Godflesh – Slateman / Wound 91 (1991)

February 9, 2013

“Slateman” is one of my favourite ‘Flesh songs, and is a prime example of what excellence can be achieved by simply using a drum machine right. This isn’t particularly heavy or drawn out or even harrowing in any way, but it is the perfect example of Godflesh’s sound. The drum sound is absolutely spot on, I don’t really know what does it here for me but it’s just so right. The bass is clanky and thick, holding down the rhythm perfectly, whilst the guitars wail over the top of everything, kicking into riffage every now and then, bolstering the heaviness and hitting home the beat.

Finally, with the vocals ranging from breezy cleans to distant shouts, there simply isn’t a more perfect example of Godflesh. This was released by Sub Pop Records, as part of their “Singles Club” in the 90s. I think this is also available as a 12″ which Earache put out. I want to get my grubby hands on that fucker too, even though it is pretty much the same record on a different sized disc. My Godflesh fan-dom knows no bounds!