GODFLESH "Cold World"....!

Title track from the 1991 EP

1. Cold World 05:27
2. Nihil 05:55
3. Nihil (Total Belief Mix) 05:37
4. Nihil (No Belief Mix) 05:36
Total playing time 22:35

Godflesh was an industrial metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1988 by Justin K. Broadrick (guitar, vocals, and programming) and G. C. Green (bass). The band is highly regarded as one of the pioneers of industrial metal. The group disbanded in 2002.

Inspired by Big Black, Killing Joke, Swans, and Throbbing Gristle as well as fellow Brummies Black Sabbath, Godflesh were among the pioneers of industrial metal. Their influence can be distinctly heard in bands such as Pitchshifter, Ministry, and Isis.

Godflesh is known for their unique mixture of industrial drum machine beats with droning, discordant guitar and powerful, intermittent bass. (On their earlier albums, the rhythms, synths, and samples are credited to "Machine" or "Machines". Later, Godflesh would make use of human drummers Bryan Mantia and Ted Parsons.) Their eerie, slow, and repetitive style is commonly described as "apocalyptic".

Broadrick's vocals are often guttural, making use of something akin to the death grunt technique, yet they also at times show a softer, more melodic side, as in "I Wasn't Born to Follow" from 1992's Pure. Godflesh lyrics are terse, cryptic, and bleak, often emphasizing duality or opposition, as illustrated by the opening lines of "Defeated" (from 2001's Hymns):

Everything I build I destroy
Everything I love always hurts
Everything I hate I'd rather love
Everything I am is everything I'm not
Paranoia and martyrdom are also common themes in Godflesh's music and cover art.

In 1982, Green founded Fall of Because (named after a Killing Joke song) with Paul Neville. Broadrick, who had been playing guitar as a member of Napalm Death, joined the group in mid-1985 as drummer and vocalist. The band fell apart in 1987. Broadrick then spent a couple of years (1986-1988) as a member of Head of David. In 1988, he contacted Green about reforming Fall of Because. Justin decided to take over on guitars and they chose to use a drum machine to help out. They also decided to change their name to Godflesh.

Godflesh established a presence in underground music with albums such as Streetcleaner and Pure, which demonstrated the effectiveness of lo-fi production values in heavy music. A brief flirtation with major label Columbia Records in 1994 for Selfless and the Merciless EP saw the duo take on a more high-end production approach. In 1996 Godflesh released Songs of Love and Hate, which featured the drumming of Bryan Mantia (Guns N' Roses, Primus, Praxis). The next album, 1999's Us and Them, saw the group experimenting with a more electronic, drum and bass-oriented sound in which the guitar played a less central role. In 2001 Godflesh released the double album retrospective In All Languages. That same year they released an album of new material, Hymns, which featured the precise drumming of new band member Ted Parsons (formerly of Swans and Prong) and brought the band back to its slow and heavy roots while retaining elements of its experiments with electronica.

Green left the band in late 2001. It was announced that he would be replaced by former Killing Joke and Prong bassist Paul Raven; however, Godflesh disbanded in 2002 when Broadrick suffered a nervous breakdown just before departing for a tour of the U.S. As a kind of parting gift, the group released a remastered version of their extremely rare 1994 EP Messiah, which was doubled in length with all new remixes. Broadrick and Parsons went on to form Jesu in 2003.

During its fourteen year lifespan Godflesh toured with numerous bands, including Danzig, Front Line Assembly, L7, Loop, Ministry, Napalm Death, Nirvana, Prong, Revolting Cocks, Skinny Puppy, Type O Negative and Strapping Young Lad.

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Industrial Metal Ministry Treponem Pal Doom Black Sabbath Killing Joke Swans Hardcore Justin Broadrick Earache

Originally posted on youtube by TheBurningOfSodom