''Slavestate'' is an EP by

industrial metal Industrial metal is the fusion of heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Prominent industrial metal acts include Ministry, Nine In ...

band

Godflesh Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham. The group formed in 1982 under the title Fall of Because but did not release any complete music until 1988 when Justin Broadrick (guitar, vocals and programming) and G. C. Gree ...

. 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 rel ...

. The EP saw the band experimenting with more samples and

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

sounds than their predominantly

prior releases.

Composition

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

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

-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 musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

and

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

. 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 to ...

'' 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 an 1988 track by Humanoid 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 mainstream." History The projec ...

" by

Brian Dougans Brian Dougans (born 1968) is a British musician, and a member of the British electronic duo, the Future Sound of London (FSOL). He is the more technical member of FSOL, doing most of the programming, circuit bending et cetera and creating elec ...

. On ''Slavestate's'' shift in style, Broadrick said:

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 m ...

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. 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 studio album, ''

Pure Pure may refer to: Computing * A pure function * A pure virtual function * PureSystems, a family of computer systems introduced by IBM in 2012 * Pure Software, a company founded in 1991 by Reed Hastings to support the Purify tool * Pure-FTPd, F ...

'' (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 music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

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 Quiet ...

'', 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 available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

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

Accolades

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. *

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

* G. Christian Green –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

Paul Neville Paul Neville may refer to: * Paul Neville (politician) (1940–2019), Australian politician *Paul Neville (musician), British industrial metal guitarist *Paul Neville (actor) Paul Neville may refer to: *Paul Neville (politician) (1940–2019), Aus ...

– guitar *

Machine A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to na ...

– 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