Following the news that the 2010 edition of Birmingham’s acclaimed annual Supersonic Festival will be headlined by Swans, Capsule are hugely excited to announce the second headlining act, Godflesh. Acclaimed by many as founders of the industrial metal movement, Godflesh will be returning to their Birmingham roots to play the band’s first UK show in over 10 years. Featuring band members Justin Broadrick (ex-Napalm Death and Head of David) and Benny Green (ex-Fall of Because), [they] will be bringing their crushing, apocalyptic sound back home to Birmingham in only their second show since they disbanded in 2002.

The thunderous rock heritage bequested the world by the Midlands of England took a startlingly effective turn for the brutal in the late 1980s. Taking the genetic strain of genre progenitors Black Sabbath and the magnificent yob-metal/ punk blend that was Stoke’s Discharge, in 1987 Birmingham’s Napalm Death announced their arrival by inserting the rocket-fueled suppository of their Scum album into the extreme scene.

Guitarist on that debut was Justin Broadrick, whose fidgety musical imagination led him to depart after one side of their debut release, first to the drum stool of cult alt-noisers Head of David and then on to a project he could call his own – the mighty Godflesh. Amid the fertile noise scene as it stood, Godflesh – with Broadrick on guitar and vocals, GC Green (Benny to his friends) on bass, and an appropriately relentless drum machine – hit a midway point between the neurotic spite of Big Black and the death-knell hammer blows of Swans.

Their eponymous 1988 debut was a scabrous anvil dropped onto the toes of the metal audience. Broadrick barked inhuman vocals over scything deconstructed Sabbath riffs, Green’s bass sounded like the noise a glacier might make as it remorselessly ground a mountain to dust, while the machine rhythms added the trademark industrial edge.

Moving to Earache records, the duo released their full-length debut Streetcleaner in 1989, an album which cemented their reputation as the most potent purveyors of misanthropic brutality.

The albums that followed all sought to diversify and consolidate a formula that had already been all but perfected – they experimented with second guitarists (Loop’s Robert Hampson joined for 1992’s dense, inhospitable Pure), Slavestate (1991) saw a full integration of remix culture. In 1994 Selfless returned to the super-dense riffery of their debut but also saw a widening melodic strain that would come to full bloom in Broadrick’s post-Godflesh act Jesu. Songs of Love and Hate (1996) found the duo expanding the rhythm base with drummer Brian Mantia, Us and Them (1999) incorporated spidery drum and bass inflections.

The departure of Green following the recording of 2001’s Hymns saw Broadrick recruit scene veterans Paul Raven on bass and Ted Parsons on drums in the subsequent tour, but the band’s momentum was spent and Broadrick called time soon afterwards.

In the years since, Green disappeared from the musical scene while the mercurial Broadrick poured his talents into a variety of projects, most notably Jesu, which took Godflesh’s power and crystallised it into towering near-spiritual shapes, akin to a steroid-assisted Cocteau Twins.

With Broadrick rarely one to look backwards, it came as a considerable surprise when it was announced that Godflesh would be making a one-off reunion appearance at France’s prestigious metal gathering Hellfest. Further to that came news of a 2-CD remastered edition of Streetcleaner for release this month. And now it has been announced that the group (Broadrick and Green) will now be playing Supersonic in Birmingham this Autumn. Somewhat liberated of the misanthropic bile of that record, an enthusiastic Broadrick spoke to us a few weeks ago to explain the state of play in Godflesh 2010. Try and spot the unconvincing fib!

TQ: How did the Godflesh reformation come about?

Justin Broadrick: It’s for a high calibre European metal festival called Hellfest in France. They’ve spent the last three years trying to get us to do a Godflesh reunion and we’d turned down every offer they made, until about about nine months ago. To be honest we thought it’d be the last thing we’d ever do, it’d contradict everything we’d talked about in a way, but for some reason the last offer they made I suddenly got a bit nostalgic. Like any of us, if becomes a bit of a sentimental thing, wondering what it’d be like to do this not as a teenager.

I though Benny would just be totally negative about it. Even though I’ve continued to work in music ever since the demise of Godflesh, he had stepped away from music and got a very nice job, been to university and got degrees, so I just casually mentioned it to him, but as soon as I did he was really quite thrilled about it, which took me by surprise. I thought it was a dead subject between us. If he’d have turned round and said ‘no chance’ I’d have agreed, but he inspired me to start thinking positively about it. We talked about it solidly for about a month and then went back to Hellfest and said yes – believe it or not we’ll do it.

Continue reading: The Quietus | Features | A Quietus Interview | Godflesh To Play Supersonic. Justin Broadrick Talks Reformation.

Featuring band members Justin Broadrick (ex-Napalm Death and Head of David) and Benny Green (ex-Fall of Because), [they] will be bringing their crushing, apocalyptic sound back home to Birmingham in only their second show since they disbanded in 2002.

“We cannot even recall specifically the first Birmingham Godflesh show. Oddly, we think it was supporting Suicide in 1988, just after the release of our first mini LP on Swordfish, the record label of Birmingham’s best record shop. So it’s only natural that the first Godflesh UK show in its original form in over 10 years, comes home to its birthplace, and for whom better than Supersonic, the organisation responsible for keeping Birmingham on the map with underground music, be it metal or otherwise. It is with great pleasure that Godflesh returns to its roots” – Justin Broadrick.

This rare and exceptional performance by Godflesh forms part of a series of line up announcements for Supersonic 2010. Also confirmed are Gnod, Bong, Eagle Twin and Lichens amongst others, with many more exciting acts and artists to be revealed in the coming weeks and months.

Moving from its previous July weekend date to October from 2010 onwards, Supersonic, set for October 22-24, will once again take place in and around the Custard Factory in the heart of Eastside of Birmingham, utilising converted factory warehouses and art galleries and offering up-close, intimate settings to showcase some of the most exciting music out there. Capsule’s passion for genre bending sound and performances is at the heart of all their events – there are not many places where you can listen to funeral doom, prog, folk, avant jazz and grindcore in one weekend.

Add Eastern-inspired space rock doom from Bong, “tribal drumming, grunge and utter filth all pushed along with a Krautrock like pulse” from Gnod, Rick Tomlinson’s latest incarnation, the bewitching Voice of the Seven Thunders and psychedelic guitar drone from Blue Sabbath Black Fiji, and many more special live guests plus art, film and panel discussions to be revealed.

Also confirmed for Supersonic 2010 are Necro Deathmort, Eagle Twin and Gnaw.

For tickets, please click HERE.

Featuring band members Michael Gira, Norman Westberg, Christoph Hahn, Phil Puelo, Thor Harris and Chris Pravdica, SWANS will be performing songs from their early brutal, growling noise albums, with an emphasis on the most heavy Swans material and extreme volume levels that they have become most infamous for. They will also play a selection of new songs which feature on their new full-length album, to be released later in 2010.

This rare and exceptional performance by SWANS mark the start of a series of line up announcements for Supersonic 2010, with many more exciting acts and artists to be revealed in the coming weeks and months.

Moving from its previous July weekend date to October from 2010 onwards, Supersonic will once again take place in and around the Custard Factory in the heart of Eastside of Birmingham, utilising converted factory warehouses and art galleries and offering up-close, intimate settings to showcase some of the most exciting music out there. Capsule’s passion for genre bending sound and performances is at the heart of all their events – there are not many places where you can listen to funeral doom, prog, folk, avant jazz and grindcore in one weekend.

Sunday night’s performance of the reunited Goblin brought Birmingham’s Supersonic Festival to a close, a fitting conclusion to a great weekend for me and Jurgen.

Goblin - Supersonic 2009

One of the special things about Supersonic that we noticed was how much time the musicians from the various bands on the bill spent hanging out in the crowd and watching other bands -- something very similar to Roadburn. It felt like a comfortable, familiar scene, especially on Friday and Saturday. The friendly atmosphere led to some great exchanges of energy and inspiration. Along with the fact that it all took place in Birmingham, of course. It is the birthplace of metal, after all!

It was also incredible to see how certain bands responded to each other, with one great performance spurring another, especially on Saturday night, cumulating in the majestic, enthralling and crushing set of Japan’s very own Corrupted.

Thorr’s Hammer, featuring Stephen O Malley, Greg Anderson and Norwegian goddess Runhild Gammelsæter brought some monolithic, gut-wrenching doom. The band totally lived up to the high expectations surrounding this widely anticipated reunion.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wo2wtIyS4A

Seattle’s Master Musicians of Bukkake got into some uncharted Hawkwind, Gong, Magma territory with Alejandro Jodorowsky at the helm. Crazy!

Highlights on Sunday included Jarboe, backed by members of Esoteric and Black Sun. She held the main stage totally enraptured during her performance. Head of David is still very much the industrial / noise / post punk powerhouse. Then of course there were the cosmic freakouts of Earthless, buzzing away like it was Friday night all over again.

Our ears were still ringing from the battle for decibel domination waged by Sunn 0))) and Scorn, also among the absolute highlights of Supersonic 2009. Or should we say Scorn 0)))? It was pretty amazing to hear Sunn 0)))’s low end assault with Scorn’s industrial dub step on top of it. The sonic clash that birthed this imaginary band could only be experienced in certain locations around the venue!

Many kudos to the Capsule girls, Lisa Meyer & Jenny Moore (and their wonderful staff, of course) for curating such an amazing event. We will be back next year for sure.
Walter on behalf of Jurgen & Roadburn.

Supersonic 2009

Supersonic 2009

We are currently gearing up for our sonic pilgrimage to Birmingham’s annual Supersonic Festival.

Louise of Terrorizer.com recently conducted an interview with promoter Lisa to find out more about their aural annual adventure. An excerpt from the chat follows below.

What is Supersonic Festival all about?
We aim to put on an exciting festival for ‘adventurous’ audiences. The festival features bands that we not only feel are doing something interesting, but who we are actually fans of and being fans of a broad range of music a Supersonic line-up will feature anything from electronica and metal to jazz, folk and post rock.

What kind of people does this festival attract?
The Supersonic audience are open-minded and friendly folks, its very much about bringing a global community of like-minded people together – not unlike Roadburn Festival. The music is a backdrop to a fun-filled party weekend of excess.

Please read the full article here.

Supersonic’s Friday night tickets have sold out. Limited weekend + Sat/Sun are still available from The Ticketsellers UK.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, or find anything slower than Agoraphobic Nosebleed “a bit dull and uninteresting”, you’ve probably heard that legendary doom troupe Thorr’s Hammer (the Thorr’s Hammer that gave us drone daddys Stephen O’Malley and Gregg Anderson) have reunited to play this year’s Supersonic Festival (24 – 26 July at Birmingham Custard Factory).

Thorr's Hammer

Sufficed to say we were a bit excited, so naturally we bombarded the University Of Oslo with phone calls and emails until we got hold of Dr Runhild Gammelsæter to get the lowdown on the whys, whens and hows from the vocalist extraordinaire.

People often have a quite cynical view of bands getting back together (and rightly so), so why was now the right time to do this?

“We didn’t want to do a reunion previously because we thought it sort of cynical, not ‘cult’ and not ‘true’ as we say in metal. All members of TH are old friends, I still call Steve when I have a broken heart. I love those guys to death. But we are getting old, people are having babies, careers, living all over the world, rarely seeing each other. We loved the idea of having an opportunity to fly everyone in, spend time together and experiencing the vibe between us again. It may be the last opportunity we have to do that.”

Please read the full article at: SIGN OF THE HAMMER | Terrorizer.com.

Goblin

The soundtracks of Italian horror films of the 1970s’ are epic examples of filthy, psychedelic, synthy, lucid prog rock. Teamed with gratuitous nudity, bad dubbing, excessive violence and lurid fake blood, it’s a recipe for a golden age of cult cinema. One band synonymous with this type of music is Goblin.

Dazed Digital caught up with keyboardist Maurizio Guarini to see where he and the other Goblins have been lurking.

Dazed Digital: Goblin has just begun playing live again after a 32 years absence – why now?
Maurizio Guarini: It just happened. After spending more than one year gigging together in the mid seventies, each of us started playing live with other bands/singers as session men. It happened that some of us played together live over the years, but not the whole band and not as Goblin. Since, we just didn’t have a chance to put the band together until now…

Please read the full interview at: Dazed Digital | The Return of Goblin.

Rose Kemp - Supersonic '09

We’re going to attend Birmingham’s very own Supersonic Festival in July: “As British music festivals go, Birmingham’s annual Supersonic event is the best kind of mixed musical bag, a dizzying assortment of avant rock textures and Heavy Metal thunder on a bill which swings from the sublime to the ridiculous without once seeming ostentatiously eclectic” –The Wire.

Capsule the brains behind Supersonic Festival are curators, promoters and fans of the finest music, revealing the otherwise indescribable connections between contemporary music and art, crafting extraordinary events for adventurous audiences. Now in it’s 7th year, the event will once again take place at the Custard Factory in the heart of Digbeth utilising a number of spaces for music, art, film and cake.

“We are thrilled at what is shaping up to be our best line up yet, with unique performances from such influential artists as Italian legends, GOBLIN,  their first show in the UK in 20 years, the reformation of the original line up of HEAD OF DAVID, who bring their driving bombast to proceedings for the first time in 23 years, the notorious Japanese band CORRUPTED who have yet to play on UK soil as well the reawakening of Greg Anderson & Stephen O’Malley of Sunn 0))) maiden voyage into darkeness: the cult  black doom act THORR’S HAMMER.”

“Not to mention splatter rock band THE ACCUSED, unruly trio MONOTONIX, the expansive drone-noise of GROWING; Brighton’s prog adventure, DIAGONAL; the wild avant futuristic jazz of ZU; the stoned pysch of EARTHLESS, the Virginian sludge rock of PONTIAK, the industrial experiments of 65 DAYS OF STATIC, the immense duo that is FLOWER/CORSANO DUO, occult noise act SKULLFLOWER, also joining the line up is SCORN aka Mick Harris (king of the blast beat)  and the new project combining Russell McEwan of Black Sun &  the electronic-vocal attack of Lea Cummings (Kylie Minoise) in the form of ATOMIZED, added to this are the power violence duo IRON LUNG and one of the finest folk vocalists NANCY WALLACE will be featured in the line-up, once again highlighting the highly eclectic booking policy of the festival.”

Tickets for Supersonic 2009 are on sale NOW.