Us and Them

Album Review

With the rise of more experimental fusions of metal and electronics (much of it inspired by the duo's earlier recordings), Godflesh returned in 1999 with a proper album that, for the first time, made explicit its connections to the scene. Previously, Broadrick and Green had relied on the remix albums Slavestate and Love and Hate in Dub — or, in Broadrick's case, side projects like Final — to explore the leading edge of noise. From the drum'n'bass onslaught of the opener though, it's clear that Us and Them is more indebted to electronics and pure noise. The razor-sharp guitars and sweeping, guttural vocals that fans have come to expect from any Godflesh record are still intact, but the pair extend the sound with avenues rarely heard on their proper albums. In a sense though, Us and Them is the same kind of record Godflesh has been making since its inception — that is, heavy grindcore with drum machines. It's just that the duo has pushed the envelope much farther than any of its contemporaries.