When Justin K. Broadrick made the transition from Godflesh’s punishing industrial metal to Jesu’s ethereal doom pop it made complete sense. After all those years of making violent ugly noise why wouldn’t he desire another outlet to make something poignant and beautiful? It turns out the transition works both ways though.
Thirteen years after the last Godflesh album Broadrick and G.C. Green have come back to give purpose to their 2010 reunion. A World Lit Only by Fire follows the lead of June’s Decline & Fall EP by continuing to push the pioneering duo’s titanic gut-punching rumble to its max.
Saying it’s just like old Godflesh is almost an insult though; tracks like the pummeling sludge-soaked “Carrion” and the rhythmic spine-crushing of “Life Giver Life Taker” are some of the heaviest things they’ve ever produced.
Sounding more like a modern reinvention of the brutal classic Streetcleaner than anything resembling 2001’s supposed swan song Hymns Godflesh’s minimal heaviness has astonishingly proven to be as destructive now as it was during its inception.
A World Lit Only by Fire is a colossal return and one of the most sensible reunions to happen in music of late. It may serve as catharsis for Broadrick but the feeling is definitely mutual for any fan.
