Songs of Love and Hate (Godflesh album)

Last updated

Songs of Love and Hate
Songs of Love and Hate (Godflesh album).jpg
Studio album by
Released20 August 1996
Recorded1995–1996
Genre Industrial metal [1]
Length57:36
Label Earache
Producer
Godflesh chronology
Selfless
(1994)
Songs of Love and Hate
(1996)
Love and Hate in Dub
(1997)

Songs of Love and Hate is the fourth studio album by English industrial metal band Godflesh. Released on 20 August 1996 through Earache Records, it is the band's first album to feature live drums, played by drummer Bryan Mantia, combining a heavy metal sound with a more pronounced hip-hop influence, toning down the industrial and mechanical elements of previous releases. The cover is a photograph of Cancer Alley, Louisiana. [2]

Contents

An accompanying dub-inspired remix album, Love and Hate in Dub , was released in 1997. Both records were reissued by Earache in 2009. [3]

Music and composition

The choice to replace Godflesh's signature drum machines with a combination of sampled loops and live drumming by Bryan Mantia stemmed from Justin Broadrick's growing dissatisfaction with the limitation of mechanical percussion. [4] After initially making Songs of Love and Hate exclusively with machines, Broadrick decided that there was a lack of dynamic range and groove. [4] About the search for the proper drummer, Broadrick said, "The aim was to get a drummer who plays like a machine, but we wanted a feeling of movement and motion as opposed to a machine where it’s very, very static." [4]

Mantia said in 2018 that he was approached by his cousin, who was managing Mr. Bungle at the time, to join the band. Initially, he felt intimidated by Broadrick, calling him "scary," but soon found a common ground for their love of jungle music. A few months after the album's release, Mantia was unable to commit his time in Europe and left the band. He has not been in contact with Broadrock ever since but would love to someday. [5]

According to AllMusic's Jason Birchmeier, Songs of Love and Hate sounds "less mechanical and more fluid than preceding albums." [6] Most of the tracks are on the verse-chorus-verse form. [6] [1] On the album's sound, Meier further commented, "The monolithic riffs grind harmoniously as they never have before, with Broadrick's gigantic guitar tone bulging through the speakers with rude, distorted salience while Green's bass guitar grinds with more prominence than one can nearly handle. To make the sounds even more extreme, B. Mantia smashes and hammers his drums with rabid aggression, instilling the sense of anger than no machine can possibly accomplish." [6] Peter Buckley, the author of The Rough Guide to Rock, considered Mantia's drumming as "occasionally funky". [7]

In 2018, on the tour supporting Godflesh's 2017 album Post Self , the band performed "Gift from Heaven" live. [8] It was quickly dropped from the set for, according to Broadrick, not working in a live setting. [8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Alternative Press Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [9]
Chronicles of Chaos 7/10 [10]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal 5/10 [11]
Vox 7/10 [12]

AllMusic critic Jason Birchmeier said that "never before has the group rocked so hard, sounding tighter as a unit and more human than ever before." [6] Alternative Press wrote, "Imagine a confluence between Black Sabbath and Wu-Tang Clan's rhythms." [9] Valerie Potter of Vox called the album "challenging and savagely satisfying". [12] In his Reissue Review, The Quietus' Mark Eglinton, who viewed the album as "accessible", described it as "a fulcrum for Godflesh", further writing that it "stands resolute as a unique snapshot of a shift in the Godflesh trajectory, as well as being their most multi-faceted release." [1] In reviewing a compilation including Songs of Love and Hate, Eric Schneider of AllMusic said the album was arguably Godflesh's most straightforward release. [13]

Accolades

YearPublicationCountryAccoladeRankRef.
1996 Terrorizer United Kingdom "Albums of the Year"2 [14]
The Wire "Records of the Year"39 [15]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Wake"4:19
2."Sterile Prophet"4:18
3."Circle of Shit"4:53
4."Hunter"4:39
5."Gift from Heaven"7:45
6."Amoral"4:56
7."Angel Domain"3:55
8."Kingdom Come"5:34
9."Time, Death and Wastefulness"6:12
10."Frail"5:24
Total length:51:55
CD-only track
No.TitleLength
11."Almost Heaven"5:41
Total length:57:36

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brain (musician)</span> American drummer

Bryan Kei Mantia, known professionally as Brain, is an American rock drummer. He has played with bands such as Primus, Guns N' Roses, Praxis, and Godflesh, and with other performers such as Tom Waits, Serj Tankian, Bill Laswell, Bootsy Collins, and Buckethead. He has also done session work for numerous artists and bands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Godflesh</span> English industrial metal band

Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham. The group formed in 1982 under the original title O.P.D. but did not release any complete music until 1988 when Justin Broadrick and B. C. Green (bass) renamed the band and decided to use a drum machine for percussion. Melding heavy metal with industrial music and later with electronic music and dub, Godflesh's sound is widely regarded as a foundational influence on other industrial metal and post-metal acts and as significant to both experimental and extreme metal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Broadrick</span> English musician, singer and songwriter

Justin Karl Michael Broadrick is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer and a founding member of the band Godflesh, one of the first bands to combine elements of extreme metal and industrial music. Following Godflesh's initial breakup in 2002, Broadrick formed the band Jesu.

<i>Streetcleaner</i> 1989 studio album by Godflesh

Streetcleaner is the debut studio album by English industrial metal band Godflesh. It was released on 13 November 1989 through Earache Records and was reissued with a second disc of previously unreleased material on 21 June 2010. The album is widely acclaimed by critics and is often cited as a landmark release in industrial metal; though not the genre's first release, Streetcleaner helped define what industrial metal would become.

<i>Slavestate</i> 1991 EP by Godflesh

Slavestate is the second EP by English industrial metal band Godflesh. It was released in July 1991 through Earache Records. The EP saw the band experimenting with more samples and electronic sounds than their predominantly industrial metal prior releases.

<i>Pure</i> (Godflesh album) 1992 studio album by Godflesh

Pure is the second studio album by English industrial metal band Godflesh. It was released on 13 April 1992 through Earache Records. Though originally labeled only as industrial metal, the album has since been recognised as one of the earliest post-metal releases. Musically, Pure is rhythmically mechanical and features harsh guitars, with protracted songs and an abundance of deliberate repetition. Like much of Godflesh's music, it is regarded as particularly heavy and aggressive, and these elements helped it gain critical acclaim.

<i>Selfless</i> (album) 1994 studio album by Godflesh

Selfless is the third studio album by English industrial metal band Godflesh. It was released on 26 September 1994 in Europe and on 18 October 1994 through Earache and Columbia Records. Being the band's major-label debut, the record features a more conventional and rock-oriented sound compared to Godflesh's previous releases. It spawned two singles, "Xnoybis" and "Crush My Soul". The music video for the latter was directed by photographer Andres Serrano.

<i>Us and Them</i> (Godflesh album) 1999 studio album by Godflesh

Us and Them is the fifth studio album by English industrial metal band Godflesh. It was released through Earache Records on 17 May 1999 in Europe and on 8 June 1999 in North America. As with Godflesh's 1997 remix album Love and Hate in Dub, Us and Them is influenced by breakbeats, drum and bass, oldschool jungle, trip hop and hip hop.

<i>Hymns</i> (Godflesh album) 2001 studio album by Godflesh

Hymns is the sixth studio album by English industrial metal band Godflesh. It was released on 23 October 2001 through Music for Nations and was the band's final album before breaking up in 2002. In 2010, Godflesh reformed and in 2014 released their comeback album A World Lit Only by Fire. Hymns had a troubled production and was intended to be distinct departure from Godflesh's intensely regimented industrial sound to something more traditionally hard rock. It was the band's second and final album to feature a live drummer rather than a drum machine.

<i>Godflesh</i> (EP) 1988 EP by Godflesh

Godflesh is the debut EP by English industrial metal band Godflesh. It was originally released in 1988 through Swordfish Records and later saw several reissues on Earache Records with two additional songs. An unexpected underground success, the eponymous EP made it onto the UK Indie Chart and peaked at position 20. Though not supported by any singles or music videos at the time, a fan-made video for "Avalanche Master Song" has since been made official by the band.

<i>Merciless</i> (EP) 1994 EP by Godflesh

Merciless is the fourth EP by English industrial metal band Godflesh, released in 1994 through Earache and Columbia. In 1996, the EP was reissued along with the Selfless (1994) album as the compilation Selfless/Merciless.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crush My Soul</span> Song by Godflesh

"Crush My Soul" is a song by English industrial metal band Godflesh, taken from the album Selfless (1994). It was released in 1995 by Earache Records on 12" vinyl and CD. The single's two remixes were also included on the Selfless/Merciless compilation released on Earache Records in 1996.

<i>Messiah</i> (EP) 0000 EP by Godflesh

Messiah is the fifth EP by English industrial metal band Godflesh. The EP was originally recorded and mixed during 1994, and was released independently to members of the band's fan club on 5 December 2000 along with four remixes, which were created in 1995. After Justin Broadrick disbanded Godflesh, he reissued the material through Relapse Records on 1 April 2003.

<i>Love and Hate in Dub</i> 1997 remix album by Godflesh

Love and Hate in Dub is first remix album by English industrial metal band Godflesh released on 24 June 1997 through Earache Records. The remixed songs are sourced from their 1996 album Songs of Love and Hate, and they adopt a more ambient, dub and drum and bass flavor.

<i>In All Languages</i> (Godflesh album) 2001 compilation album by Godflesh

In All Languages is the first compilation album by English industrial metal band Godflesh, released on 24 July 2001 through Earache Records. It is a double album, and a companion music video DVD was also released in 2001. In All Languages' first disc acts as a greatest hits collection spanning from Godflesh's 1988 self-titled EP to their 1999 studio album, Us and Them. The second disc compiles rare and unreleased tracks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Godflesh discography</span> Band discography

The English industrial metal band Godflesh have released eight studio albums and six extended plays along with a number of singles, compilations and remix and live albums. The group formed in 1982 under the name Fall of Because, but they did not release any music until 1988 when Justin Broadrick and B. C. Green changed the project's name to Godflesh and recorded a self-titled debut EP. That EP, released through the independent label Swordfish, was met with underground success and has since been recognised as one of the first industrial metal releases, if not the first.

<i>Cold World</i> (EP) 1991 EP by Godflesh

Cold World is the third EP by English industrial metal band Godflesh, released in late 1991 through Relativity Records. It was recorded and mixed during September 1991 as part of the Pure (1992) sessions.

<i>Life Is Easy</i> 1999 studio album by Fall of Because

Life Is Easy is the first compilation album by English industrial metal band Fall of Because, compiling songs recorded in 1986 and 1987 before the band became Godflesh. Released on 24 August 1999 through Alleysweeper and distributed by Martin Atkins' label Invisible Records, Life Is Easy contains many songs that went on to be rerecorded and turned into Godflesh tracks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mothra (song)</span> Song by Godflesh

"Mothra" is a song by English industrial metal band Godflesh. It was taken from their 1992 album Pure and saw release as a radio promo and music video in the same year. The track's title is derived from 1961 Japanese film of the same name by Ishirō Honda. Musically, "Mothra" is a grinding, mechanical song with shouted vocals and heavily distorted instruments.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Eglinton, Mark (19 February 2009). "Godflesh – Songs of Love and Hate reissue review". The Quietus . Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  2. Babcock, Jay W. (December 1996). "In Godflesh We Trust". RIP Magazine. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  3. "Godflesh: 'Songs of Love and Hate'/'Love and Hate in Dub' Out Now in Europe". Blabbermouth.net . 10 February 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 Christopher, Roy. "Godflesh: Uneasy Listening". roychristopher.com. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  5. NatterNet. "Brain talks about Buckethead, Axl Rose, Primus". YouTube. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Birchmeier, Jason. "Godflesh – Songs of Love and Hate". AllMusic . Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  7. Buckley, Peter (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 433.
  8. 1 2 Mudrian, Albert. "Godflesh's Justin Broadrick: 'I Never Feel Comfortable at Any Festival'". Decibel . Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  9. 1 2 Columnist. "Songs of Love and Hate". Alternative Press . November 1996. p. 67, cited 19 March 2010
  10. Wasylyk, Adam. "Godflesh – Songs of Love and Hate". Chronicles of Chaos . Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  11. Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 172. ISBN   978-1-894959-62-9.
  12. 1 2 Potter, Valerie (1 September 1996). "Godflesh – Songs of Love and Hate (Earache)". Vox (71): 101.
  13. Schneider, Eric. "Godflesh – Songs of Love and Hate/Love and Hate in Dub/In All Languages". AllMusic . Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  14. "Terrorizer – Albums of the Year 1996". Terrorizer . Retrieved 16 April 2008.
  15. "The Wire – 1996 Records of the Year". The Wire . Archived from the original on 10 April 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2008.