Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks
First guitar player of grindcore legends Napalm Death, Justin Broadrick, has revitalized his claim to cult-fame Godflesh with the first full length release of original material – A World Lit Only by Fire – in 12 years. This album testifies to the industrial metal seeds that the band so successfully sowed in their hey-day, but it seems as though it’s lacking a specific je ne sais quoi found in their original workings. This comes as a great surprise with Broadrick’s past history of leaving bands in pursuit of keeping things fresh and experimental.
Though this album doesn’t hit the same beautiful nerves that early albums do, it’s not through lack of trying. The album starts off with “New Dark Ages,” a song that seems to attempt to reunite the fire that molded Godflesh in the first place. This song starts with a feedback squeal of a single note, in fact, the single note that’s most prevalent amongst guitar players who tactfully use feedback squeals. This breaks into a driving beat and Broadrick’s grunting vocals. This song doesn’t offer anything special to the world of heavy metal but does serve as a reminder of a style that melted into the backdrop two decades ago. This continues on with “DeadEnd” and “Life Giver Life Taker.”
On the other hand, the use of strange noises at the intro of “Shut Me Down” as well as some of the electronic drum beats marks some of the creative genius that the years have given to the band and allows fans to remember that this band was an originator of Industrial Metal. This is apparent in the strange background noises that sound like the buzzes of saws in the back-drop of “Obeyed.” The crunching doesn’t stop though, nor does it really change all that much throughout the rest of the album with songs like “Imnerator” and “Towers of Emptiness.” This constant lack of stylistic change makes it seem like you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
The album ends with the haunting industrial masterpiece “Forgive our Fathers.” Just the beginning segment alone, of steel echoing through a dim and dank layer is enough to redeem the album. After this it seems to seep into the depths with slow, droning, and demonic vocals shouting to the heavens. All-in-all, this album is a good reminder of where Industrial metal began, but is in no way anything beyond special as was 1989’s StreetCleaner. This album will be a joy to die-hard fans, but is long past its prime.
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