''Slavestate'' is the second EP by English

industrial metal Industrial metal is the fusion of Heavy metal music, heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating Heavy metal guitar, metal guitar riffs, sampling (music), sampling, synthesizer or music sequencer, sequencer lines, and Distor ...

band

Godflesh Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham. The group formed in 1982 under the original title O.P.D. (later Fall of Because) but did not release any complete music until 1988 when Justin Broadrick (guitar, vocals, programmi ...

. It was released in July 1991 through

Earache Records Earache Records is a British independent record label, music publisher and management company founded by Digby Pearson in 1985, based in Nottingham, England, with offices in London and New York. The label helped to pioneer extreme metal by r ...

. The EP saw the band experimenting with more samples and electronic sounds than their predominantly

prior releases.

Composition

With ''Slavestate'', Godflesh sought to diversify their

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

-dominated sound by introducing elements of

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

and

electronic body music Electronic body music (EBM) is a genre of electronic music that combines elements of industrial music and synth-punk with elements of dance music. It developed in the early 1980s in Western Europe, as an outgrowth of both the punk and the in ...

. Still, the music retained the harsh guitar and vocals of frontman

Justin Broadrick Justin Karl Michael Broadrick (born 15 August 1969) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer and a founding member of the band Godflesh, one of the first bands to combine elements of extreme metal and i ...

, as well as the extreme aspects of Godflesh. Ira A. Robbins of ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' wrote, "The four-song ''Slavestate'' EP finds the band charging full-on into an industrial-dance realm, giving ''

Streetcleaner ''Streetcleaner'' is the debut studio album by English industrial metal band Godflesh. It was released on 13 November 1989 through Earache Records and was reissued with a second disc of previously unreleased material on 21 June 2010. The album ...

s lurch-and-crunch the twist of a rhythmic basis." The EP's title track contains a sample of the song "

Stakker Humanoid "Stakker Humanoid" is a 1988 track by Humanoid (Brian Dougans, John Laker) released in 1988 on the London-based label Westside Records. It is described by ''The Guardian'' as "the first truly credible UK acid techno record to break into the main ...

" by

Brian Dougans Brian Robert Dougans (born 1965) is a Scottish musician and composer who is a member of the British electronic duo the Future Sound of London (FSOL). Dougans is the more technical member of FSOL, doing most of the programming, circuit bending ...

. In 1992, after the releases of ''

'' (1988), ''Streetcleaner'' (1989), ''Slavestate'' (1991), and '' Pure'' (1992), Broadrick elaborated on ''Slavestate's'' shift in style when compared to the band's other records:

Release

''Slavestate'' was initially released as a four-song EP. A three-song remix EP titled ''Slavestate Remixes'' saw a limited

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

release in September that same year. The remixes were later appended to all further issues of ''Slavestate''. The CD release also included the tracks from the follow-up " Slateman" single, which expanded ''Slavestate'' into a mini-album. In August 2009, ''Slavestate'' was reissued as part of a triple-CD package which also included the EP '' Cold World'' (1991) and the band's second full-length studio album ''Pure'' (1992).

Critical reception

''Slavestate'' received lukewarm reviews, with the exception of the song "Meltdown", which was singled out as a highlight. Ned Raggett of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

appreciated the change in pace from Godflesh's heavy,

-focused music, but was ultimately unimpressed. Writing for ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

'', Noel Gardner thought the introduction of electronic and dance elements was clunky but somewhat admirable. Broadrick was disappointed by the EP's contemporary reception, saying it "should have received far more acclaim than it did." In 1997, ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...

'' retrospectively described the EP as "cutting edge".

Accolades

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. *

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

, record producer, production *G. C. Green, G. Christian Green – bass guitar, bass *Paul Neville (musician), Paul Neville – guitar *Drum machine, Machine – rhythm *Johnny Barry – layout

References

External links

* {{Authority control Godflesh EPs 1991 EPs 1991 remix albums Remix EPs Earache Records remix albums Earache Records EPs Albums produced by Justin Broadrick