Posts Tagged ‘Earache Records’

Album of the day: Godflesh – Streetcleaner (Reissue)

Posted on Friday, August 20th, 2010

Praise for Godflesh‘ Streetcleaner (Earache) from San Francisco’s aQuarius Records: It really doesn’t take much for us to find an excuse to gush about this, one of our favorite metal records EVER, the industrial metal juggernaut that is Streetcleaner. A crushing sonic milestone by which all other heaviness must be measured, and we’re not exaggerating (as we’re prone to do) when we say that Streetcleaner still sounds better than 90 percent of the heavy records we hear today, which is incredible considering that it was recorded more than 20 years ago!

If for some insane reason you don’t own this already, this deluxe double disc reissue is the perfect reason to finally get it, and for the rest of you, if as obsessed with Streetcleaner as we are, a whole disc of demos and unreleased versions should definitely be enough to get you to buy it again. More on the bonus disc down below, but first, let’s get to the record itself, the mighty Streetcleaner…

It’s weird to think that amongst the legions of fans out there who LOVE Jesu, there are probably loads of folks who don’t realize that Jesu was born out of the mighty behemoth that was Godflesh. Justin Broadrick, who started off in grind pioneers Napalm Death, made a quick pitstop in Head Of David, and eventually struck out on his own in Godflesh. These days, drum machines and metal are not strange bedfellows, but back in the day, this was some seriously what-the-fuck action.  Metalheads and punk rockers alike were confused, but got over it pretty quick once they realized that Godflesh might just be the heaviest, fiercest thing they had ever heard.

And Godflesh at their heaviest was to be found right here, on Streetcleaner, adorned with the now iconic image of crucified men on crossed in front of a cascade of burning lava (a frame from the genius movie Altered States), this record, originally releases in 1989, still sounds as fearsome as ever.

And now that we have a handful of Jesu records to reference, it’s easy to hear that some of the seeds that would eventually blossom into the dreamy shoegazy metallic bliss of Jesu, were present even back then, albeint buried beneath a black hole crush of churning downtuned riffage and blistering skull rattling programmed beats. Our old three sentence / 14 word review still says it best: “One of the heaviest, scariest “metal” albums EVER. Drum machine doom death. Godflesh’s best.”

And as if that weren’t enough (which it most definitely IS!!), this new version comes with a second disc, overflowing with awesome rarities, including a whole mess of previously unreleased original mixes, which definitely sound different enough to be worth your while, as do a handful of 1990 live tracks, some rehearsal tracks from 1989, and coolest of all, a couple demos, just Broadrick with guitar and drum machine!

As if the above didn’t already make it abundantly clear, Streetcleaner gets the absolute highest aQ recommendation. And remains one of THEE most essential metal records EVER.

At 40 years old, Aquarius is the oldest independent record store in San Francisco. We try to only carry music we love, and we’re always searching for more new, cool, weird and wonderful music. All of which we then share with you, our loyal customers.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in 2010, Album of the Day, Roadburn Recommended | 3 Comments »

Godflesh: Streetcleaner re-release due in June

Posted on Monday, May 10th, 2010

British industrial metal pioneers Godflesh have announced that they are to re-release their seminal album from 1989, Streetcleaner as a deluxe multi-panel digipack including a bonus disc featuring previously unreleased tracks, live performances and alternative mixes and demos. All tracks on the original album have been re-mastered by founding member ...read more

Playlist: January (Sarah Kitteringham)

Posted on Monday, January 25th, 2010

The Roadburn playlist is a monthly update from the Roadburn staff reflecting what we are spinning here in the head office. These are the records that get us through the day as we work on Roadburn Festival business and our blog. Much as you’d expect, our playlists feature heavy rock, ...read more

Cathedral: Trailer released for The Ethereal Mirror reissue bonus DVD

Posted on Monday, July 6th, 2009

A short trailer for the bonus DVD, Ethereal Reflections, that comes with the reissue of  The Ethereal Mirror, the classic 1993 album from British doom metal legends Cathedral, can be viewed below. Ethereal Mirror was almost as drastic a departure from Cathedral’s slow and meloncholic doom-drenched debut, Forest Of Equilibrium, ...read more