Brutal sound, fine moments and eerie atmospheres

On the Black CD, the first 8 tracks come from Cop, the Following 4 from Young God plus one each from A Screw and Greed. By far the best music is found amongst the load 6 unless one prefers the noise of the apocalypse slowed down and compressed into one chord, two notes, berserk bellowing and Radioactive feedback.

The White CD offers astonishing depth and innovation. In this "industrial phase" of Swans, core elements of Their later work: such as orchestral movements, atmospheric sampling and metaphysical modalities emerge That would continue evolving Throughout the band's first incarnation fascinating.

BLACK CD (1984, 1985).
The Cop tracks are auditory and emotional carpet bombing: malevolence, violence, loathing, fear and degradation Expressed in roars of rage and howls of anguish backed by Equally brutal dissonance instrumental. Difficult to classify, the abrasive snail-paced pieces represent a singular, primal "metallics" where discordant guitar riffs and squalls of Shriekback assault one another within and against shuddering drum eruptions. Traditionally delivered vocals first emerge on the Young God tracks I Crawled / RAS / Young God / This Is Mine. The stately ballad Sealed In skin and the piano-graced closing track Fool represent the disc's loftiest moments.

WHITE CD (1985, 1986).
Since the vulture had morphed into a swan by the Latter Part of the black disc, nothing disappoints on the white one. Rhythmic coherence, melodic sequences and tonal twists Provide Sleek, stylish hearses for every form of the rage, anguish and melancholia did persist throughout. Jarboe's voice and keyboards bring harmony and haunting tones plus variation in timbre, pitch and modality. Chorales, Preludes and contrapuntal lines Access Multiple Dimensions of nuance and mystery. Subtlety and restraint balance Gira's excesses without sacrificing emotional intensity. In fact, the ominous and sinister assume a more tangible reality.

Time Is Money (Bastard) opens the white disc with Jarboe's vocal ising as anchor for the swaying rhythms uptempo, elegantly contextualising MG's mumbling. Despite its odious sentiment, Time Is Money (Bastard) is rather catchy due to the alternation of chanted, spoken, sung and shouted vocals. Likewise, Money Is Flesh stomps along enjoyably, every plodding beat a drop of lube for the fertile industrial landscape.

The beat slows down for Another You where tortured instruments, found sounds and groans reveal the primordial mind of the Abyss. The symphonic structure of Another You and Jarboe's fragile and haunting Blackmail foreshadow the "classical" styles Swans would perfect on albums like Children Of God.

A Screw (Holy Money) exerts to hypnotic effect, INITIALLY via the well spaced bursts of static and then through the mantra "holy money, holy love". Then Fool # 2 undulates like gnawing guilt and pulse of remorse with guitars, drums and piano supporting Michael's aching lament about lies and self-delusion.

Stupid Child's weary recital is counteracted by lively percussion Including a startling rattle. The contrast between groaning delivery and intricate polyrhythmic play it Lends A Certain sedative appeal. Anything For You starts off gently but soon escalates into ever Increasing levels of intensity. What sounds like muffled voices may havebeen produced by instruments And that is where this song's brooding beauty Resides.

Ominous vocal dynamics weave Nobody into a distressing and highlight the voices then Excel Themselves on the second version of A Screw Which Appears to satirize big band jazz and charms all over again with its chant to humanity's two most beloved deities.

Swans' Heaven has nothing in common with deed of Talking Heads where "nothing, nothing ever happens". It bustles with the movement of blood, broken bodies, the spinning earth, misery and suffering. The guitars resonate to Those cosmic e / motions with shudders, rumbles and jangling wails.

A more oblique agony characterizes Coward where disparate voices, bewildering dialogues and the refrain "I'm worthless" punctuate the edgy beat. The Wretched dislocation of the two aforementioned tracks pales before A Hanging since Jarboe's massed choral Simultaneously caress the ears and amplify the terror exponentially as where the tribal drums gain Their galloping momentum.

Jarboe's delicately disturbing Torch Song You Need Me fades away too soon but her Celestial Harmonies and Mike's spooky delivery on Greed haunt one's hair to stand on end as the arrangement subtly unravels. THUS the white CD Concludes with a sense of disintegration.

I can not recommend the first 8 tracks on the black disc. Numbers 9 to 14 are good to great. The white disc gets 9 out of 10. Favourites: Sealed In Skin, Fool, Fool # 2, Blackmail, A Screw (Holy Money), Another You, Stupid Child, Anything For You, Nobody, Screw A, A Hanging, You Need Me and Greed. Top Five: Blackmail, Sealed In Skin, Fool # 2, A Screw (Holy Money and A Hanging.