Review Summary: One of Broadrick's best.
Justin Broadrick's work is always best when it's at it's most human. Many would argue to the contrary and say that most of his triumphs come from when he is completely detached from humanity. I feel though that Broadrick's more organic work is far more personal and deep than his more mechanized material. For example, Jesu's work holds a deeper emotional resonance for me more than Godflesh because I can relate to the blend of industry and nature within his music as it reminds me of where I grew up. Fall of Because is similar in that it's also very human but on the exact opposite end of the emotional spectrum. It's one of Broadrick's earliest, darkest and most inaccessible projects yet also stands as one of his best, with some of it's work surpassing even Godflesh's finest material.
Life Is Easy is a discography compilation that acts as something of a time capsule, giving a glimpse into the past while proving that these songs are still relevant even now.
Instead of the alien, omniscient overview of a world being taken over by machines in early Godflesh,
Life Is Easy conveys a world where the machines have already taken over through the eyes of the last man on Earth. While there are base comparisons to Amebix and
Cop-era Swans, this is more visceral and punishing than either. The production is spacious and dirty; the guitar and bass tone sound like a buzz saw cutting through a swarm of locusts with ear-piercing feedback; the drums sound titanic and the vocals sound like some deranged prophet making his last sermon. It's industrial metal at it's earliest stage; primal, aggressive and damn near impenetrable, a far cry from the later machine-like, sterilized horror of Godflesh later on. Songs vary between slow-crawling monsters like 'Life Is Easy,' 'Grind' and 'Merciless' to faster, more crust punk-esque numbers like 'Middle Amerika.' While this album is at it's best when it's crawling along it manages to a create a consistently unrelenting and horrifying atmosphere throughout with almost no give.
This is especially impressive when considering that most of these songs were all written and recorded before Napalm Death had even released
Scum and yet even now they still sound fresh and relevant nearly thirty years on. In fact it could be arguably stated that these versions of the tracks that were later re-recorded by Godflesh, 'Life Is Easy' and 'Merciless', are actually better than their successors because of the extra rawness. Couple that with two extended live tracks with a rather vicious performance from Nik Napalm and we have a compilation that gives two things; valuable insight into the origins of one of the most important innovators in extreme music as well as an unbelievably heavy, forward thinking beast that tops most of his best work. All in all it explains exactly why he was so successful. Highly recommended.
