Us and Them(Godflesh album)
| Us and Them | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio albumby | ||||
| Released | 17 May 1999 | |||
| Recorded | 1997–1999 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 64:05 | |||
| Label | Earache | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Godfleshchronology | ||||
| ||||
Us and Themis the fifth studio album by Englishindustrial metalbandGodflesh.It was released throughEarache Recordson 17 May 1999 in Europe and on 8 June 1999 in North America. As with Godflesh's 1997 remix albumLove and Hate in Dub,Us and Themis influenced bybreakbeats,drum and bass,oldschool jungle,trip hopandhip hop.
Shortly afterUs and Them'srelease, Godflesh frontmanJustin Broadrickadmitted that he "hated" the album as it was the expression of an "identity crisis".[2]Years later, he revised his thoughts, saying that his hatred ofUs and Themwas "overstated", and that his main issue in the album lies in its more "cringe-worthy moments."[3]
Composition and music
[edit]
Us and Themfeatures a sound similar toSongs of Love and Hate's remix album,Love and Hate in Dub(1997), driven percussively and relying on thumping drum and bass and hip hop rhythms.[4]AllMusiccritic John Bush, who described the record as "heavy grindcore with drum machines," wrote: "From thedrum'n'bassonslaught of the opener though, it's clear thatUs and Themis more indebted to electronics and pure noise. The razor-sharp guitars and sweeping, guttural vocals that fans have come to expect from any Godflesh record are still intact, but the pair extend the sound with avenues rarely heard on their proper albums. "[5]Ian Christe ofCMJthought that rather than the lurching stomp of 1992'sPure,Us and Themcalls ontrip-hopand slowedjungle.[6]Decibel's Kevin Stewart-Panko also thought that the track "Internal" "acts as an elegiac,post-punk,shoegazingharbinger of what was to come onHymnsand theJesuproject. "[7]In a 2015 retrospective withConsequence of Sound,Broadrick saidUs and Them"was so informed by the excesses of dance music... But as we know, dance music moves at fucking light speed relative to rock music."[3]
The album's closing track, "Live to Lose", was originally recorded in 1995.[8]It was intended to be a vinyl-only bonus track onUs and Them,but Earache had stopped supporting the format by 1999.[8]Shortly after releasingUs and Them,Godflesh began work on a proposed remix album,Us and Them in Dub.[9]While this album was never released, two tracks from it appear on the 2001 compilationIn All Languages.
Critical reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| Chronicles of Chaos | 8.5/10[4] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 5/10[10] |
| Kerrang! | [11] |
| The Wire | Very positive[12] |
AllMusic's John Bush wrote: "In a sense though,Us and Themis the same kind of record Godflesh has been making since its inception... It's just that the duo has pushed the envelope much farther than any of its contemporaries. "[5]Chronicles of Chaos critic Paul Schwarz thought: "At 64 minutes,Us and Themis a lot to take in, especially in one sitting, and I find it a little bit of a struggle as an album, but it does have some great tracks and creates a blanket of depressive, atmosphericindustrialsound which is hard to throw off. "[4]Ian Christe ofCMJstated: "Start to finish, this is a beautiful, moody and sincere record from a band most thought had milked its last cow."[6]Ken Hollings ofThe Wirewrote, "Out of the masterful, combative collection of rants, songs and beats onUs and Them,Godflesh has conjured up a minor apocalypse. Not a moment too soon. "[12]
Track listing
[edit]All tracks are written byJustin BroadrickandG. C. Green
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I, Me, Mine" | 5:20 |
| 2. | "Us and Them" | 5:56 |
| 3. | "Endgames" | 4:56 |
| 4. | "Witchhunt" | 5:11 |
| 5. | "Whose Truth Is Your Truth" | 5:03 |
| 6. | "Defiled" | 5:29 |
| 7. | "Bittersweet" | 4:34 |
| 8. | "Nail" | 4:09 |
| 9. | "Descent" | 5:38 |
| 10. | "Control Freak" | 5:37 |
| 11. | "The Internal" | 6:33 |
| 12. | "Live to Lose" (Bonus track recorded in 1995) | 5:39 |
| Total length: | 64:05 | |
Personnel
[edit]Credits adapted fromUs and Themliner notes[13]
References
[edit]- ^Downton, Chris."Ivens interview by Chris Downton".Cyclic Defrost.Retrieved14 November2017.
- ^Bromley, Adrian (14 January 2002)."Hymns of Progression".Chronicles of Chaos.Retrieved24 June2013.
What was going on at the time of my career with Godflesh was an identity crisis. I'd spent a lot of time making that album and it almost sounded like it was a remix of a remix album. There were so many changes going on and it was just a regurgitation of what I had done before. It was really fucking tiresome. I did a lot of that album by myself, in a very hermit-like state of mind. I was in a technologically obsessed state of mind and I lost sight of what Godflesh should be. The end result was something very eclectic and ambitious that didn't even sound like a Godflesh album. That album is the sound of an identity crisis and we did it in public. I am glad it wasn't promoted well.
- ^abSuarez, Gary."Voidhead: Justin Broadrick on the End of Godflesh".Consequence of Sound.Retrieved14 December2017.
- ^abcSchwarz, Paul."Us and Them – Godflesh".Chronicles of Chaos.Retrieved12 July2017.
- ^abcBush, John."Us and Them – Godflesh".Allmusic.Retrieved25 June2013.
- ^abChriste, Ian (October 1999). "Godflesh – Us and Them".CMJ.74:59.ISSN1074-6978.
- ^Stewart-Panko, Kevin (14 July 2016)."Justify Your Shitty Taste: Godflesh – Us and Them".Decibel.Archived fromthe originalon 21 August 2016.Retrieved12 July2017.
- ^abBroadrick, Justin."Avalanche: Godflesh Page 1 – New Album: 'Us and Them'".avalanche.demon.co.uk.Archived fromthe originalon 1 May 1999.Retrieved6 November2018.
- ^Gabler, Pete (July 1999)."Peeling Back the Flesh".Metal Hammer.Retrieved22 February2018.
- ^Popoff, Martin(2007).The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties.Burlington, Ontario,Canada:Collector's Guide Publishing.p. 172.ISBN978-1-894959-62-9.
- ^Chainsaw, Billy (15 May 1999)."Godflesh – Us and Them".Kerrang!.Retrieved8 November2021.
- ^abHollings, Ken (August 1999). "Soundcheck: Godflesh – Us and Them".The Wire(186): 50–51.
- ^Us and Them(CD liner notes). Godflesh.Earache Records.1999. MOSH 179 CD.
{{cite AV media notes}}:CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
External links
[edit]- Us and ThematDiscogs(list of releases)
