Generally when you see lists of the most intense and / or depressing and / or heaviest music ever made, one of these 3 normally ranks top w/ Cop, Through Silver in Blood or Streetcleaner.

(Personally these are not my favourite records by any of these bands - I think they had much more interesting and rich careers than their most infamous works accredit them for, but I am clearly in a minority here.)

In a full discography face off, which of the holy trinity do you think will emerge triumphant?

One thing is for sure: there will be blood and frowning. Much frowning.

Proper heavyweights, but I can't think of any artist who had an album run to match Souls at Zero - present. Miles Davis, maybe. Also, I'd pick Through Silver in Blood over any single album.

Swans I like but don't love.

Neurosis has a long and top notch discography.

Godflesh I only love their first records. The debut is slightly better than anything Neurosis did IMHO... and better than pretty much everything else.

Godflesh by a thin air.

Of the three, I’ve probably listened to Streetcleaner the most, so I’m going with Godflesh.

I saw Swans in 2014 (pretty sure) on the To Be Kind tour. I'd always liked them, but never was a huge fan and didn't really understand the reverence they always got. OK, the records are slow and brutal and heavy. I didn't hear the same magic others did, but I still enjoyed them when I heard them. At the time, I was also pretty bored with music on the whole and wasn't really finding new things that grabbed me. It was because a friend wanted to go to the show that I went more than anything, I don't remember being all that excited to "finally see Swans" or anything.

Thor came out first, then Phil, then Chris, then Christoph Hahn, Norm and Gira. They built this crescendo that was unlike anything other bands had really ever even attempted. Completely visceral and primal, just relentless rhythm with melody and noise. Something about that show hit me right where I needed to be hit at the time, and I had no idea how emotional "heavy" music could be until then. Don't really know how to describe it without sounding silly, but there was this despair combined with hope that was present that I'd never really considered heavy music capable of.

Through that show, I started seeking out other music within that lineage, which led obviously to Neurosis, which was another that hit me really hard when I first discovered 'em. That took me down other roads like many of you, and my tastes have expanded hugely as a result, as well as some of my vocabulary about how music is made, how noise can intersect with metal, how metal can be an incredibly interesting format...etc.

Without that show, I don't know that I would be on the path I am today, and I don't think that I'd have the same understanding of music and sound that I do today. For that, it's undeniably Swans for me.

Frankie99 wrote: Mon Oct 10, 2022 2:45 pm I saw Swans in 2014 (pretty sure) on the To Be Kind tour. Completely visceral and primal, just relentless rhythm with melody and noise. Something about that show hit me right where I needed to be hit at the time, and I had no idea how emotional "heavy" music could be until then. Don't really know how to describe it without sounding silly, but there was this despair combined with hope that was present that I'd never really considered heavy music capable of.

I had very similar feelings and revelations seeing Swans for the first time in 2012, right after The Seer was released.

I was convinced there wasn't any other music out there, recorded or otherwise, that could exceed or even come close to matching the cosmic intensity of Swans.

Then I came upon Pharoah Sanders (RIP) - 'Karma' and realized black jazz musicians had long outdone the Swans in terms of heaviness in 1969:

Godflesh for me. Through Silver in Blood is a great one, and I enjoy plenty of other Neurosis stuff, but Streetcleaner tops everything, and I'm more often in the mood for Godflesh in general than I am for Neurosis.

I am not counting the 8 string Godflesh stuff. Nothing about it really grabbed me. Swans are just OK.

Godflesh will always be held back by the cheesy drum machine. Swans have a special kind of heaviness, but it's inconsistent. Neurosis.

I like the Neurosis I've heard but not enough to do a deep dive.

Godflesh is great. I love the drum machine. Vocals are a weak point.

At the risk of opening the big ol' can o' worms re: separating the art from the artist I say Swans. No contest.

Filth, Cop, and the Raping a Slave EP by Swans. By far. Three of my favorite records ever made.

The other two bands aren't even close in terms of leaden oppressiveness. That weird double rhythm section on Filth alone just wallops everything. Plus, Swans got there a good deal earlier (formed in 1981, found their voice by late 1982). Neurosis and Godflesh wouldn't sound the way they sound w/o Swans' influence. Plus, I appreciate Swans' art-damaged no-wave roots far more than Neurosis's metal/hardcore ones and Godflesh's UK industrial ones. Gira is a much more charismatic yet cerebral frontman than Broadrick or the Neurosis guy, as well.