Final (band)

Final was the guise under which Broadrick, then aged 14, performed his first ever live concert in 1984 in The Mermaid Pub in Birmingham, using his stepfather's shortwave radio and distortion pedals. At that point the project was a duo with Andy Swan who Broadrick met at the city's Rag Market and both shared an interest in power electronics and industrial bands such as Throbbing Gristle, Ramleh and Whitehouse. Swan would later go on to form the bands Iroha and Khost, both of which Broadrick has made remixes for. Before that the project briefly went under the names Atrocity Exhibition and Smear Campaign.[3] Final played at the pub alongside Con-Dom and Family Patrol Group and was briefly signed on The Grey Wolves's label. Broadrick started a cassette label called Post Mortem Rekordings on which he released over 50 tapes until 1986, many of which were Final tapes. Other contributors during this period included Guy Pearce, Nicholas Bullen (of Scum fame), Kevin Johnson, and Paul Neville. The music from this period is expected to receive a boxset reissue on Hospital Productions.

Final was then put on hiatus while Broadrick played in Napalm Death and Head of David and later co-founded Godflesh. Final was eventually revived in 1993[4] as an experimental ambient solo project meant to "explore beat-less spaces" and focus on textures, now expanding its influences to the likes of Brian Eno and Maurizio Bianchi.[5] This new incarnation started utilizing electric guitar, tape decks, synthesizers and samplers. One was released on Sentrax and Subharmonic and was Final's first ever CD release. 2 (1996) and 3 (2006) which both compiled pieces recorded over several years were collaborations with Broadrick's bass players: Godflesh's G. C. Green and Jesu's Diarmuid Dalton respectively. Two series of live improvised music were self released under the Final name on Avalanche Recordings, Infinite Guitar (2007-2009) and Guitar & Bass Improvisations (2007-2013). A collaborative avant-garde drone album with Dirk Serries was also released in 2009, Final + Fear Falls Burning.[6]

Final played its first live show in 20 years as support for The Living Jarboe in 2005, with a laptop as the only instrument. A European tour followed in 2006 alongside L'Enfance Rouge and a further show was played later that year at Supersonic Festival and as support for Isis at All Tomorrow's Parties. One-off shows were played in Birmingham in 2009, during Broadrick's Roadburn Festival residence in 2012 and as a double bill with the live debut of Council Estate Electronics in 2014. The Birmingham show saw a Bandcamp release as Live Reprocessed (2016). Dalton assisted Broadrick on some of these dates. Final is scheduled to play its first ever United States show on 8 December, 2018 at Hospital Fest in Queens, New York.[7]

• Final at Bandcamp