Swans changed my perspective on music and for that, I will FOREVER be indebted. First saw them live at Moe's( now Nuemos) in Seattle w/ Low as an opener. (97 or 98 ?)I've seen two other shows after that and it's always been a spiritual experience. I particularly have a fondness for this record.
omg, every time i hear this, it shocks me how good it is, i first listened to TGA when i was 16 (7 years ago), this is peak music i think wtf thx swans 4 putting out this absolute fucking art
And we steal our experience from an object that suffers But the brightest pain leaves a shadow on no one I saw you through the window masturbating to the violence And the blood and the bodies floated through the blue sun. And the green earth turns to flesh in your hand And the ether was born in the lungs of an ancient man We hallucinated at night. Our mind's in the light But I can't feel the body of the image which is now penetrating my sight But you're beautiful. And you're real Are you beautiful? Are you real? And my body begins where your memory ends You were melted from stone. I was touched by your hands I can feel it when pleasure moves up your spine I can tell we're alive because your blood just blended with mine And the angels of heaven never sacrificed a sensation as pure as the cut of this knife And the wisdom contained in the telepathy of fear Solidified our suffering into the droning sound I still hear But you're beautiful. And you're real Are you beautiful? Are you real?
my only lament is that we never got to hear this particular version of swans live. sure, some great annihilator songs would be played during the "swans are dead" tour, but those were totally transformed versions, as the band had already had another complete change in sound not even a year after this release. not to say that's a bad thing, as the continuous evolution of their sound is what has kept the band interesting all these years; i just feel it's a shame that this phase of swans was so brief, and so overshadowed by what came immediately after. the great annihilator remains my favorite record of theirs.
I totally agree. It’s possibly the greatest gothic post-punk album ever made. Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division and Bauhaus are all great as well, but music as artful as The Great Annihilator is practically lightning in a bottle. Something Swans have done routinely, yes, but here they captured something gloriously dark and psychedelic. Like a gorgeous nightmare contained within a darkling star. SFTB might be their definitive artistic statement, but this is just as much of an emotional powerhouse.
