Following the announcement of Godflesh’s end given Justin K. Broadrick’s health issues, I decided to revisit a memory that I hold most dear.
Streetcleaner is a bleak monolith of punishing, crushing, unforgiving music that stroke a cord in my teenage years. That was almost 20 years ago. It was unthinkable at the time that I would ever experience this music in the (god)flesh. But in 2010 the industrial duo resurrected the project and started performing live. Just when I was considering going to a certain Dutch music festival, the news of Godflesh performing Streetcleaner live in its entirety for the first time ever shocked my very core. That’s how I ended up purchasing my very first Roadburn ticket. A tradition that has become a yearly pilgrimage ever since.
…So how was the concert? Let me put it this way: Every word that can be used to describe the masterpiece that is Streetcleaner was amplified tenfold. This was on Roadburn’s Main Stage, which can hold about 3000 people. The size of the stage made JK Broadrick and G.C. Green look tiny by comparison as they only had a couple of amps and a small table for Mr. Drum Machine (laptop). But as soon as the powerful riff from “Like Rats” kicked in, these men looked tiny no more. They became giants and their music pushed me back with the strength of a jackhammer.
I’ve had the privilege to see Godflesh live several times after that. 2013, 2018 and 2025. I’m now coming to terms with the fact that the 12th of April 2025 was my final Godflesh experience. As brilliant as last year’s show was, it is the first time I saw them 15(!) years ago when I was just 18 years old that remains the dearest memory I have of the band.
MUCHAS GRACIAS, JUSTIN!
THE FLESH OF GOD IS DEAD! LONG LIVE GODFLESH!