Thread by @Gray_LZ, Godspeed You! Black EmperorAlright, the first group I wanted to talk about [...]

Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Alright, the first group I wanted to talk about in this new series was Canadian post-rock ensemble, Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Obviously they are very well respected in the overall musical landscape, harboring a few of what some critics consider

the greatest albums of all time. I'm not going to lie to you, prior to the quarantine, I had never heard an entire Godspeed album in full. The song lengths and ambitious compositions and droning soundscapes combined with outspoken politics struck me as daunting the first time

I even approached a record of theirs. I had begun to listen to Lift Your Skinny Fists as well as Allelujah!, but I never made it past the first 6 minutes of either album. Not because I was disinterested but because they were massive undertakings. However I am so excited to be

discussing them today because as it stands right now, Godspeed have slowly become one of my favorite groups of all time. The fusions between classical music and drone, ambient with rock, the spoken word, interview, speech, and advertisement samples scattered throughout make most

projects of theirs feel like endless puzzles that I will never solve because I discover more detail with each listen. I will be covering the group's six studio albums as well as their EP, Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada. I'm excited to talk about them, so let's begin with number 7.

7. Luciferian Towers (2017)
Yes, of course this one was bound to end up at the bottom of my list. When this album began, I was honestly thinking to myself, "why is this album disliked so much?" I was very much attracted to the band's new approach to their signature sound,

experimenting a lot more with jazz, noise, and a distinct kind of dissonance that I hadn't heard on any other Godspeed record. However, as the album progresses, this introduction was proven to be an empty, pretentious, dishonest setup for the rest of the album. The sounds

that appear on this album are basic, predictable, and unadventurous, with the drones feeling completely lifeless and devoid of any sort of charm, suspense, dread, you name it. Every interlude is completely disposable, and most of the actual core tracks just recycle the same

measure riffs, barely adding onto each one throughout the duration of their runtimes, which are shorter compared to the band's other material, but if feels longer because it feels like nothing is progressing, developing, or showing any sort of new emotion or dynamic. Now there

are highlights of course, because the band has not lost their talent. The climaxes at the end of the big numbers are triumphant and while they may not have been built up very efficiently, most of them are resolved in a way that shows true spirit, flare, and confidence. Swelling

strings and anthemic drums are effectively used during these moments, and are relatively good throughout the project. But it is a shame that they just kind of phoned it in on this one.

Favorite Tracks: Undoing a Luciferian Tower, Bosses Hang Pt III, Anthem for No State Pt III

6. Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress
The band's first album of new material since they reformed in 2010 was a pretty decent album, one with a lot of heavier sounds, violent, thrusting riffs, and thunderous growls of guitars and bass that allow this record to stand out amidst

the band's older works. However, the reason this ranks so low on my list is because it does not live up to the greatness that has made their image so iconic. The drones and ambient voids presented in the middle two tracks are completely flaccid, bland, and textureless. There is

nothing that distinguishes these moments from any soundscape drawn up by a skilled environmentally spacious ambient producer in 20 minutes. It does not feel like any tension is building, it just feels like a lake that has frozen over with occasional cracks every few minutes to

break up the monotony, with no way of knowing how quickly the ice will finally melt. Now despite the glacial pace of the ambients, the two bookending pieces are quite the treat! We see the group going in a more straightforward direction, sticking to one general tone, mood, and

technique. The grooves presented are reminiscent to more of a prog-metal influence that had only been seen in small glimpses on projects like Allelujah! and F# A# ∞. The rhythms are much more depressive, blatant, and looming than most of what the band had done for, which can

simultaneously support and cripple the overall album experience. There is little variance to show any sort of emotional arc or ascending/descending trajectory. While the tunes could tend out to be more crisp and exaggerated, the chaotic chill and volume contrast is sacrificed.

Overall, this is a good record, featuring some of the most head-throbbing, head-banging, and fun moments in any of their albums. But it could have been so much better.

Favorite Tracks: Peasantry or 'Light! Inside of Light!', Piss Crowns are Trebled

5. F# A# ∞
I am very aware that the placement of this album so low on this list is controversial, and if I'm being perfectly honest with myself, this album and my number 4 spot are pretty much of equal quality to me. It certainly was difficult placing such a gorgeous, ambitious,

and catalytic debut album, and such a seminal record for political post-rock to come, where it was. Everything from this point forward is a 9/10 from me, however we are not out of the woods yet when it comes to my issues with this project. Honestly, when looking at this project

in reference to what messages the band would attempt to convey on future releases, F# A# ∞ tries to say way too much all at once, and with its instrumentation, for the most part does not necessarily connect with the peaks and valleys of the themes it presents: natural

apocalyptic disasters, the corruption of man and the government, indoctrination through religious conviction, hesitance towards technological advancement in society, and pushing against personal hangups resulting from all of these things. It is saying all of these things at once,

and with a mostly instrumental album that cares more about telling its own story through crescendos, accents, and swells, the field recordings and vocal snippets scattered throughout may often feel random, unearned, or a bit too on-the-nose. With this album, they do not use the

compositions they craft to connect them to most of the themes they wanted to hammer down. It's a loose collection that ultimately just feels like ideas from a journal that were plucked to reveal some sense of purpose. And they're certainly insightful, don't get me wrong, but

when there is a lower class African American street preacher using the word of God overcome personal struggles of his day to day life, and he is constantly dismissed by the people he is trying to connect with, it feels almost as if this sequence was included to mock people with

firm belief. Now I'm as atheist as they come, but this vocal sample certainly could have been more thought through, considering themes and criticism of religious identity are better expressed through samples of Godspell and an interview of a man reciting religious song lyrics by

rote in the very next song. The point I'm trying to reach is that the topics and criticisms expressed were not clear enough the have any sense of cohesion throughout the album. But that doesn't make the instrumental palette some of the best across Godspeed's entire discography.

This is a much more patient project, a slower, more somber journey, incorporating subtle hints of the twang of folk and country music, while still feeling like a dystopian nightmare all the same, through noisier howls of wind-like drones and twinkling pianos.

The buildups are stomach churning, and every moment in the instrumentals are ugly, despondent, and distorted, enough to the point where the echoes in the background feel like the world is entering a black hole or a tornado, the sound effects and harsh dissonance as if the only

help that was on its way was eaten by the dark abyss of humanity. Beauty, hopelessness, and ominous fear all wrapped into one to tell a story that, despite its mild shortcomings, is one for the history books.

Favorite Tracks: The Dead Flag Blues, East Hastings (from 8:35 onward), Providence

4. Yanqui U.X.O.

I truly believe this the be the most underrated and under appreciated Godspeed project they have released so far. Obviously, this album had a lot to live up to, and its concepts were not nearly as dense, expansive, or thought-provoking as some of the material

they've released in the past. However, its more straightforward ideologies mixed with more alien production and warbling dissonance in the more passionate performances made this a project that people viewed with polarizing opinions: either it was safe with its narrative or

too abrasive and strange with its compositions. And I think it balances on this line pretty damn perfectly. This is the clearest anti-war statement of any album in their discography and it is made much more apparent by is sharp accents and overexposed snares, its mournful

tunes reminiscent of more middle-eastern styles of traditional classical music, and the anger and fury with each instrument. This is also the first album that does not rely on vocal snippets and samples to fill in the gaps the song titles and drones leave behind, and I think

it is all the better for it. Its message is able to be received and delivered in tandem with its bold instrumentation that incorporates a lot more electronic textures than any other Godspeed record, possibly signifying the idea that nuclear weaponry produces a lot more fear and

uncertainty in the hearts and spirits of people who are fighting on the front lines for one reason or another: whether it is an obligation, a passion, an act of rebellion, or an act of boredom and lack of self-fulfillment. Every one of these ideas and personalities is expressed

through ominous drones and swells, thickly reverberated guitar tones, and combative tunes, titles, and structure. My biggest gripe is that it often feels like the band was trying to deliver a multimedia statement, which they are no strangers to in the past, because when you look

at the linear notes and album artwork, there is revealed a philosophy and a chaotic madness that isn't really represented or capitalized on by the music itself. The opinions of one person as opposed to the opinions the narrative within what I am listening to share. Which is my

biggest problem with a band like Liturgy, but, like that band, at least Yanqui U.X.O. is backed up with memorable instrumental lines and an energy that is not matched by most other Godspeed albums. It's more direct and easier to comprehend than the band's more complex works,

but I believe it is one of the many admirable things about this album, and represents a dynamic character this band brings to the current musical landscape present for years to come.

Favorite Tracks: 9-15-00, Rockets Fall on Rocket Falls, motherfucker=redeemer

3. Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada
How did this short, two-track EP beat out a classic, progressive album like F# A# ∞ or a bold political statement like Yanqui U.X.O? Well, let me tell you why. While on the surface this may seem like a scant and disconnected release, once you

look deeper into the intent and focus of the album, you'll realize that these two tracks are two of the best in Godspeed's entire discography. In my eyes, this is the strangest Godspeed project, comprising of a reimagining of a classical track Polish composer Henryk Górecki's

third symphony and an angry, anti-government, anti-judiciary tirade from a man who reads a poem he wrote which is in fact just the lyrics to an Iron Maiden song. But as it stands, the instrumentals bring some of the most cinematic climaxes and emotional resolves of their career.

The drums are punchier, the double bass is pluckier, the violins are more languid, yet purposeful, and the ambients have much more flow and honesty. Everything is so alive, and it is at this point where I believe the Godspeed as we know and perceive them as today was born.

While the two songs delivered do not have an obvious connection to each other or any one main idea, I believe this EP to be a proper thesis statement of the marriage of music and politics, and a stronger one at that than F# A# ∞. We begin with a track that was originally

composed in the 70s for a different demographic of audience. This is shown to represent that the band is taking less contemporary styles and giving their own voice to it, one that can be appreciated by audiences old and young. They lure you in with their powerful emotions and

melodies, until you are hit with a voiceover of the crazed ramblings of an anti-establishmentarian. This transition is a clearer satire and commentary than what was displayed on their first album. What was once seen as beautiful, lush, and euphoric is now seen as dark, brooding,

and unsettling, as the instrumentation remains the same, but the context and what is shown on top of it has. As the speakers words become more heated, the music becomes louder, more overwhelming, and difficult to ignore when connecting it to more aggressive tones and a question

about owning weapons (of which he has many, which is disturbing to no end). He then recites a poem quoting the song Virus by Iron Maiden, about governmental corruption corroding societal structure and integrity. What is interesting about this entire interview is that not only is

it aligned with the band's own ideologies, it is presented as unreliable. Not only is his mental state and stability questionable to no end, he is presenting work that another person has written as his own... in a way that is similar to what the band did on the first track. Now

I know what you're thinking. This is hypocritical. But it can't be a coincidence that the band is presenting old work as new right before an interviewee does the same exact thing. But you'll notice that when he does it, he rushes through the "poem", as if he is ashamed to present

it at all, knowing that if someone figures out he plagiarized, his reputations is done for. Godspeed, on the other hand, is calculated, composed, and careful with the compositional liberties they take in regards to someone else's work. They are truly making it their own on a

progressive way, unlike the character in the second piece who, fittingly enough, calls himself Blaise Bailey Finnegan the III, a reference to the lead singer of: you guessed it, Iron Maiden. These connections to me are why this project is so special: they are vocal and outspoken

in their philosophies, but recognize the shortcomings and the polar personalities of a dangerous mind that believes them. The band itself is dangerous, and will always tell it like it is, but at the same time they know what they are doing and will never perform or say anything

that tarnishes their image with contradiction. Now, as for my faults with this album? I wish it was longer. If we had another two tracks expanding on these themes and ideas with more of an emphasis and development upon their beliefs on governmental influence, this could have been

Godspeed's finest record. But at the same time, the brevity of Slow Riot is what makes it so charming, so easy to revisit, and so easy to recognize its political dissections and lavish instrumentation that the band would only develop further in the future.

Favorite Tracks: Moya, Blaise Bailey Finnegan III

2. 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!
The first time I listened to this in full, I knew it was one of my personal favorites, but I couldn't quite pinpoint why after just one listen, much like I couldn't figure out why F# A# ∞ was more of-fputting to me than I had expected on first

listen. Yes, sonically, this album is the darkest, noisiest, most uncomfortable and tension-fueled album in the band's discography, yes it has some of the ugliest instrumental flourishes and off-kilter compositions of anything they had ever done in the past, and yes it contains

some of the most memorable drones I have ever heard in my life, and it takes a special kind of artist to make ambient drones and field recordings burn to the back of your mind like steaming hot glue. But there was still something more that I couldn't quite pinpoint that makes

Allelujah! such a horrifying experience. And it wasn't until I realized the release time and compositional history that I determined the devastating effects intended to place into your conscious soul upon moving through its murky and sludgy waters. The announcement of the release

was hotly anticipated following Yanqui U.X.O. in 2002, which was their last release before going on hiatus until they regrouped in 2010, and most of the music on this project consists of material previously written as a part of their live sets but never recorded on an album.

So already this album has what no other album in their discography has: recontextualized compositions. Sure, Yanqui U.X.O. had the benefit of channeling rage and anguish following 9/11, but the music was written so closely after and likely inspired by those events. The music on

Allelujah! was composed a good ten years before they were actually released, so they couldn't have possibly foreseen the specific political, social, and militaristic turmoil the world would face on a semi-regular basis. People needed an album like this that would alleviate the

dark numbness by encouraging some sort of societal action or renewed passion in combating the problems of what most never see. The drums explode the point where it sounds like the drum set might catch on fire. The guitar loops and riffs as violin swells sound like something

that begin as well intentioned melodic tension that the band is known for that then spirals out of control and becomes uneasy and difficult to truly get a hold of. The level of distortion placed on each one of these tracks is heavy to point of believing everything was recorded in

with the purpose of puzzling listeners who had grown accustomed to crisp and well-groomed instrumentation. Every note on the violins, the basses, the guitars are so sour, yet the noisy abrasiveness of Allelujah! is what makes the melodies all the more distinctive, irresistible,

and painful. Even with a slight instrumental changeup, the politics remain as visceral as ever, seeming to repurpose satirical anti-war themes and critiques of religious dogma and governmental misguidance into raging assaults on reactions to global terrorism, police brutality,

and institutional racism. The same year this album was released, the gradual trend of police officers shooting unarmed black citizens began with the shooting of Ramarley Graham in February, but even more significantly was when George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin in an act of

what he described was self defense, launching an international debate about whether the attack was honest or an instinctively racist misinterpretation of a situation. Godspeed challenges this uncertainty through every track here, and while it is not explicitly stated in the song

titles, we can feel the rage in every moment and in every performance. Mladic is the opening track, which employs Balkan instrumentation and melodies, which seems to be intentional as just a year prior to the release of this project, Ratio Mladić, a Bosnian Serb general, was

arrested for his heinous acts of genocide and public terrorism in the Siege of Sarajevo and Srebrenica Massacre during the Bosnian War commanding the Army of Republika Srpska. Most of the world was oblivious to his violent crimes and paid no attention to his arrest or subsequent

trial, so Godspeed is summarizing their frustration with global obliviousness in this track. The instrumentals generally present a more middle-eastern flavor, and on the track We Drift Like Worried Fire employs a specific style of traditional Indonesian percussion called

Gamelan. These international styles come together seamlessly with the progressive and classical influences commonly found on earlier Godspeed works to provide something wholly unique to the band's sound, and one that I will regard as the band's best record of their new era.

Favorite Tracks: Mladic, Their Helicopters Sing, We Drift Like Worried Fire

1. Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
Is anyone surprised? The greatest Godspeed album just so happens to be the one that you see in the top 5 of every Topster on Twitter. It's that way for good reason, too. Lift Your Skinny Fists is not only the most beautiful, not

only the most cinematic, not only the most layered and difficult to unpack (which is why I am posting this three days after my last spot), but it is also the one that holds the most significance in the band's discography. It is a culmination of political satire and aggression,

critique of religious propaganda, and tear-inducing climaxes with some of the most memorable, emotional, and evocative compositions of the band's entire discography. It takes the grand sounds that the band was already known for and scales them up past the point of no return,

resulting in four movements, each about 20 minutes in length, that each feel properly paced, and as if the fate of the world depended on it. The album effectively tells the story of the apocalypse, effectively using musical dynamics, ugly distortion on the guitars and strings,

field recordings and samples, and over-the-top performances on both ends of the volume spectrum to where each note, improvised or charted, is absolutely essential to continuing the narrative within each movement. It's safe to say that the first six minutes of Lift Your Skinny

Fists are the most beautiful opening moments of any record to have ever been conceived, with its marching percussion, its fanfare of horns, and the harmonious connection that each guitar and bass tone, cymbal and snare, and string swell have with each other. As the record begins

with beauty, it erupts into triumph. As the parade on sounds concludes, the titular storm begins, and the sounds that were once associated with celebration now take on the connotation of inevitable doom approaching, with its thunderous rhythms, dissonant violin trills, crashing

cymbals at unexpected moments, and a lone glockenspiel near the end of the rapidly advancing storm. Following a sample of an AM/PM gas station advertisement are distorted, noisy recordings of a soldier in battle saying, "it's going to be a long time", implying that the conflict

in the Middle East at the time was due to something the band deems as conglomerate and corporate as oil, a fight that may not serve the best interests of the people despite being presented as a commodity. On top of these samples are light, airy, reflective piano chords that give

me an ache in my stomach from how beautiful they are. Once the storm settles is the static, the collective instability and uncertainty of the global population comes to fruition, and people resort to the static of a radio frequency that tells the time on the minute from Fort

Collins, awaiting with impatience, or relying on the static of the radio or television, listening to or watching a pastor ease the world into a false sense of security, leading people to believe that once the end is upon us, our emotions, sins, knowledge, and doubts will be

washed away and the Lord will guide our misled souls. Of course, this is critiquing two mindsets: the mindset of sitting around waiting for something to happen without trying to prevent or warn people into safety, and the mindset of using unproven conjecture to justify it.

The violins and guitar strums are noticeably more mournful during these opening seven minutes, and once the preacher is done speaking, the cello become heavier, the bass becomes pluckier, the violins more warning in nature. As the drums fill in, the guitars become more warbled,

noisy, and difficult to keep in sync with the rest of the instrumentation, which builds and speeds up with furious excitement, until it is quieted by more static drones, some of the most chilling of the entire record. Once the static becomes one with nature, then comes sleep,

which in my eyes is the collective death of civilization and the world at large. The opening monologue is from a man reflecting on how Coney Island was the hub of human activity, but now it is a barren wasteland that succumbed to the storm, and has not seen the same love since,

similar to how the static only reveals remnants and psychological after effects of the storm itself. This track is easily the dreamiest and most serene, as the destruction is cleared away now that everyone is asleep revealing the beauty of natural human connection and the harmony

of our souls into the afterlife. The drums and guitars are noticeably steadier, less abrasive yet still distorted, and the violins and bass more uplifting now that the remains of humanity's flaws are washed away by the colossal forces of nature. The climaxes are perhaps the most

satisfying and euphoric on the entire record and the progression is one that should be regarded as one of the most epic and holy experiences of the band's discography and in music in general. The last movement is the grand finale, where the fists of the people lost in combat and

collateral which affected the entirely of the world are lifted like antennas to heaven, where they may live in the eternal afterlife to begin society anew, which is implied by the samples of playing children and band member Mike Moya singing a nursery rhyme about parents doing

the complete opposite of what their instincts should be telling them as a responsible parent. The days of this carelessness are gone in the new age of the world post-destruction, as records of such activities are shrouded in low-fidelity crackle and static. The guitars are

perhaps at their most determined and hopeful on this track, as each progression is an ascension to a higher plane of exhilaration. The drones are at their most subtle, and the textures evoke some of the greatest emotions any done could evoke ever. The spacey, psychedelic nature

of the final track feels like I am being released into a new galaxy, slowly melting among the stars in a peaceful, yet slightly unsettling, uncertain, and skeptical way, which has been the thesis of the entire album thus far. An approaching revelation that may or may not

resolve in a way that is hopeful for society at large depending on which angle you look at it. That is why Lift Your Skinny Fists is the best Godspeed album. It is completely honest about its lack of definition, yet is musical and methodically the most defined, dense, and layered

album of the band's discography and of all time. And it is a record that if you have not listened to, you should definitely get on it because it will change your life, whether it is for it beauties or its horrors.

Favorite Tracks: Storm, Static, Sleep, Like Antennas to Heaven...

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