Customer Reviews

Hymns

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Listening to this record as a posthumous statement, one has to be pleased with the way it all turned out for Godflesh. For this one, Justin unplugs the drum machine and enlists one of the only true peers he has in the "genre" that he almost single-handedly created. So here we have JK and GC along with Ted Parsons, formerly of Prong on the drums, and I can think of no other skinsman for the job. Ted's experience with his previous band provides the perfect style for Godflesh, and although Brain did his part, he falls way short of what Ted brings to this record. This is Godflesh's most organic release in terms of sound, and all the time that Justin has spent noodling around in various studios for various projects has paid off in spades. Crystal clear is the way I would describe the mix on Hymns. The guitar tone is amazing, not giving away an ounce of the destructive heaviness that has always been a trademark for this great band. The songwriting is simpler, focused more on a memorable groove(not unlike their earlier efforts) than freaked-out drum tracks and modulated samples. Apparently Justin had had enough of that, and wanted to get back to the basics of heavy music without sacrificing the post-modern, post-apocalyptic feel every Godflesh album demonstrates. To me, Hymns sounds like the human finally defeating the machine. For nearly fifteen years, the music Justin has written has sounded like the product of someone enslaved to cyborgs, and now with Hymns, he has been emancipated. There is a dichotomy of serously oppressive songs and clearly triumphant ones on this record that harkens back to "Songs of Love and Hate" a bit, but if you've been a fan, you know that no two albums end up very much alike.
I've been pondering this for a while, and there's no way that I can totally supplant my favorite Godflesh albums with this one, as Streetcleaner, Slavestate, and Pure all changed my life and the way I listen to music. There is a complete feeling here on this record that I cannot say that I have ever gotten from them before, though, and it has been a great pleasure to see this man(whom I think is criminally underrated)mature into an amazing songwriter from his tortured beginnings. My favorite track here is "voidhead," which should pull anyone in who has ever felt one iota of the alienation that Justin has been turning into brutal soundscapes since the 80's. A true masterpiece.

After being a GF fan for a decade now their 7th installment
Hymns proves itself to me to be one of their best besides of
course STREETCLEANER. To me it's got the qualities I like from
previous lps. Although less experimental than the previous
journey US & Them- it makes up for with heaviness. Also this
is their 2nd release with a live drummer this time TED PARSONS
(of Prong/and SWans)- TEd does a fantastic job and at times sounds mechanical. "For Life" is a good example of that. Justin, GC, Ted still do some experimenting like the final track "Jesu"-
which has a hypnotic bass track over heavy guitar with pychedelic overtones. The track "Anthem" will get stuck in your head for days. Also another good track is "White Flag" which sounds like a Swans song to me. Very slow crawly tempo with some
delay ridden vocals. This is everything I like in GF record- it's angry,brutal,hypnotic,heavy,psychedelic,pounding but don't take my word for it- seems like people that reviewed this agree.

Well, I have just listened to Hymns, the latest installment by the phenom known as Godflesh- the best band you've never heard of. If you are a fan of heavy music- and if you're reading this, I'm sure you are- you've got to realize that Godflesh is one of the bands responsible for much of the sound you hear today. Fear Factory.Danzig.Orgy.Nine Inch Nails. Godflesh was mixing hip-hop beats with grinding guitars way before it was cool- not like the bubble-gum Limp Bizkit-Kid Rock "golly-gee we're angry" stuff out now. You want angry? Justin Broadrick delivers his lyrics of hatred,isolation,betrayal and pain like no one you have ever heard. NO ONE. Hymns is no different. Now I've got to tell you- Godflesh isn't for everybody. Their music has been described as oppressive and nihilistic- and it is indeed that. But I guess that's where you, the listener must decide how far you're willing to test the boundaries of what you thought heavy music was. Buy Hymns and discover what so few people have known for years.

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.

With the addition of Ted Parsons Godflesh has reached a new high in their career. The Hip Hop beats of Us and Them and Songs of Love and Hate have been replaced by a more straight ahead rock metal sound. Very Heavy and intense but with a more emotional feel. The songs are extremely groovy and well paced no 20plus minute epic but nothing to short either.

So Godflesh fans will not be disapointed, and this CD could expand their fanbase. It is just another great piece of music from JK Broadrick, now all we have to do is pray for the US tour.

This final release from the legendary Godflesh outfit delivered what most of us insane fans wanted:
Total guitar-driven songs & minimalistic production combined to unleash this crushing slab in its purest form.
Sampling & electronical manipulation found on other releases are vacant; vocal effects & drum machine also were not employed.
Ted Parsons' unique drumming drives the album with drum-machine precision & style, ranging from basic beats to defyingly intricate timing....and yes, they are real drums.
The monolithic detuned guitar of J.K. broadrick is as it should be: cranked to 10 through a Marshall 1962 Super-Lead with no added B.S. The chord phrasing he employs along with expert use of harmonics is an audio experience not soon forgotten.
Hymns ended an era; the departure of co-founding bassist G.C. Green upon recording completion & the disbanding of Godflesh soon after, was news we could have done without.
Absolutly essential listening.

Gosh...boy o boy. Just buy this and play it really loud. You will begin to see things you havent seen before. You will become stronger and more handsome. Well I did anyway. Honestly I didnt know what direction Godflesh were going after the breakbeat riddled Us and Them but I wasnt expecting this greatness. Teddy Parsons absolutely abuses those poor poor skins like nobodys business and the bass rumbles and chugs along and hot damn Justin is just plain good. Its a pity he called it quits before coming to the states but there doesnt appear to be anything I can do about it. The outfit was beginning to look a bit to much like Prong anyway. Maybe Tommy Victor can get back together with his old mates now. Anyway, if you havent heard the Flesh well you should. ...

Hymns is sorrowful, nihilistic but *really* deep music !

The music is pure melody, not just endlessly playing 10000 riffs in 5 mins.. , the rough the grinding bass just gives the music so much depth ! Although Green in missed, the new members from prong are really welcome.

Hard to pick out any songs that I dislike, but my fav are Anthems( i dont think ANYONE could not be impressed with this one), whiteflag, defeated.

I'd DEFINATELY RECOMMEND YOU TO BUY IT.

For Hymns, Godflesh's ninth studio album, Broadrick and Green (and ex-Prong drummer Ted Parsons) have gone back to the bombastic, teeth-rattling style of old. Given their criticism of 1999's drum-n-bass flavored "Us and Them", that can hardly come as a surprise. What *is* a surprise, though, is how they've constantly re-invented themselves without coming across as self-parody. This is no group of washed-up geezers trying to be cool, nor is it a band stuck in a time warp trying desperately to relive their old years. The fact that they've managed this far with zero commercial exposure and only the littlest of label support is commendable in itself, but when you add the fact that this band has influenced literally dozens of up-and-coming bands, and even today, *fourteen years* after their formation, are still soundly trouncing them - well, that's enough to propel them to near godlike status. Sure, some of the songs here were better the first time around (back in 1988), but the desolate, ringing tones of "White Flag" show that Godflesh haven't slipped in the songwriting department, and the sinister, monolithic Jesu (with it's memorable outro of "You're [in bad shape]/ you've lost") stands as perhaps the heaviest, most enraged stuff they've ever done. As groovy as Pure, as unrelenting as Streetcleaner, and as menacing as Us and Them, Hymns is another feather in the cap of the two British chaps who have defined and re-defined what metal is all about.

"Hymns"picks up from where "Song of Love & Hate"ended and does it better this time around using drummer Ted Parsons. Broadrick seems to be over his drum'n'bass/breakbeat phase that was blatant on "Us & Them" and has graciously returned to the rock. "White Flag","Antihuman" and "Paralyzed" stand out in my mind as well as the hidden track at the end of "Jesu",where Broadrick actually attempts to sing instead of his signature bark'n'roar. It looks like Godflesh has matured yet still retains all its ultra-heavy groove to sate the die-hard fans and hopefully draft some new ones,what with everyone thinking the heaviest thing out there of late is Linkin Park or Disturbed.

Still,as brilliant and sharp "Hymns"is,thier "Streetcleaner"LP is STILL the thier watermark and all-time best album. Run,don't walk,and get this CD double-time!