"Godlike" is a

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

industrial rock Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Cromagnon, Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten a ...

band

KMFDM KMFDM (originally Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid, loosely translated by the band as "no pity for the majority") is a multinational industrial band from Hamburg led by Sascha Konietzko, who founded the band in 1984 as a performance art project. ...

from their 1990

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Naïve Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may b ...

''.

Background

According to KMFDM frontman

Sascha Konietzko Sascha Kegel Konietzko (born 21 June 1961), also known as Sascha K and Käpt'n K, is a German musician and record producer. He is the founder, frontman and "anchor" of the industrial band KMFDM. Konietzko jokingly purports himself to be the fath ...

, the song made its debut during KMFDM's 1990 tour with industrial metal band

Ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

, being based on the lyrics by

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''. Called the "punk poe ...

. When Koneitzko's bandmate

En Esch Nicklaus Schandelmaier, (born 23 March 1968) is a German musician, better known by his stage name En Esch, and has been a member of the bands KMFDM, Pigface, Slick Idiot, and . And more recently with NUKES, a 16 member band that includes Chris C ...

, who had been singing the song live, was injured during a fire, Konietzko had to use new lyrics, as he didn't know the original words. He translated a German

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

piece the band had been using at their live shows into English, and used the translation as the new lyrics. After the tour, the band recorded a version for their album ''

'' with a group of performers from other

Wax Trax! Records Wax Trax! Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago. It began as a record shop in Denver, Colorado, opened by life partners Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher, who sold the store in 1978 and moved to Chicago. In November of that y ...

bands. Later, Konietzko re-recorded a more electronic version for the single. The track heavily features a sampled guitar riff from " Angel of Death" by Californian thrash metal band

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

. This sample is looped from the beginning of "Godlike" and is heard almost continuously throughout the track. The same riff has been sampled by many other artists including

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...

for their track "She Watch Channel Zero".

Release

"Godlike" was originally released as a single in 1990. In 2008, KMFDM Records re-released it as a 7" vinyl single, limited to 250 copies. On September 14, 2010, ''Godlike 2010'', including new mixes of the song, was released, commemorating the single's 20th anniversary.

Reception

"Godlike" was ranked No. 8 on ''COMA Music Magazines 101 Greatest Industrial Songs of All Time.

Track listing

1990 release

2008 7" reissue

''Godlike 2010''

References

External links

* {{authority control 1990 singles KMFDM songs 1990 songs Wax Trax! Records singles Songs written by Sascha Konietzko