Godflesh - Us and Them (1999)^{Release ID: 258}

So the album before this one, Songs of Love and Hate, was kind of a half-good album that doesn't live up to the strength of Godflesh's first 3 albums. But if you think any of the songs in that album are bad, wait until you hear what they got in Us and Them...

Godflesh decided to break out of the earlier humanistic approach for something more technological. Most of the harsh industrial metal is stripped down into broader ideas of trip-hop, drum 'n' bass, and ambient textures. It's the kind of trend that ends up getting outdated, yet when the usual monolithic bass and dark riffing come in every now and then, it's a fresh refreshment as opposed to this eclectic techno sh*t. Expansive while lacking innovation resulting in something somewhat dull.

The drum 'n' bass beat patterns of "I, Me, Mine" sound OK in quality, but for many listeners, it might cause some boredom. Then we have the hip-hop sample-infused title track. After that, we have something I might enjoy in "Endgames" with dark layers of bass textures. Of course, we go back to moronic failures with the b***hy "Witchhunt".

"Whose Truth is Your Truth?" is nowhere close to a good track. The dark-ragga-metal-jungle "Defiled" follows a looping pattern with a cool beat and solid writing, but with the music and vocals have that style throughout, it's just not right. However, "Bittersweet" master the shoegaze-influenced sound well. "Nail" brings back the stronger fare.

Crashing through heavy drumming is "Descent". After that, "Control Freak" is another filler track that doesn't go anywhere. "The Internal" continues the airy shoegaze in a much better form that would probably inspire Justin Broadrick's later project Jesu. "Live to Lose" is probably the best track of the album if you wish to explore more of Godflesh's heavy riffing. It is a bonus track recorded during the Songs of Love and Hate sessions that ended up in this album.

An ominous yet alienating formula plagues Us and Them and left the band's fanbase puzzled. They would bring back some of their metal while kept stripped down in their next and final album before their temporary split-up Hymns. Us and Them is definitely not the place to start when it comes to Godflesh. Better stick with Streetcleaner....

Favorites (only songs I truly like in this album): "Endgames", "Nail", "The Internal", "Live to Lose"