jesu, Final, Vitriol, Greymachine, Techno Animal, etc.) between recordings.

The duo, comprised of legendary talents of Justin Broadrick (also of Jesu, JK Flesh, Techno Animal, Pale Sketcher, and more) and GC Green, formed in 1988 in the same fertile Birmingham, UK scene that forged the talents of Napalm Death, Carcass, and Head of David among many others. Initially disbanding in 2002, the band resumed live performances in 2010 and began the arduous work of crafting a follow up to 2001’s Hymns. The resultant self-recorded ten song set mounts the thin line between high definition clarity and raw, visceral heaviness, inducing a meditative state via seething minimalism that hinges on ritualistic riff repetition and the tenuous membrane between anxiety-inducing dissonance and cathartic minor key melody

Godflesh is:

Justin Broadrick | Vocals, guitars, programming

GC Green | Bass

Review:

It has been a long wait for Godflesh fans, Broadrick’s experimental musings in the form of side project Jesu helped bridge the 13 year absence, however the pioneers of industrial metal are welcomed back with open arms in 2014. EP ‘Decline and Fall’ that was released earlier this year was an astonishing return to form, after 2001 release ‘Hymns’ reflected more of a transition into Jesu, leaving some Godflesh fans a little cold. However, fans can now rejoice in Justin Broadrick and G.C Green returning to the bleak, robotic chug that closer resembles the iconic ‘Streetcleaner’. To say that Godflesh are influential is an understatement, they are a band that have a legacy and never fail to march to the beat of their own drum (machine).

‘A World Lit Only by Fire’ is an album to get lost in; the relentless monotony of the fuzzy riffs and thunderous bass becomes hypnotic. The prevalent mechanical element projects images of run down, urban concrete surroundings, whilst the claustrophobic intensity of repetitive riffs reflects the drudgery of the day to day. ‘New Dark Ages’ is forceful and assertive, Broadrick’s vocals are suitably hostile for the ferocious beat. ‘Deadend’ showcases some superb riff work that’s full of bounce and syncopated rhythms. ‘Life Giver Life Taker’ offers an irresistible beat while the heavily reverbed vocals injects a mesmerizing quality. An album that certainly doesn’t lose focus towards the end, in fact one of the standout tracks is the finale ‘Forgive Our Fathers’, epic and at times disorientating, Godflesh truly excel with this ambient conclusion.

The question of whether Godflesh still have got it doesn’t require an answer, it’s abundantly clear they have. Not only have they re-created the nostalgia of earlier material but ‘A World Lit Only By Fire’ is a rejuvenation, breathing life into the industrial metal genre. ‘Decline and Fall’ was more immediately likeable for me personally; nevertheless the full length picks up where the EP left off and validates the strength of their musical abilities. 13 years is a hell of a long time but ‘A World Lit By Fire’ embodies the phrase ‘good things come to those who wait.’

Words by: Heather Blewett

You can pick up a copy here

For more information:

http://www.godflesh.com/

http://godflesh1.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Godflesh/11374368195

‘A WORLD LIT ONLY BY FIRE’ DECEMBER TOUR DATES

Tue 09.12.14 The Haunt Brighton
Wed 10.12.14 Garage London
Thu 11.12.14 Rescue Rooms Nottingham
Fri 12.12.14 Sound Control Manchester
Sat 13.12.14 Art School Glasgow