Godflesh - Slavestate (1991)Release ID: 247
Birmingham industrial metal legends Godflesh had absolutely blown me away with their debut album "Streetcleaner" in 1989/90. I was just a young & impressionable chap at the time & had heard nothing like the dark, noisy & abrasive sounds that were coming out of my stereo speakers when I initially absorbed songs like "Head Dirt", "Christbait Rising" & "Like Rats" on late-night metal radio & my subsequent investigation of the record in its entirety would be nothing short of breath-taking. I'd quickly investigate Godflesh's earlier 1988 self-titled E.P. & would find it to be really solid too but the addition of a couple of extra tracks for the CD version made all the difference & saw me also claiming "Godflesh" as a classic release. 1991's "Slavestate" E.P. would be a bit of a slow burner for some but I would find myself captivated & enthralled by the sheer originality & creativity that Justin Broadrick (Jesu/Napalm Death/Fall of Because), G.C. Green (Fall of Because) & Paul Neville (Fall of Because) had managed to dish up. It was a completely uncompromising & ground-breaking experiment that wouldn't sit well with everyone but which I simply seemed to understand on more of a visceral level than most people could achieve.
The major difference with "Slavestate" is the introduction of elements of electronic dance music within Godflesh's dark & oppressive sound, an idea that didn't sit well with some. I may not have known it at the time but I would later go on to discover that I hold a burning passion for techno music so perhaps I'm just more open to this sort of idea but the new hybrid sound worked beautifully as far as I was concerned. Don't get me wrong. This was still well & truly an industrial metal record & was easily identifiable as being the same artist that produced "Streetcleaner" but there'd been a clear adjustment in timbre & atmosphere which was perhaps always destined to polarize listeners.
The four tracks included on the vinyl edition of the E.P. are all of a very high quality with the lengthiest of them "Perfect Skin" being an absolute masterpiece & ensuring that "Slavestate" would be regarded as an industrial metal classic. The CD version of the release was more of a compilation though with the addition of the "Slavestate Remixes" & "Slateman/Wound '91" singles which were both just as classic in their own rights. The combination of the three releases sees the CD version slightly topping the standard vinyl edition with the stronger electro-industrial direction of the remixes giving it an even more fresh & exciting feel that I genuinely love. "Slavestate Total State Mix" & "Slateman" would go on to become anthems for my youth while "Slavestate (Radio Slave)" wasn't all that far behind either.
Despite the lukewarm response, I can't help but feel that "Slavestate" is another masterpiece of cold, abrasive industrial art that was clearly ahead of its time & suffered a little bit for it. It may not quite have matched "Streetcleaner" for sheer menace but it certainly marked a clear pathway for the future that would see Broadrick & co. running amok in a world of electronic madness & rarely failing to deliver anything short of top-class results. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that I regard "Slavestate" as a better record than the more widely celebrated "Godflesh" E.P. these days which is really saying something. I would definitely recommend making the investment in the CD/Spotify version of the release though as I feel like it's the more complete edition with each of the three releases getting better & better as the CD progresses. Fans of Pitch Shifter, Fall of Because & Skin Chamber should regard "Slavestate" as another essential Godflesh release as far as I'm concerned.
