December is a weird release month with several different scenarios of release strategies. On the one hand: HOLIDAY RELEASES!!! And on the other hand: dumping ground. But also, and more often than not, a December (Same with January, btw) release can also fall under “Option C” wherein the band/label in question is so confident in their music and fans that they could release an album out of thin air and with no promotion and still people would be out in droves to find it first.
[Read more…]GODFLESH Update The Past, Honor PURE, Deliver Blistering PURGE
Sweet holy hell is this some GODFLESH or what??? PURGE, GODFLESH’s ninth full-length, is like a veritable best of when it comes to the sonic impact of the 8 tracks within. Sure, it’s meant to update the aesthetic of 1992’s PURE but the end result here is and album that sounds timeless by inhabiting that era but regularly breaking out of it, too.
[Read more…]Constants Return With Remixes, Remasters, Covers, And A New Tune On Devotion
B-sides and remix collections can be a mixed bag. On the one hand you get records that stand on their own as a completed piece of collected music (Killers’ Sawdust comes to mind) while with others it seems like your favorite band is half assing it to fulfill some contract or bide time in between records.
[Read more…]Untitled Metal Column: Volume 4 (Godflesh, Decline & Fall)
The news on the new Godflesh front was becoming increasingly quiet and I was wondering if A World Lit Only By Fire was ever going to see the light of day. I can only imagine that Godflesh must have sensed my concerns (Obviously!) because not only has their new album been slated for a Fall 2014 release but, to tide fans over, they’ll also be releasing an EP entitled Decline & Fall on June 2nd.
This is what you’ve been waiting for kiddies! The first new Godflesh material in 13 years (Along with the cover of Slaughter’s “F.O.D.” released as part of Decibel’s Flexi Series late last year) is here and it’s everything you hoped and dreamed for. Didja like Streetcleaner but prefer the vocal stylings a little more polished a la Selfless? Well, it looks like you got your wish here because opener “Ringer” reeks of both albums.
Want your Godflesh even more aggressive? Justin K. Broadrick’s bark is absolutely seething on “Dogbite” while “Playing With Fire” drones on with industrial aplomb. If you want the full experience, though, turn your ears towards the title track, “Decline And Fall”, which brings equal parts intensity and slight glimpses towards what the future of Godflesh hold.
If you’re feeling nostalgic for early Godflesh then Decline & Fall is sure to get you going and hyped for the upcoming full-length. It’s a nod to the past with a solid foot in the future and, hopefully, a vision of what’s to come this fall.
Decline & Fall is available through Avalanche Records on June 2nd. Get a copy here and here. North American fans can get their copy on bandcamp now.