In the mid 1990s Godflesh, along with label mates Napalm Death, Cathedral and Carcass, had a brief flirtation with the major labels in the US. Because of this, their CDs made it to the lame mall record store, leading to my initial exposure to the band. Admittedly, it was a mixed reaction: Selfless took a while to fully "grab" me, and Merciless had its pros and cons. After some time, both would eventually click, and may very well represent my favorite era in their career, compiled into a slim two disc set.
I first picked up the Merciless EP on a whim:I'd heard the band's name tossed about, but always equated them more with the death metal scene (which I was, and mostly am, still not a fan of).Eventually there was enough discussion of them as "industrial" to pique my Skinny Puppy and Front Line Assembly loving attention, and for me in these pre-Web days, the only way to hear new music was to buy a disc.I had mixed feelings when I first heard the downtuned slow riffs and sludgy pulse of the title track.I was ok with the riffs:Rabies was always my favorite Skinny Puppy album, and I still had a love for Ministry at this time, but the growling "metal" vocals turned me off.The more lush chorus parts, where Justin Broadrick actually sings, I thought were great, however.
The following "Blind" and "Unworthy" were a bit too "out there" for me at the time.It was definitely industrial, but more in the classical sense, which I wasn't yet familiar with. Both were built using various samples of Broadrick's guitar, from live and rehearsal tapes, to create a harsh sound more akin to SPK or early Cabaret Voltaire, with the steadfast Alesis drum machine pounding away unfettered and G. C. Green's noisy, loose bass grinding away.The final song on the EP, "Flowers," was listed as a "demix" (originally "Don’t Bring Me Flowers" from the prior Pure), which is exactly as it sounds:the more conventionally structured track is stripped to its barest skeleton.The result is fascinating:the looped guitar noise and ambience is paired with Green's harsh bass and a deconstruction of the guitar solo from the original track, which is possibly one of the purest, most beautiful guitar sounds ever on a Godflesh record.
Selfless, on the other hand, is one of the least experimental Godflesh recordings, which now I believe is its greatest strength.Broadrick has stated that it was their intentional "rock" album, which is what I've now grown to appreciate.While they continued that sound into 1996's Songs of Love and Hate and reprised it on their final album, 2001's Hymns, here it is presented as intentionally cold and sterile as possible.Before integrating live drums into the mix, it was simply the stoic precision of a drum machine, very restrained use of synths, and jagged shards of Broadrick's guitar.
The strongest songs, in my opinion, are the more subdued, emotion tinged ones.Now that Broadrick has publically declared his appreciation for The Cure, especially in their early days, it’s not hard to see that "Empyreal" and "Black Boned Angel" have a vibe akin to Faith, albeit with a much heavy bent.The former is a lugubrious track that stands with Merciless in defining slow heaviness, crawling along with an intentional simplicity, all the way to the lyrics ("Not, everyone can carry, the weight of the world/Feel my decay, feel so alone") that manages to fill six minutes with ease."Black Boned Angel" conveys a similar sense of inward turned despair that doesn’t relent, but doesn’t feel forced or contrived at all.No histrionics or forced emotion, they both display a monastic asceticism towards rock music that make them my favorite tracks on the album.
The closest thing to a single on this album is "Crush My Soul," which is one of the few traditionally "metal" tracks:a heavily mechanized rhythm section and guitar squall is matched with Broadrick’s screamed, overly aggressive vocals.Early on it was TOO metal for me, but I have grown to appreciate it over the years."Anything is Mine" is another from this template, and I still feel it's one of the lower points on the album, from its overtly heavy sound and some rather weak lyrics ("I declare that we're all just shit/And I believe, we'll die like it") make it stand out as a sore thumb in an otherwise great album.
The album also follows Pure in putting a far more adventurous song as a bonus on the CD, in this case the nearly 24 minute "Go Spread Your Wings.""Pure II," the similarly difficult piece on the previous album, was far more abrasive, consisting of a guitar noise and feedback dual between Broadrick and then-second guitarist Robert Hampson that surely left the metal fans scratching their head, but this one is far more varied in its structure.Opening with repeated processed piano sounds and metal scrapes awash in reverb, it slowly builds into a slow, pummeling juggernaut of sound.The heavily detuned bass guitar, which is more of a percussion instrument here creates a vast, hollow metal vortex that eventually engulfs everything, leaving the final eight minutes as a vast abyss of guitar fragments falling apart. The final moments are one more of warm beauty rather than the cold, desolate precision that preceded it.
The two disc reissue appends two tracks to Merciless, remixes of "Crush My Soul" and "Xnoybis" from the Crush My Soul single.Unlike others, Godflesh used this not as an opportunity to appease the dance floor or to fill up a b-side, but as a way to indulge in their more electronic tendencies."Crush My Soul (Ultramix)" recalls Broadrick's work with Techno Animal and The Sidewinder, stripping the track down to a grimy breakbeat and Green's garage-door-spring bass, only bringing in the guitar during the chorus moments.Over the 15 minute duration, there's even a subtle bit of acid house synth that appears, completing the industrial/metal/techno concept they first toyed with on the remixes from Slavestate and predating the electronic/rock music crossovers that would appear a few years later."Xnoybis (Psychofuckdub)" stretches the initial song to some 17 minutes in length, deconstructing it bar by bar into a post-rock sound collage, reserving the latter half to a minimalist recording of sound decay.
To have this era of Godflesh concisely compiled into this two disc set is quite convenient, removing the need to track down singles and EPs; the only mix that’s not here is the "Clubdub" Mix of Xnoybis, which appeared only on a promo single and in an edited form on the shoddy In All Languages compilation.Although I must say, the god-awful packaging should be criticized.I know that conceptually the "moving picture" type textured case that shows the original cover of both releases is interesting in theory, in execution it is a major disservice to a band who's stark design and artwork was always an important part of the presentation.The music is the important thing, of course, but it's still a nauseating blight on an otherwise glorious collection.
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