Godflesh

Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham, formed in 1988 by Justin Broadrick (guitar, vocals, programming) and B. C. Green (bass, programming). Before forming Godflesh, the pair worked together in Fall of Because, a band that began in 1982 as O.P.D. and helped lay the groundwork for Godflesh’s formation. Through their fusion of hip hop–derived drum programming, metal riffs, and industrial dissonance, later exploring electronic and dub elements, Godflesh developed a sound widely recognized as foundational to industrial metal and post-metal, and influential across experimental and extreme metal.

The band signed to Earache Records in the late 1980s and released their debut album Streetcleaner (1989) to contemporary and lasting acclaim. After the release of their sophomore album Pure (1992) and their major label debut Selfless (1994), they started experimenting with live drums as well as hip hop and breakbeat sounds. The resulting albums, Songs of Love and Hate (1996) and Us and Them (1999), were followed by Hymns (2001), which saw a simplification of the band's style. Shortly after Green's departure in 2002, Broadrick ended Godflesh and pursued various other projects, such as Jesu. Broadrick and Green reformed Godflesh in 2009, releasing A World Lit Only by Fire (2014) and Post Self (2017) to critical acclaim. Their ninth album, Purge, was released in June 2023. In March 2026, Broadrick announced that Godflesh as a live act was over due to health complications and that two final studio albums were forthcoming, including their tenth album, Decay, which released in September 2026 to further acclaim.

As pioneers of industrial metal, Godflesh's early sound was defined by harsh machine beats, production-emphasised bass, distorted guitar and sparse vocals delivered in a low, guttural fashion. The band performed for most of their career as a duo with Broadrick and Green playing over preprogrammed percussion, normally to a backdrop of apocalyptic scenery and Christian iconography. Godflesh's music has been regarded as especially heavy and grim, with Streetcleaner being named by several publications as one of the heaviest and greatest metal albums.