Review Summary: Underrated masterpiece
To this day I am still unsure why Justin Broadrick has always marked 1994's
Selfless as their "rock" album, when in all reality their (would be, up until their reformation in 2014) 2001 behemoth
Hymns is their most conventional rock/metal album sounding yet, showcasing a more sludgy, crisp and melodic sound as opposed to their brooding, apocalyptic sound they certainly accomplished in the past. Aside from totally revolutionizing the industrial metal genre (as well as incorporating other genres such as hip-hop and techno), Godflesh's music has never really been markedly accessible for casual listeners - but rather abstract, repetitive, and bleak. Thankfully though, this album welcomes the listener as opposed to alienating the listener - in all reality, this album is essentially your one way ticket into Broadrick's future project, Jesu.
If you're not too keen on change, you'll likely dismiss Godflesh's exploration of sound on
Hymns (after all, considering they produced overwhelming sonic brutality via
Streetcleaner this album will likely surprise a lot of listeners). However, Broadrick's musical influences are spread out very liberally on this record instead of resorting only to abstract, doomy soundscapes.
The album boldly awakens with 'Defeated', a crunchy, massive 6-minute epic with an emotional, swaying outro symbolizing defeat. Dare I say it, this album is actually very accessible and at times irresistibly catchy, notably the energetic rocker 'Deaf, Dumb, and Blind', along with the Deftones-esque 'Paralyzed', and 'Tyrant', which displays intense levels of energy with sprawling grooves and Broadrick's bark "Black rain fall down!!". Like the album title suggests, though, there are some very deep and comforting numbers on this album, such as the sizzling 'White Flag' and 'Regal'. 'For Life' and 'Vampires' are by far the angriest tracks on this record, with a strong emphasis on lyrical variety and musicianship.
If I were to cite an "outlier" in terms of sound on this record, I'd go with 'Antihuman' - a very weird, perverted techno/electronic influenced track with fat synthesizers and an evil and demented voice effect overlaying the track. On the contrary, 'Regal' is simply one of the most beautiful, hopeful tracks in all of Godflesh's catalogue. The grand finale, 'Jesu' might be the greatest, most triumphant songs the band has ever produced. The first half of the song, which totals at around 5 1/2 minutes, seems to summarize the band in general - very loud, rolling, and mechanical, laden with pure hate and grit for mankind. The best way to describe Godflesh in a nutshell, is at the end, when Broadrick forcefully and angrily shouts "You're ***ed, you've lost" in the most intimidating and defeated way possible. The second half of the song is one of the most compelling dichotomies I have ever heard - the song begins with a very delicate, morose Moog synthesizer that floats across the song overlapped with Broadrick's sad and reflective singing. Broadrick has always had a knack for writing very introspective, deep songs, but the hidden track is something that is emotionally and musically on a completely different level that I actually had to pause the track mid-way because it was so powerful and moving. Broadrick first planted the seed for Jesu around the
Selfless era, and in 2001, Broadrick's project Jesu was born.
Overall, I view this album as an underrated masterpiece, showcasing a completely different side of Godflesh and a good predictor of what is to come from the band. I certainly recommend this for any rock/metal fan, it's certainly one of my favorite albums of all time and an album I hold close to my heart.
