Young God (EP)

Young God is the second EP by American experimental rock band Swans. It was released in 1984, through record label K.422. It is also referred to as "Raping a Slave" and "I Crawled", but is officially referred to as Young God by the band.[2] As with Cop, the cover art includes a notice that the record is "designed to be played at maximum volume."

Young God
EP by
Swans
Released1984
RecordedMay 1984
StudioPlatinum, Zurich, Switzerland
Length24:32
LabelK.422
ProducerMichael Gira, Roli Mosimann
Swans chronology
Cop
(1984)		 Young God
(1984)		 Time Is Money (Bastard)
(1986)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Background

Young God is considered by critics to be one of Swans' most brutal releases, similar in sound to the band's first two albums, Filth (1983) and Cop (1984), but slightly more experimental, and with subject matter exemplified by the title track, from the point of view of serial killer Ed Gein. One notable element of the release is the use of a chain and metal table in the percussion section, thus causing critics to tag the album in the industrial and experimental music categories.[3] The EP was recorded during the last of the recording sessions of Cop.[1]

Release and legacy

The EP sold around 1000 copies in its first year, making it K.422's highest-selling record. In 1992, the entire recording was released as bonus tracks to the compact disc edition of the Cop LP, and the entirety of that edition would be released as the first disc to the double disc compilation Cop/Young God/Greed/Holy Money. Kurt Cobain included it (under the name of "Raping a Slave") as his fiftieth favorite album on one of his last "50 Favorite Albums" lists in his Journals.[4] The Swiss band The Young Gods took their name from this EP.[5]

Justin Broadrick of Godflesh cited Young God as a key inspiration for his music. About the EP, he said:

"The first Swans record I owned was [the Young God] EP, and it absolutely blew me away... it was a sound that I always wanted to hear, just the bleakest and blackest. The minimalist approach of the music, that was what really influenced me. It was non-genre-specific, with a total lack of baggage... purely abstract, surreal, and violent. It communicated to me in a very special way, and taught me that heavy metal could be stripped of everything and reduced to its most primal form."[6]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Michael Gira; all music is composed by Swans.

No.TitleLength
1."I Crawled"5:40
2."Raping a Slave"6:22
3."Young God"7:03
4."This Is Mine"5:24
Total length:24:42

Personnel

Charts
Chart (1985) Peak
position
UK Indie Chart[7] 9

References
  1. Raggett, Ned. "Young God Review". allmusic.com. Allmusic. Retrieved 2018-02-07.
  2. "Swans | Discography | Young God EP". swans.pair.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  3. Earles, Andrew (2014). Gimme Indie Rock: 500 Essential American Underground Rock Albums 1981-1996. Minneapolis, MN: Voyager Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-4648-8.
  4. Cross, Gaar, Gendron, Martens, Yarm (2013). Nirvana: The Complete Illustrated History. p. 171. ISBN 978-0-7603-4521-4.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. Ankey, Jason. "The Young Gods Biography". allmusic.com. Allmusic. Retrieved 2018-02-07.
  6. Ruffin, Josh (23 October 2007). "Justin Broadrick: Existing through risk". Metrospirit.com. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 19 September 2008.
  7. Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
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